Tiger Woods Is Tantalizingly Close
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By DERON SNYDER
Through the first three rounds of the Abu Dhabi Championship in the United Arab Emirates, Tiger Woods was in flashback mode, playing as if he were still the world’s No. 1 golfer by a large margin. He was atop the leaderboard entering Sunday’s final round, a position he hadn’t enjoyed in an official tournament in more than two years.
The ending was disappointing, with Woods finishing third to unheralded Englishman Robert Rock. But it also marked Woods’ third consecutive top-three finish, including a win at the Chevron World Challenge, a charitable event that marked his first victory since November 2009 … the month his world came to a crash.
Despite falling short Sunday, Woods was upbeat about his performance. “I’m pleased at the progress,” he told reporters after shooting par in the final round to finish two strokes back. “Basically, since playing in Australia [at the end of 2011], my stroke-play events have been pretty good. I just need to keep building, keep getting more consistent.”
