Tiger Woods one stroke off lead entering final round at Valspar Championship

Brandon Schlager

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Tiger Woods one stroke off lead entering final round at Valspar Championship image

Break out your Sunday best. Five years since his last PGA Tour victory, Tiger Woods is in contention at the Valspar Championship and will attempt to chase down a tournament championship in that forgotten, famous red shirt.

The 14-time major champion carded a 4-under 67 in Saturday's third round, his strongest showing yet this weekend, to pull into a three-way tie for second — one shot off the pace set by Canadian Corey Conners, who's at 9 under for the tournament. Woods is even with Justin Rose and Brandt Snedeker at 8 under.

Woods' last win on Tour came in 2013 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

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The third round mostly went Woods' way. He collected five birdies, his only blemish coming by way of bogey on the par-3 13th. He was driving long with fairway precision and hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation. The short game was working, too, with Woods yet to three-putt all weekend.

In short, he was the same fist-pumping, excitement-inducing Woods golf fans have been hoping would reemerge. 

Woods has endured a series of back injuries and underwent a fourth surgery to help try and correct the issue last year. Strong play of late, including a 12th-place finish at last month's World Hero Classic, are encouraging signs Woods' long road back to competitive form may be nearing its end.

With Woods in his best position for contention in years, expect millions of eyeballs to catch a curious glimpse. He tees off at 1:50 p.m. ET.

The Valspar Championship is presumably a tune-up as Woods continues his preparation for a return to The Masters. Follow our live leaderboard, updates and highlights of Round 3 at the Valspar Championship below.

Valspar Championship leaderboard

Click here for our live  Valspar Championship leaderboard  with up-to-date scores and tee times for Tiger and the field. 

Tiger Woods' Round 3 results, more from Valspar Championship

5:53 — It's official. Conners taps in for par on 18. He's the tournament leader through three rounds at 9 under, but Woods is heading into Sunday one shot off the lead of a PGA Tour event. It's been awhile. There's a three-way tie for second between Woods, Justin Rose and Brandt Snedeker.

5:45 —  Tiger's day is done. Five birdies, one bogey, for a 4-under 67, his best round so far this weekend. He's tied for second right now and Corey Conners comes up to 18 with a one-stroke lead.

5:29 — Another par for Woods on 17, but Conners settles for bogey on the 16th. Woods is in a three-way tie for second at 8 under, one stroke off the lead.

5:15 — Woods reaches the 16th green in two and two-putts for par. He's hit 12 of 16 greens so far today and hasn't three-putted all weekend.

5:03 — Woods is in for par on 15. Status quo ahead of him, too.

4:57 — The course has been very much player-friendly today.

4:52 — Woods taps in for birdie on 14 and is back at 8-under after his first bogey of the day. He and Justin Rose are two strokes behind Conners.

4:50 — Proof.

4:47 — Woods just went 326 off the tee and 230-plus to reach the 14th green in two. The power is on today.

4:34 — Woods drops back a bit with a bogey on the par-3 13th. He missed wide on his tee shot and wound up in the bunker with his second, so it could've been worse. Meanwhile, Conners sinks another birdie on No. 12 and Woods suddenly trails the Canadian leader by three. Justin Rose is now alone in second at 8 under.

4:27 — Woods was steady on 11 and 12 and remains at 8 under.

4:16 — Aside front the back-to-back bogey slip-up, Corey Conners has been on top of his game holding off the pack. He regains the solo lead at 9 under.

3:54 — This is where the optimism kicks in around Woods' return to prominence. In previous tournaments between back procedures, it was near impossible for Woods to sustain play. For every birdie, a couple bogies, etc. That hasn't been the case in 2018 and certainly isn't today. He's looking good. No real adversity so far.

3:52 —  Then Woods drains ANOTHER 20-foot birdie putt on No. 10. He and Conners both 8 under.

3:50 — Corey Conners stops the bleeding and birdies No. 9, too, so he's back up a stroke on Woods, Brandt Snedeker and Paul Casey.

3:48 — We've seen the first pump a few times today. It never gets old.

3:42 — Well, that's a hell of a way to finish the front nine. Woods chips in for birdie on No. 9 and takes a share of the lead at 7 under. 

3:31 —  Woods hasn't gained any ground on Conners, but he's keeping pace with three consecutive pars. He moves to the ninth hole tied with four others at 6 under.

3:14 —  Corey Conners sags to 7-under thanks to back-to-back bogeys. His lead is down to a single shot.

3:06 — If you're trying to find Tiger on TV, tournament coverage has switched over to NBC for the afternoon.

2:49 — Woods gets a decent lie with his approach on No. 5 for a potential chip-in opportunity for eagle. He gets to within 3 feet and sinks the putt for his second birdie, moving to 6 under. He's tied for second with partner Brandt Snedeker and Sam Burns.

2:43 — Make that another birdie for leader Corey Conners, his third in four holes. The pace is now at 9-under.

2:37 — Woods pars the fourth hole. A long par 5 awaits next.

2:34 — Meanwhile Corey Conners pads his lead with a birdie on No. 3. He's 8-under on the tournament.

2:27 — Chirp, chirp. Woods holes a birdie putt from about 20 feet out on the par 4 third hole, his longest made putt of the week. He's at 5-under, back to within two shots of leader Corey Conners.

2:12 —  Woods buries a clutch putt to save par on the second hole. He remains at 4-under for the tournament.

1:57 —  Woods' opening drive went 320 yards. He maneuvered out of a greenside bunker and set up an 8-foot putt for birdie, but missed. He'll settle for par on Hole 1.

1:45 —  It's a windy morning at Innisbrook as Tiger tees off.

12:45 p.m. ET — Woods has taken the practice green. If you placed a bet on his outfit today, well, there you have it.

Tee time: 1:45 p.m. ET

Partner: Brandt Snedeker

More Valspar Championship updates

Brandon Schlager

Brandon Schlager Photo

Brandon Schlager is an assistant managing editor at The Sporting News. A proud Buffalo, N.Y. native and graduate of SUNY Buffalo State, he joined SN as an intern in 2014 and now oversees editorial content strategy.