Tiger survives another week, and moves on to the BMW Championship

Tiger survives another week, and moves on to the BMW Championship

Tiger Woods has survived to play another tournament in the Playoffs. And he also has survived another attempt at his No. 1 ranking.

Woods posted his third consecutive round in the 60s on Monday, a 3-under 68 that left him at 10 under for the tournament. It wasn’t good enough to get him into contention, but it did show that he’s on the right path in terms of regaining top form.

Woods entered this week 65th in FedExCup points and faced the possibility of being eliminated in the Playoffs had he not maintained his position inside the top 70. But now projected at 51, he’ll be in next week’s field to defend his title at the BMW Championship.

For Woods, the key on Monday — and basically throughout the week — was his ability to make mid-round adjustments with the new swing he’s implementing with Sean Foley.

"I feel good about what I’ve been working on," Woods said. "More than anything, it’s how I’ve been able to fix it on the golf course. That’s the biggest thing.

"You’re not going to hit every shot perfect. To be able to go out there and understand what my fixes are going to have to be and then be able to rectify it out there is pretty good."

Woods was also pleased with his putting on Monday, especially on the back nine. He one-putted his last seven greens, rolling in a couple of putts from outside 17 feet.

"I hit the ball pretty good all day," Woods said. "I was just missing some putts early, but once I got the speed right, I started making quite a few putts."

Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson each went into Monday threatening to overtake Woods at No. 1 in the Offical World Golf Ranking. But neither was able to make the kind of move they needed to, so Woods will once again remain at No. 1 going into Cog Hill.

But he knows he needs to start winning golf tournament. His last win on TOUR was last year’s BMW Championship. So, in essence, it’s been a full year now.

"I’ve just got to keep playing well," Woods said. "Winning takes care of everything, the World Rankings, Player of the Year awards, all the trophies and things that come with it.

"That only happens when you win. Most of my career I’ve been able to do that, and I just haven’t done it this year."

Meanwhile, there’s a little matter of a spot on the Ryder Cup team. The announcement will be made at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday and since Woods didn’t make it on merit, he has to hope for one of Corey Pavin’s four Ryder Cup picks.

He said he was planning to speak with Pavin at some point after Monday’s round.

"Hopefully, I played well enough to get a mention," he said with a smile.