NASSAU, Bahamas — Charley Hoffman handled blustery conditions Saturday for a five-shot lead in the Hero World Challenge as Tiger Woods fell 10 shots behind.

The wind was the strongest it has been all week at Albany Golf Club, and it showed in the scores. Hoffman had a 2-under 70 that matched the best score of the day, and only three others in the 18-player field broke par.

The wind also took the air out of any hopes that Woods, playing for the first time in 10 months following a fourth back surgery, would get into the mix at his holiday tournament. Instead, he was blown away early and battled late for a 75.

Woods opened with four bogeys in seven holes. He went 11 consecutive holes without hitting a green. He didn’t have a birdie putt on four of the par 5s he played. And he didn’t make a birdie until the 14th hole, removing his cap to acknowledge the crowd and holding up a finger to indicate his first birdie.

“It’s ridiculous it took me 14 holes to make a birdie,” Woods said. “At that time, I’d already played four par 5s and nothing happened. Just one of those days. Anything I did right ended up in a bad spot, and then everything I did wrong, it was really bad.”

Hoffman hit his share, sending his tee shot far right into the bushes on a sand dune right of the 10th fairway. He took a penalty drop onto a sandy path and wound up with a double bogey that brought a half-dozen players back into the mix.

But not for long.

Hoffman closed with three birdies over his last five holes, including the 18th hole for the second straight day. That put him at 14-under 202.

Justin Rose, an Albany resident, had a 71 and joined British Open champion Jordan Spieth (72) at 9-under 207.

Francesco Molinari of Italy was another shot behind.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Jordan Zunic tied the course with an 8-under 64 to take a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the Australian PGA Championship in Golf Coast, Australia.

Zunic needed birdies on his final two holes for a 59, but bogeyed the 17th and double-bogeyed the 18th.

• Louis de Jager shot a 4-under 67 to catch Arjun Atwal atop the leaderboard going into the final round of the Mauritius Open.

Atwal made a three-putt bogey on the last hole to drop to 13-under. Atwal last won a tournament on the European Tour in 2008, while de Jager is looking for his first tour title.

They are one shot ahead of Dylan Frittelli (68) and Miguel Tabuena (67).

Copy the Story Link