the times | Monday May 23 2022 2GM 61
Sport
Other scores
288 S Muñoz (Col) 74, 70, 69, 75; B Koepka 75, 67,
72, 74; J Day (Aus) 71, 72, 72, 73; F Molinari (It) 70,
72, 75, 71; C Morikawa 72, 72, 74, 70.
289 R Hoshino (Japan) 74, 70, 69, 76; R Henley
70, 73, 70, 76; H Matsuyama (Japan) 72, 72, 72,
73; L Griffin 72, 69, 75, 73; L Oosthuizen (SA) 73,
71, 73, 72; C Schwartzel (SA) 71, 73, 73, 72; Kim Si-
woo (S Kor) 71, 72, 76, 70; J Kokrak 74, 68, 77, 70.
290 B Horschel 75, 69, 77, 69.
291 K Hickok 71, 71, 75, 74; B Hossler 69, 71, 78, 73.
292 S Norris (SA) 71, 72, 74, 75; J Harding (SA) 71,
72, 75, 74; A Hadwin (Can) 73, 71, 75, 73; T Pieters
(Bel) 69, 73, 77, 73.
295 P Kizzire 69, 75, 78, 73; M McNealy 73, 71, 78, 73.
297 R MacIntyre (Scot) 70, 71, 80, 76.
298 S Straka (Austria) 71, 72, 79, 76.
Withdrew T Woods 74, 69, 79.Leaderboard
Early final scores
United States unless stated Play-offJ Thomas -5 67 67 74 67 275
W Zalatoris -5 66 65 73 71 275
G Mito Pereira (Chi)-4 68 64 69 75 276
C Young -4 71 67 67 71 276
M Fitzpatrick (Eng)-3 68 69 67 73277
T Fleetwood (Eng) -3 71 70 6967 277C Kirk -3 68 70 71 68277
R McIlroy (N Ire)-2 65 71 74 68278
A Ancer (Mex) -1 67 69 70 73279
S Power (Ire) -1 71 69 67 72 279
T Hoge -1 66 74 7069279
B Steele -1 70 72 69 68 279
J Rose (Eng) E 71 70 71 68280
T Hatton (Eng) E 70 68 74 68280
L Herbert (Aus) E 68 73 68 71280
M Homa E 7069 70 71280
D Riley E 68 68 73 71280
X Schauffele E 68 73 6970280
C Smith (Aus) E 6870 73 69280
W Simpson +1 69 75 65 72 281
S Burns +1 71 67 71 72 281
T Gooch +1 6970 74 68281
S Cink +2 69 68 71 74282
K Na +2 68 71 72 71 282
J Niemann (Chi)+2 68 71 72 71 282
L Glover +2 75 69 68 70 282
R Fowler +2 71 70 71 70282
A Wise +2 69 72 71 70282
S Lowry (Ire) +2 70 72 71 69282
B Watson +3 72 63 73 75 283
A Arnaus (Sp) +3 72 68 70 73283
B Wiesberger (Aut) +3 72 67 74 70283
T Finau +3 69 72 74 68283
G Woodland +470 68 71 75284
M Kuchar +4 67 71 73 73284
P Reed +4 6970 73 72284
B Harman +4 7470 71 69284
J Spieth +4 72 69 74 69284
M Leishman (Aus) +4 72 71 73 68284K Mitchell +4 72 72 72 68284
C Tringale +5 72 68 72 73285
Lee K-Hoon (S Kor)+5 69 73 71 72 285
V Hovland (Nor)+5 7070 75 70285
L List +5 7470 71 70285
T Merritt +5 7370 72 70285
K Streelman +5 71 72 75 67 285
A Schenk +5 71 72 72 70285
L Canter (Eng) +6 72 70 70 74286
H Varner III +6 71 71 72 72286
K Bradley +6 72 70 73 71286
D McCarthy +6 7368 74 71286
C Davis (Aus) +6 72 72 72 70286R1 R2 R3 R4 TotalJ Rahm (Sp) +6 7369 76 68286
R Fox (NZ) +7 7070 70 77287Tiger Woods has never been quick to
accept defeat. “I’m sore,” he said with
some understatement after his third
and last round at the PGA Champion-
ship. On Friday night he had talked of
winning a 16th major but he was done
by Saturday afternoon.
His first withdrawal from a major was
sensible and significant. After his round
of nine-over-par 79 there was little
point exacerbating his injuries and he
may now skip the US Open next
month. The 150th Open at St Andrews
in 52 days’ time will appeal due to its
flatness and history, but the bigger pic-
ture is whether he is capable of prolong-
ing his career in any meaningful way.
The signs had been there despite his
69 in the second round. He visibly
buckled at various times, used his driver
as a walking stick and, instead of going
through his major gears, found himself
stuck with a tentative limp. Woods has
a toweringly high pain threshold and
for him to walk away, it must have been
intense. The truth is he seems way off
being able to compete for four rounds
Writing on the wall for Woods after painful week
and needs around six hours prep and
aftercare just to get through each day. It
can all look utterly joyless.
His movement at Southern Hills has
been worse than at the Masters last
month, the first stage of his experiment,
and that is the starkest worry. Cold
weather cripples his back. Hills
expose his leg and ankle. Unless
the doctors and therapists believe
there is still significant room for
improvement, Woods might have
to contemplate the unthinkable
— that his time as an elite player
is almost up.
