Quiet Woods Watches Chances Wash Away

The look in his eyes said it all, which had to be enough, because Tiger Woods had nothing to say.

Woods trudged up the steps from the 18th green, the ones that led him to the room in the clubhouse where he would sign his scorecard. He never lifted his head, never looked to the side, never acknowledged the fans who called his name and never once smiled.

His mood matched his all-black ensemble, which also was the color of the sky Sunday at Riviera Country Club.

If it was a soggy, wet, cold, miserable day at the Nissan Open, Woods’ body language mirrored the sorry conditions.

This is what a three-putt double bogey on the 18th hole does to you.

Woods fell from a tie for fifth to a tie for 13th after rounds of 67-70, which are probably going to be the only two rounds that are played because of rain.

After he signed his scorecard, Woods made a quick left turn down a hallway and left without sharing his thoughts.

Speculating on his mental frame of mind probably isn’t that tough. Angry, upset and disappointed are good places to start.

Woods was close to applying the finishing touches on what would have been a round of three-under-par 68 right up to the minute he played the last hole of his two-day excursion to finish a round that should have been over by Friday.

From 168 yards, Woods’ approach drifted left into the greenside rough, about 63 yards from the pin. He chipped onto the green and the ball rolled slowly toward the hole, stopping nine feet short.

Kevin Sutherland, who was on the same line as Woods but slightly farther away, putted first and the ball stayed left of the hole as Woods watched, arms folded.

On Woods’ first putt, the ball stayed left, just as Sutherland’s had done, and stopped three feet past the hole.

On Woods’ second putt, the ball spun out of the hole.

On Woods’ third putt, he tapped it in from two feet.

Double bogeys do not put a smile on Woods’ face, especially at the 18th hole.

But for Woods, it simply hasn’t been his week at Riviera, again.

His seventh appearance here as a pro probably won’t produce a victory, which would put Riviera in an unwelcome position in Woods’ resume -- the only tournament he has played more than four times without winning.

There was more bad news for Woods. That chance he had of regaining the No. 1 ranking has all but floated away at Riviera.

If the tournament is washed out today after 36 holes, he only gets 75% of the ranking points of a normal event.

If by some miracle of nature they get in 54 holes, he gets 100% of the points and, of course, has another 18 holes to try to move up the scoreboard. Woods is four shots behind co-leaders Adam Scott and Chad Campbell.

Woods could replace Vijay Singh as No. 1 with a third-place finish -- 75% of the 25.6 points for third place equals 19.2 points -- but that won’t happen if the event is washed out after 36 holes as expected.

And since Woods is the defending champion at this week’s $7.5-million Accenture World Match Play Championship at La Costa, he has a large number of ranking points at risk if he doesn’t repeat or if Singh plays well.

Singh has been ranked No. 1 for 24 weeks. His lead over Woods is 11.97 to 11.85.

Woods is to play Nick Price in Wednesday’s first round at La Costa, where rain, rankings and Riviera may be a thing of the past, if he’s lucky.