Tiger Woods results: Ugly finish to a streaky round has Tiger just inside top 10

Only the most cynical curmudgeons can’t be sucked in by what we’ve watched the last two days at the Hero World Challenge. Tiger Woods is back playing competitive golf and doing it with some of the vintage swagger and shotmaking that made him the greatest singular force in the history of the game. Sure, some of that “new Tiger” stuff -- the wild drives, missed putts, loose chips -- have crept in at times. But viewing the week so far in total, it’s been a success and the grumps telling us to calm down can go stand in the corner and be quiet.

No one is arguing Tiger is back to being the dominant No. 1 player in the world. He’s just back playing golf, competitively, in front of cameras and for us to consume. After a 466-day hiatus, we’re allowed to lose perspective ... like when the Big Cat opens up Saturday’s third round with three straight birdies in his first three holes...

... or when he pulls one those absurd sandy recovery shots from the glory days for a fourth birdie in a five holes.

Golf is supposed to pipe down in December, be quiet and not make a sound. But Tiger’s return after 15 months and the birdie streaks he’s put together over the past three days have put the game front-and-center during the silly season. Woods is that kind of draw — some are drawn by their hate, many for their curiosity, and others for their decades-long love affair. Woods has given everyone something to watch this week.

Saturday’s 2-under 70 puts him in the middle of the pack of this 18-man event He’s almost certainly not going to win, that will likely be Hideki Matsuyama, who is out in front of the field at 16-under and serves as a reminder of all the young talent that have come to own the game during Tiger’s abdication. But winning was so far from the objective of this week for Woods.

Saturday’s round hit a rough stretch in much the same way his opener did on Thursday. In that first round, Tiger fell apart on the back nine with a 40, going from a tie for first on his 8th hole back into second-to-last place by the end of the round. Those stretches are going to still be there -- you’d expect nothing less after the layoff and lack of reps with what is a new motion from the last swing that many blame for helping wreck his back.

The positive turn on Saturday was that Tiger held on through the rough stretch. He made two straight bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 and then burned the edge on what should have been a made birdie putt at the par-5 15th. He whispered out an “f-bomb” as opposed to the furious outburst that are part of the Tiger package, and moved onto the next hole. Oil was leaking -- that old Scott Cameron putter, which is back in the bag this week and responsible for 13 of his 14 majors, had lost a little magic and he missed five straight fairways coming down the stretch. It was a grind, but he found something on the 17th with the flatstick to get one late red number.

Of course he hit one in the water a hole later to finish with a double bogey, but the point of this week is that fist pump on 17! Let’s have a little perspective and holiday cheer about this.

Tiger will likely begin his final round inside the top 10 of a 17-man field. He’s showed no signs of back trouble. The chip yips have not appeared. His irons have been sharp. The old putter looks strong. The driver is streaky and still wild. It’s been a fun 54 holes, full of club twirls and struts and fist pumps, and we’ll get 18 more on Sunday before we pack things up for the year. It’s a win for everyone.