gets down the hill. >> this is carrying more speed, though. >> oh, easy, easy. up to 18. >> you might have heard a little roar. wagner playing from a divot from 171 yards. >> this will probably play a high cut out of that divot. staid down on it. >> no problem. >> what a shot. that is fantastic. >> closest of the day at 18 from a divot. and that doesn't look good. >> that's the ball of ernie el with mud all over it, now playing his third shot. this one's not easy, you have to land the ball on a little bit of a downslope, not much green. >> always been a great bunker player, though. >> back at 16.

woods looking over a putt for a birdie. >> well, this one might move a little left, gagary, if it lose speed. >> i agree with that. >> but i think you got to hit it outside of the hole to keep the pace. >> i think there's not a tremendous amount of movement. roger, you've followed this man a lot through the years. this putting looks like it's back, doesn't it? very reminiscent of what we've seen in years past. >> you can count on one hand over the course of the last four days putts that he hit that weren't very good putts. obviously didn't make everything, but most every time he's hit a quality putt.

>> nope, nope, nope, nope, that one kind of ran out of speed. he thought it bobbled a little bit. a big smile on his face. i guess he has that luxury. with a four-shot lead. although that lead could shrink here. >> he thinks it ricocheted left off a spike mark. >> spike mark, yeah. >> you can see him like dad always told me, you can't complain when you're winning by four. >> well, mcdowell with a chance to cut into it and make it a three-shot lead with two pretty difficult holes left to play. >> yeah, there's no telling what could happen on the last two, but you would think he certainly has to have this. >> this is not an easy putt, rog, downhill. and it will move right. >> slicer to right.

>> so easy if you get a little tentative to lose it low. >> practice way to the left. break that much, gary? >> there's some movement to it, john, yes. >> he's aiming six inches left. i didn't see that much break. >> wow. >> i mean, that wasn't even close. i thought there can't be that much break. well, mcdowell able to birdie. they head to the 17th tee. tiger still with the four-shot lead. ahead of the green at 17 just a moment ago els for a bogey four. okay. drops the shot to five under par.

now live ian poulter with this putt to remain at 6 under par and alone in third. okay. poulter looking for his best finish of the year on the pga tour. up at 18. >> johnson wagner for birdie, dottie, to get to 6 under. >> dan, i think it would take a little bit of the sting out of this back nine. he missed a short putt at the 13th for par and then three-putted for par back at the 16th. a chance to get into that tie with ian poulter for third. >> jump out of that six-way tie for fourth which he's in right now. >> he thought it was going to go left toward the water and it was straight as can be. this course is taking its toll

today. >> 18th. >> the whole golf course. still playing good golf for his fourth top ten of the year. and back at 17. >> tiger, gary, is the only player under par today in the last eight twosomes, the last eight twosomes, those 15 players are 36 over par. so like a lot of his career, when he had the lead, people melt, crumbled around him. we could say, gary, this is a heck of a round being two under par for the day. the course is tough. >> yes, it is. we're getting word this is a 5 iron? >> it is a 5 iron. >> he's setting up well left. >> started it at that opening on

the left-hand side. it is cutting some, but still a lot left to the hole. i guess you'd have to say mission accomplished. >> yep. very smart shot. take the water out of play. there's the pro tracer following the flight. nice little left-to-right cut shot. johnny, that was one of the things he was saying was different from when he got beat by mcdowell at the chevron that year and a half ago. he said, you hadn't been working with sean foley very much and i really only had one shot in my arsenal at that point and that was a draw. he said now i feel like i can hit a variety of shots. we've seen that today. he's ach more complete player than he was a year and a half ago. just starting to work with sean. >> he's got fade bias. if you notice his drawns haven't drawn back. most of his draws have missed in the right bunker. his draw is not as effective as it used to be, but the cut is

great. especially at augusta, people don't realize that your second shot favor the guys who can cut it historically. if you can hit hook into those greens, forget it. >> mcdowell next to play. >> this is 403. >> this is a low bullet at the left side of the green. >> boy, this is a rifle shot. >> will it stop? just get through the green, but in the shortcut. >> so with tiger safely aboard the 17th with a four-shot lead, we'll be right back. first to check for the u.s. bank nbc sports report. okay. right back down to bay hill in just a moment, but first a quick check of the other headlines. the third entry in the men's

basketball final four. kentucky is the first number one seed to make it through. the cats manhandling baylor this afternoon. 15 final fours for kentucky. that tie the cats with duke for third all time. should be an interesting week in the state of kentucky. rick pitino and lively and toui. over in the women's tourney, two regional semis in the books, maryland rallied to beat texas a&m. on tuesday they'll face notre dame who routed st. bonaventure. to golf now, the champions tour, final round of mississippi golf resort classic. strong final round for michael allen. shoots 66. but fred couples birdieyed the 18th for his seventh championses tour win in 30 starts. we'll see him at the site of his last tour victory, nine years ago.

