Nuts and bolts for Tiger’s return to contention in DC

Tiger Woods is back playing the weekend in Washington, DC. It’s been three years since we could say that and we’re in a position for this event to go out with a bang. This is almost certainly the final year of the Quicken Loans National, a Tour stop that Tiger and his people organized and launched in 2007. Quicken is taking their sponsorship dollars to a new event in the Detroit area, and the “National” as a DC-area stop will likely cease to exist. Unless there’s a late Hail Mary, it won’t be on the forthcoming 2019 schedule, which is due out any day now.

The failure to keep this event on the schedule is a shame and there’s blame to go around in many different directions. We’ll get into that polemical stuff after it’s over, but for now, we’re here to enjoy the present.

And the present is Tiger Woods in the hunt on the weekend at a real, actual PGA Tour event. Woods is 5-under after a second round 65 that shot him up the leaderboard heading into the weekend. He started Friday near the cut line and ended up just outside the top 10. He’s four shots off the lead and appears to be comfortable with his new mallet putter. That leading number is also not likely to move a ton, given the heat and conditions in DC all weekend.

The course should just play firmer, faster, and tougher and many of those mid-60s rounds should dissipate. If Tiger can post a couple rounds slightly under par (#LiveUnderPar baby), then we’re in for some fireworks (timely reference) come Sunday afternoon in DC.

Tiger’s tee time is at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday so most of his round will fall within the TV coverage window. But prior to that, you can watch his first couple holes on Facebook, which is where the PGA Tour is now housing the weekend featured groups coverage. If you’re a PGA Tour Live subscriber, you cannot get it on that app and must now watch Facebook. It’s fine that they’re now using that app, but I’m not a fan of it being “exclusively” there early on the weekends. It’s annoying, in my opinion, but that’s what we’re stuck with now.

Here are your media options for Saturday at the Quicken Loans National:

1 to 2:45 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

3 to 6 p.m. ET — CBS

8 a.m. to 1 p.m. — “Featured Groups” coverage on Facebook Watch

1 to 6 p.m. — PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage -- Nos. 1, 14 & 17 (No subscription required)

1 to 2:45 p.m. ET — Golf Channel LiveExtra simulcast stream

3 to 6 p.m. ET — PGATour.com/CBS simulcast stream

Noon to 7 p.m. ET — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)