TIGER WOODS’ army of fans shared his pain as he hobbled to one of the worst rounds of his career, on day three of the USPGA Championship.
Ex-golf star turned Instagram influencer Paige Spiranac expressed her sadness at seeing Woods struggle.
She also praised the fight shown by Woods to come back from five consecutive bogies
Spiranac was one of many to extend her sympathies to the golf legend
Spiranac tweeted: “It’s hard watching Tiger be in so much pain. The fight he has to get through this round is incredible.”
Gary Lineker also sympathised with the golf legend as injury hampered his performance – but the Match of the Day presenter also praised Woods’ mental fortitude.
The former England ace wrote: “Difficult to watch Tiger Woods struggle and hobble around the golf course.
“At the same time, though, it’s inspiring to witness his incredible mentality. He never, ever gives up. The fact he’s out there and made the cut is in itself miraculous.”
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Sky pundits Rich Beem and Andrew Coltart pleaded with the 15-time Major champion not to tarnish his legacy as Woods, 46, lurched to a nine over par 79 at Southern Hills.
That was two shots worse than his previous highest score at the USPGA – just over a month after he sank to his worst ever effort at the Masters, a third round 78 that he repeated a day later.
That was enough for Woods to call it a day, admitting he was “sore” and struggled to build momentum throughout the round.
But he hinted he will be back in action soon, revealing he plans to “do some work” in order to better his performance.
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There have been a couple of highlights since Woods returned to action at Augusta, 14 months after he almost lost his right leg in a life-threatening car crash.
He shot a one under par 71 in the opening round of the Masters and added a respectable 74 to make the cut, while a battling 69 in the second round here made sure he was around for the weekend again.
But it is obvious Woods does not have the stamina to cope with four rounds in tough conditions.
And in Augusta and Southern Hills he has encountered two of the most undulating slogs on the circuit.
Beem, who held off Woods to win the USPGA title twenty years ago, said his old rival should not even think about teeing off in next month’s US Open at another tough test, Brookline in Massachusetts.
Beem commented: “I’m going to be selfish here, and say Tiger please don’t go to the US Open.
“Rehab that leg some more, and turn up at the Open in St Andrews in July ready to play, on a course where you’ve won twice before.
“That is one of the easiest walks in the game, and I just don’t see how another four competitive rounds at Brookline are going to help at this stage.”
The ex-golfer even danced for joy after Woods confirmed he would be playing at The Masters
Coltart was even more concerned about Woods’ golfing future.
He said: “I don’t like the idea of someone who was so great struggling like this, and at best, performing like just any other player going forward.”
A third member of the Sky team, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, was slightly more optimistic about Woods’ chance of being more competitive in future.
“I think we have to reserve judgement for at least a year, and see where we are then in terms of the end of his career – and hopefully, it won’t be imminent,” said McGinley.
It looked like every shot was agony for Woods – and for everyone watching him limp and lurch from tee to green.
After a reasonable start that saw him play the first five holes in one over par, it all started to unravel at the 218 yards sixth.
That is a daunting par three, and Woods hooked his tee shot into the water – and almost did the same thing from the drop zone, as he ran up a triple bogey six.
The former world No 1 then missed a short putt for par at the seventh, and kicked off a run of FIVE bogeys in a row when he found a fairway bunker on nine. His recovery shot failed to clear the lip, and became embedded in the face of the trap.
A free drop meant he was able to play his third shot from the fairway, otherwise it could have been even more excruciating.
Woods was ten over par through 13 holes, and as Southern Hills is a par 70, it seemed certain he would fail to break 80 for only the fourth time in his career.
But his pride and sheer bloody-mindedness would not allow that.
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The crowd favourite earned the biggest cheer of the day by sinking a 36 footer for his only birdie at the 15th.
And, amazingly, he played the final five holes in one under to ‘salvage’ that 79.