yani tseng. a look at the amway arena was imploded. built in 1989 for the expansion orlando magic but it's been replaced by the amway center. as a sportscaster once famously said, boom goes the dynamite. back down to bay hill. tiger woods working towards that first pga tour win in more than 2 1/2 years. >> the history for tiger at bay hill is amazing on the cusp of win number seven here. and the victories piled up. 18 under in 2000, then the four-year run continued.

birdie to beat mickelson. 2002, 13 under. that gave him his 30th pga tour win. 2003, fourth in a row. he battled stomach pain and won by 11 shots, then another string in 2008 that tied ben hogan as the hat went flying. then another birdie at the last to beat sean o'hair just by one just after sunset. so you get back on track and the pga tour and do it at a place where he's had so much history. >> more wins in one event than most guys do all career. >> won seven times at firestone. and this would match that here at bay hill. over at 18, ernie els coming home. second shot. >> 165 yards. ball above his feet here. >> okay, ernie, toughest hole on the course today.

six wins. ernie and tiger have won 8 of the last 14 arnold palmer tournaments here at bay hill. as you look at graeme mcdowell at 17. >> ready with his second. going to putt the ball here, rog, as well? >> yes, he is. and this by any definition is a sea-goer, a long one here. should move to his right. not a lot. there's not a lot of slope in this green to speak of. >> a lot of guys have raced the ball by the hole from this position. thncht is carrying some speed. >> seen that more than once today from the left side of the green. more downhill than it appears. >> you know interesting day in

golf, gary, a little sim metry going on. in fact, we mentioned that fred couples won the champions tour event with a birdie at the last. of course, that was joe lacava's former boss, but also today on the lpga tour yani tseng won the classic by sic sx shots. she picks up her 13th win of her career. she's already got five majors. she's only 23 years old. so a lot of people expecting a tiger-like career from yani on the lpga tour. before tiger turned 24 he had 15 wins and a couple of majors. congratulations to yani as she continues what is just an incredible dominance on the lpga tour. >> rog, tiger's putt over 50

feet? >> 53 feet. again, not a lot of slope in the putt but you have to be careful with pace. >> time now for the calloway accuracy shot of the day. presented by callaway razr irons. we go back to henrik stenson's second at the 5th, the par 4 from the rough. and right in. and henrik stenson takes his hat off. anybody bet on that?

asking for donations. >> yeah. >> callaway razr iron shot of the day. and back to 17. >> where mcdowell faces a long putt for a par. >> tough green to read in my estimation, gary. the moves are subtle. they're not readily apparent, you know? >> mm-hmm. >> try to go ever so slightly. off the hole a little too much. >> making it awful easy on tiger. >> yes, he is.

>> had some chances to put pressure on tiger starting with that 9th hole, you know, missed that putt, then the birdie putt at 10. >> the layup at 12, too, led to a bogey on the par 5. >> yep. and then last -- you know, last hole, this off the edge, just not what he needed, but still very good second place position if he doesn't fall apart at the last two. >> looks about 4 1/2 feet inside the hole on the right, gary, would you think? >> i would think, rog, yes. a little bit of break, not a tremendous amount.

>> just like that. >> tiger woods will head to the final hole with a five-shot lead. >> so obviously it is not going to take one of those heroic birdies by tigerer at the 72nd hole here to win. >> you can see right there the look of, well, i couldn't mess this up if i tried. >> lived in this city of orlando for so many years, just after he turned pro back in 1996 made orlando his home. recent move to jupiter in the same city where he has -- where he built this hall of fame legendary career. the chance to win again here in his former backyard.

>> 3 wood here, john, the last couple of days he's taken it up the right side and turned it right to left. >> this into the wind, a little left to right orring something? >> yes, left to right, might hurt slightly. >> the old boss for joe lacava won today. the new boss might win. >> this could be a little low shot here. >> even if he pulled a jeff overon the who hit four ball in the water, that would probably make a nine on this hole. >> a lot of noise and commotion around here. people are pretty excited. >> something's going on. >> there's just people moving everywhere. and pictures being taken. >> this 18th hole has eight, ten deep all the way up the left

side, and the right side as well. >> play this hole far, far, far, tallest hole on the golf course. this week he's played it well. >> this turning right to left and right down the center. beautiful tee shot. >> boy, the tee ball, even made the comment now i've got the tee ball straightnd out, i don't need to worry about that any more. that's a nice comment from him. >> johnny, do you think augusta should give ernie a special exemption to play that tournament? >> no, golf is no respecter of persons, okay? the greatest part about golf it is what t is. it's not sentimental, the bottom line is he didn't make it. maybe if he doesn't win next week. >> ernie felt the same way. as it goes off the tee behind him. >> takes it down the left,

center cutting a bit, this is fine. >> ernie said, you know what? i don't expect it. i'm not going to lobby for it. i put myself in position and we'll see what happens for ernie in houston next week. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] welcome to the ultra life. ♪ where you never have to settle for less. ♪ with 95 calories, 2.6 carbs and one exceptionally smooth taste, michelob ultra is perfectly balanced for your life.

