Tiger shoots 65 to qualify for Tour Championship

[September 11, 2018]  Tiger Woods shot a 5-under-par 65 in the rain-delayed final round of the BMW Championship on Monday to finish the tournament at 17 under and qualify for next week's Tour Championship.

Woods began the final round at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa. five shots off the lead of England's Justin Rose.

Woods began his day with a birdie on the first hole and rolled in three more to make his turn in 4-under 31 as he climbed toward the leaders. However, he bogeyed No. 10 before gaining shots at Nos. 11 and 13. Within two of the lead, he put his tee shot in a green-side bunker at the par-3 14th hole and effectively ended his shot at winning when his par put slid right of the hole.

Woods did make birdie at No. 16 before closing out with a pair of pars. He finished in a tie for sixth, three strokes back of the playoff between Justin Rose and Keegan Bradley, which Bradley won.

After being tied for the lead with an opening-round 62 on Thursday, Woods shot 70 and 66 over the next two days to put himself behind a deep pack of players atop the leaderboard.

"I got off to a nice, quick start," he told the Golf Channel shortly after completing his final round. "Didn't do anything in the second round, and kind of hung in there until Monday."

Woods was moved up five spots to No. 20 in the FedEx Cup standings with Sunday's results. He has yet to win in his latest comeback, but secured his seventh top-10 finish of 2010.

"I've played a few tournaments where I've come close at the end, and just didn't quite, obviously, get the 'W,'" Woods said. "But at the end of the season here, to say that I've made it back to the Tour Championship after what I've been through is a pretty good accomplishment."

Tiger Woods prepares to tee off on the 15th tee during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Aronimink GC. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Woods tweeted on Aug. 30, 2017 that doctors had cleared him to chip and putt, four months after undergoing fusion surgery on his back -- his fourth back procedure in all. A little more than 12 months later, he will be returning to East Lake in Atlanta for the Tour Championship -- which concludes five days before the start of the Ryder Cup, which he will also be competing in after earning a captain's pick from Jim Furyk.

"Lots of hard work," he said when asked what has gone into this comeback. "Lots of hard work and patience, and just constant feel and understanding of fluidity.

"The game has changed because the body has changed. The body has changed significantly since I first started, so trying to get used to equipment. And changing equipment because my swing is changing because my body is changing.

"It's been quite a year."

--Field Level Media

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