Jack Nicklaus is 82 and prob-
ably moved as well as Woods as
he played a round with his
grandson at Augusta National
on Saturday. After his grand-
son’s albatross on the 15th, he
gave an insight into why
Woods has been striving so
hard to play these majors
rather than waiting until heheals. Nicklaus said he had sat next to
Woods at the Champions Dinner at the
Masters and recalled their conversa-
tion about his prognosis. He quoted
Woods’ own conversation with his doc-
tor. “Am I going to hurt next year?” he
had asked. “He said ‘yes’ so why
am I going to wait? I just put up
with hurt.”
Woods is 46. Nicklaus was 46
when he won his last major.
“It’s difficult trying to play
golf and concentrate if
you’re hurting,” he
said. “He’s trying the
best he can. I give him
kudos but it’s prob-
ably more than his
body can handle right
now. It’s hard to see
him withdraw, but
when it hurts so bad you
can’t play, then you
can’t play.”
When Woods won
the Masters in 2019,
after a spinal fusion, it
was deemed the
mother of all come-backs. Old sages then reminded us that
Ben Hogan had won the US Open in
1950 after a head-on collision with a
Greyhound bus, but last year’s car crash
made analogies and inspirations ever
more pertinent.
Woods told us how this was probably
going to pan out when he gave his first
press conference after his accident last
November. “Maybe one day it [his leg]
will be good enough where I can com-
pete against the best players in the
world again,” he said, but he admitted
he would never play his normal sched-
ule now. “I don’t see that type of trend.
I won’t have the opportunity to practise
given the condition of my leg. I’ll just
have a different way of doing it. I’m OK
and at peace with that. I’ve made the
climb enough times.” When he said that
peace was born of getting “that last
major”, most people took that to mean
final rather than most recent.
His inactivity means he is now the
world No 818 and he cannot expect to
contend by only playing the majors.
The next few months may tell him whe-
ther Southern Hills was a setback or a
message.Rick Broadbent
Woods is unlikely to play
again until The Open at
St Andrews in Julyclear of Fitzpatrick, his playing partner,
and Zalatoris, with Young nestled just
behind. Pereira had played in only one
major previously; Young was more ex-
perienced with three missed cuts. More
seasoned chasers like Thomas hoped
the lack of PGA Tour wins among the
pacemakers would lead to rattled
nerves and a tumble down the leader-
board. On the run for home that belief
blossomed. Pereira was hanging on
with some early creative scrambling,
but others were stuttering.
It all meant that those who were try-
ing to steal the spoils from way back
were beginning to ponder miracles.
Fleetwood had been nine adrift at the
start of the play but five birdies in six
holes took him to the fringes of the
leaders. Thomas, though, was on a roll
and inches from a vital birdie on the
last. It was a finale of fine margins and
extra time.
It had been fascinating to see how
they would all start. Fitzpatrick had fin-
ished his third round brilliantly but
pulled his opening tee shot and lost im-
mediate ground. Pereira looked rela-
tively untroubled, but Zalatoris was
catching the eye. His putting has been
the source of much debate, and even
some mockery, but part of the beauty of
golf is that a man ranked 185th on the
PGA Tour in strokes gained in that de-
partment could get into contention. He
only needed to cover six feet for two
early birdies, but then it got interesting
with a mini-odyssey on the 6th. He
found the cart path down the right and,
by the time he had finished what
seemed an interminable debate with a
rules official, they probably felt like old
friends. Zalatoris duly took the penaltydrop, played a deft chip from the path
and made an impressive bogey. On to
the 7th where he flew the green and was
a yard from ending up in the creek. He
escaped with a par and continued his
unorthodox progress.
It is fair to say Southern Hills is a
memorable place for various reasons,
some trivial, some not. The car park
murder forever immortalised in the
Johnny Depp film Black Mass is maca-
bre, while the statue of Tom Lehman’s
son up by the 1st tee is frankly weird. Ex-
pensive beer, cheap shots, high hopes
and heads hurt, not least that of Aaron
Wise, struck by an errant drive from
Cam Smith on Saturday. The curious
tee positions, the crossing holes and the
new faces made for addictive viewing.
Others just left with regret. Of all the
majors Rory McIlroy has played since
he won his last one in 2014, this will
surely be one of the more frustrating.
His round of 64 at the Masters had
spawned proxy soul-searching about
why he could not start like this. This
time he did. Thursday’s 65 put him in
the lead. His second round stalled the
progress but he was still involved. The
third was a hotchpotch of errors, four
shots going in three holes, and then, as
is often the case, he hit back with three
birdies. It was good, bad and ugly, but
when he rolled in four consecutive bird-
ies yesterday the prospect of an unor-
thodox triumph was still simmering. He
is getting closer and his top ten and five
finishes at the majors should not be dis-
missed, but a litany of missed birdie op-
portunities finally slammed that back
door shut. He must have looked at the
mayhem and thought of what might
have been. Again.EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGESThomas, above, took advantage to surge to the top of the leaderboard as
Pereira, left, struggled to maintain the form he showed over the first three days