AKRON, Ohio -- Tiger Woods didn't break stride as he walked purposefully from the scoring trailer to the clubhouse at Firestone Country Club about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.Normally Woods would have been preparing for a round rather than just completing one. And he certainly wouldn't have been flirting with finishing last in a tournament he had won seven times.
But this isn't the same Woods who has dominated the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. His driver is erratic, his irons lack precision and his putter has been decidedly uncooperative.
And come Sunday, it appears more and more likely that Woods' stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking -- a position he has held for 269 straight weeks since June 12, 2005 and 611 overall -- will have ended.
Phil Mickelson, who is currently one stroke off the lead, needs only to finish fourth or higher -- as long as Woods is outside the top 44 -- to become world No. 1 for the first time in his career. Woods finished the third round 78th among the 80 players remaining in the field.
"Well, if Phil plays the way he's supposed to this weekend, then he'll be No. 1," said Woods, who declined to stop to talk with the media but did speak with a member of the PGA TOUR communications staff.
Woods failed to break par for the third straight round on Saturday, shooting a 75 that left him 11 over. That's the highest 54-hole total in relation to par in Woods' pro career -- eclipsing the 10 over he shot at the 1998 and '96 TOUR Championships.
In fact, Woods very well could be headed to his worth finish ever in a four-round event since he turned pro. The previous was a tie for 60th in the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open -- in his debut.
What makes Woods' struggles this week so surprising is his record on the South Course at Firestone Country Club.What makes Woods' struggles this week so surprising is his record on the South Course at Firestone Country Club.
He has never finished outside the top 5 in 11 starts here dating back to the old NEC World Series of Golf. And Woods has won all but two of the nine Bridgestone Invitationals played at the South Course.
And Woods' worst standing through three rounds at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron? That would be a tie for fourth in 2003 when he went on to finish in the same spot.
But this week the beleaguered Woods, who is still looking for his first win of 2010, has looked positively lost..
There have been times that short putts haven't touched the cup. He ranks 80th this week in driving accuracy (15 of 42 fairways hit) and 78th in greens in regulation (25 of 54). He's made seven birdies, 16 bogeys and one double.
Saturday's assessment? "Well, I drove it terrible, hit my irons terrible, didn't putt well and it added up to a lot," Woods said bluntly.
If he doesn't break par on Sunday it will be just the third time that's happened over four rounds during Woods' career. The others all came in major championships like the one he's headed to next week -- the 2003 PGA, 1999 British Open and 1998 U.S. Open.
Woods has won 13 individual World Golf Championships events. He's only shot above par in nine of 87 rounds in those stroke play events -- and three of those have come this week.
Just before he headed to the range to search for answers, Woods was asked if he had found any positives this week.
"No, not right now," Woods said. And he was off.
