The story of Tiger Woods’ worst-ever PGA Tour round and what the 15-time major winner admitted about it three years later

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Tiger Woods has produced some of the greatest rounds of golf ever witnessed on the PGA Tour.

Whether it was Woods’ 2000 US Open victory at Pebble Beach, his remarkable Masters victory in 1997 or the final round at Augusta National in 2019, Woods’ catalogue of iconic moments will live long in the memory.

However, after losing the number one ranking in 2013, some of Woods’ worst-ever golf ensued. Multiple back surgeries left the American struggling for form.

Woods played just seven times in the 2013/14 season and 11 times the following year. After finishing T17 at The Masters, Woods struggled at The Players Championship before teeing it up at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament, where the worst round of his PGA Tour career took place.

Tiger Woods worst ever PGA Tour round

After carding rounds of 73 and 70 at Muirfield Village, Woods sat one under for the tournament as Saturday’s play got underway.

Tiger was looking to make a move and play his way back into contention. What transpired was an 18 holes to forget.

Woods started the day with three consecutive pars before dropping shots on the fourth and fifth. A double-bogey followed on the eighth before Woods dropped two more shots on the par-four ninth.

After going out in a six-over 42, things were about to get a whole lot worse. He would make four more bogeys on the back nine and just one birdie – which came on 16 – before heading to the 18th tee.

Muirfield Village’s finishing hole is notoriously challenging, and after finding the hazard with his tee shot, Woods would struggle his way down the hole and eventually make a quadruple-bogey eight.

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What Tiger Woods said about his worst-ever PGA Tour round

Unsurprisingly, Woods wasn’t in the mood to discuss his third-round display. Thankfully, he restored some pride during the final round, carding a two-over 74, which included a double-bogey on the last.

Three years later, during the 2018 Memorial, Woods briefly discussed what happened 36 months prior. “I didn’t want to have anyone watch me play the way I was playing,” Woods said.

Zac Blair, who was a rookie at the time, was playing alongside Woods. Despite witnessing his struggle up close, Blair revealed it was still one of the coolest rounds of his life.

“From the first hole on, I couldn’t have been more blown away,” Blair told ESPN. “My favourite athlete of all time, and to get paired with him was really cool. Everything exceeded my expectations. He was my idol, and I tried not to expect much, but he was really nice. He talked to me all day and talked to me about fishing in Utah. The Chambers Bay US Open was coming up, and we talked about it because I had played in the US Amateur there.”