here at bill hill. had wins here in 2009. in the same city where he built this legendary career, but it's just a few miles away here where his personal life became unraveled, the accident thanksgiving night. and one of the most unlikely and unexpected falls, johnny, from the heights of the sport, from those heights to the depths and if you call phase one, the 71 pga tour wins and the 14 majors, this is really the beginning of phase two. the first win of the resurrection of the personal life and the golf swing and the golf career. >> i totally agree. i've said it prior to that this every golfer has sort of two

careers. you have the first first, and then sometimes you have a lull, then you have a second career. some guys have a pretty good second career. if i was coaching i'd say you made the mistakes you made. you have a new swing. see what you can do with this one. all the bonus points. now all the stuff he's done so great. then of course, some of the fall from grace, he's paid the price and hopefully he's made good changes, but he's got a lot of game. it wouldn't total me surprise me if he were to win 35, 40 times from now. he can do it. he's going to kick butt. >> in this phase two at the age of 36, four knee surgeries, we'll see where it all ends up. second shot 18 for tiger with a five-shot lead. >> 179, wind coming from the left. might be a touch of a help in it

now. feels like it is almost, almost at a cross left to right. >> he's going to play a pretty good shrimp from there, i think. he'll hit it left center of the green and, of course, what i'm saying is that where where he's standing right there, he's going to play a shot like that and into probably 25, 30 feet of the hole to where he wants and takes out all the carry. >> should be left to right. that's where it should be. >> there you go. >> now it's more like it. >> for a second there, i felt like the wind was coming against and from the left, now they say back where it should be, which i think is a little bit of help. >> see where his eyes look. he's looking right there. so he's going to hit that ball right at that line with the cut.

>> he's starting it well left. he's cutting it left of the hole. >> a little tiger woods thunder at bay hill where he's won a few from a similar spot to win it. won't need to do that today. looks like he's walking a little gingerly right now. >> this is eight straight days of golf. tiger not only competed earlier in the week he had a practice session at augusta on sunday before the monday, tuesday tournament here in orlando. a lot of expectation how his leg and achilles were feeling but tiger pronounced himself healthy and said, no problem. i can play this much golf. after having to withdraw from the wgc cadillac championship in

miami. >> this from 167, about the same line just left of tiger's. >> he's just playing for second right now. he's not in the water. he can two-putt and still get second place. so that's his goal at the moment. because first is out of the question. >> smile on his face. >> now he's walking -- >> there's a spring in his step. the first pga tour win with joey lacava and the first win on the pga tour in 924 days. 108 official tournaments, there have been 72 different winner on the pga tour since tiger woods' last pga tour win. how ironic would it be that this would be pga tour win number 72. struck by his comments when he was asked yesterday what a win would mean, tiger simply put in

just the old tiger speak, it would mean number 72. and that's not a bad number either. >> no. pressure off joe lacava, too, for that matter, right? for him to win with tiger. >> this is a big moment in golf and should set the theme for augusta. there were some who believed -- and there really were. there were people who were public with comments such as i don't think that tiger's ever going to win again. there were moments when the resurrection of the golf game -- and again we can only speculate on the mental and personal side of what tiger's been through,

but looking at his swing, heavy criticism on sean foley, what's going on. and all of a sudden it seems to have just all kind of clicked and culminated here. >> i usually try to give all the credit to the player, but sean foley, what a month he's had. hunter mahan won the match play, justin rose at doral at the cadillac, now tiger woods, so sean foley must be saying good things to these players because they are winning. >> then there's the other side that said there's too much talent, there's too much will to win. there's just too much left for us not to experience more winning ways from tiger. >> you can see the relief on tiger. just the weight has just gotten off his shoulders. and look at that. you can see that. that's a happy man. >> this was just earlier. and we just got a glimpse of tiger taking a moment to himself

to say, here we are. we finally got back to this moment. >> if he was going to get a win in this part of the year, it would have been at san diego which he didn't play because he just loves that course. and then this one is the other one. >> graeme mcdowell for birdie. two clear of poulter in solo third at 6 under. >> nice pace on this putt. >> and for mcdowell, this is going to be his second runner-up here at bay hill. 2005, the other time. outside his u.s. open title, in fact, at pebble beach have come here at bay hill. >> that started his double bogey out of the bat on the 1th host . if he could have put the pressure on tiger at the beginning, maybe he could have passed tiger today. >> 74 for mcdowell.

came up a little short. now just one man left on the golf course and the one thing that tiger's done this week, roger, he's had three good rounds out of four in some events. and the one round has really sort of killed him. this is the first time he's had four rounds under par since the 2010 masters, his first event back from his -- >> incident. >> we've seen it so many times. three in fact to win this tournament. birdies on the 72nd hole. roger, what about when you don't really need it? can you still bury it here? >> like we've seen him make this putt before how many times? >> three to win, his previous six.