Woods Can't Build Memorial Momentum

Washington, Jun 1 (AFP) Tiger Woods said his frustrating two-under par 70 on Saturday left him out of contention for a sixth Memorial Tournament title, but he saw encouraging signs for this month's US Open.

"I'm so far back, and there's too many guys (ahead of him)," said Woods, who claimed his 15th major title at the Masters in April.

"I'm not going to win the golf tournament," he added.

"But, hopefully, I go out and play a positive round of golf tomorrow and get something out of my round like I haven't done the first three days and get some positive momentum going into the (US) Open."

Woods needed to gain ground after a double bogey at the par-five 15th stalled his momentum on Friday.

And he was charging over the first nine holes at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, where he holed out from a bunker for a birdie at the first.

He stuck his approach shot three feet from the pin for a birdie at the third, and birdied the par-five fifth and seventh to make the turn four-under for the day.

But he stalled with a double bogey on the 10th, where he drove into a fairway bunker and his first attempt to blast out hit the lip and dropped back in.

He bogeyed the 14th, and after back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 he dropped another shot at the last, where he again drove into a bunker.

Woods said his 70, which left him at four-under for the tournament, was the highest score he could of shot on a day when he saw a bevy of putts lip out.

"I'd never seen a round that lipped out more shots than today -- six lip-outs or seven lip-outs today," he said.

"It's frustrating, because that was the highest round I could possibly have shot today. I had it going, I was playing well," added Woods, who will return Sunday aiming to build some momentum going into the third major championship of the year, that starts June 13 at Pebble Beach, where Woods lifted the US Open trophy in 2000 by a record 15 strokes. AFP SSC

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