Tiger Woods got off to a reasonably strong start at the 2013 BMW Championship, but a roller-coaster finish prevented the world No. 1's five-under round of 66 on Thursday from being closer to the top of the leaderboard.

Tiger began the day with a birdie off the 10th hole at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill., and proceeded to par his way through seven of the next eight holes. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 got him to minus-four:

However, two three-putt bogeys in the next three holes put a damper on his day. Brandt Snedeker held the lead in the clubhouse at eight under par when Woods finished.

The margin is only three strokes, though, thanks to a closing birdie by Woods at the par-four ninth, which was his final hole.

It had to feel good after a myriad of short misses that preceded that relatively long-distance putt.

Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker supplied Tiger's thoughts on the round:

Tiger post round: "I'm not exactly real happy. I played well, just didn't get much out of it."

  The tracker also unsafely assumed Woods would tap in for par after a birdie miss at the sixth, but it was ultimately mistaken after a shocking miss on an automatic putt for most players—especially Woods:

Being second in the FedEx Cup standings in the third leg of the PGA Tour postseason leaves Woods in wonderful shape and easily in for the season finale. What really made this round encouraging was that he bounced back strong from a poor tie for 65th in the previous Deutsche Bank Championship.

Tiger Woods BMW Championship Round 1 Scorecard*

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	5	4	35
Score	4	2	3	5	3	4	3	5	3	32
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Par	4	3	4	4	5	4	4	3	5	36	71
Score	3	3	4	4	5	4	4	2	5	34	66

Note: Started on No. 10, via PGATour.com

A week off between the last tournament gave Woods time to presumably rest up, as he struggled through back spasms at The Barclays and was presumably affected at least somewhat in light of his lackluster effort in Boston.

It all looked to have paid off on the first day at Conway Farms. Woods didn't play his very best, but he shook off any notion of rust from an idle week by recording seven birdies.

His approach shots and distance control were spot-on for the majority of the day, as many of his birdie conversions came from close range. One of those came at the par-four fifth hole, where he stuck it to four feet in the midst of his run of three-putts:

Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel pointed out the way Woods' day trended near the end:

he mistakes Woods made down the stretch were essentially unforced errors with the putter, which has been extremely solid for him all year long, as he ranked first in total putting entering this tournament.

Even after those two three-jacks, Woods still managed to bounce back with a birdie at No. 7. Though he was disappointed to miss a short one at the par-five eighth to get to minus-five, he ultimately achieved that number with his putt at the last.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

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To nitpick an otherwise solid day on the course, Woods' lack of a birdie on any of the par-fives is somewhat of a red flag.

When Woods is on top of his game, he's almost always capitalizing on those scoring opportunities. If he can get two out of three in Round 2 and avoid the uncharacteristic three-putt pitfalls, the 14-time major champion should figure into the hunt entering the weekend. 

By hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation on a blustery but favorable scoring day, it will take only a bit of cleaning up with the flat iron for Woods to prevail if his ball-striking stays this sharp.

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AKRON, Ohio -- Tiger Woods flirted with history on Friday at Firestone Country Club, settling for a 9-under-par 61 that matched his career-best score and gave him a commanding seven-stroke lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.Woods birdied the first four holes on the back side but couldn't make another birdie coming in, although he made a 26-footer for par on the last hole to match the 61 he shot three previous times, including in 2000 at Firestone.

He was bidding to become just the sixth player to shoot 59 in PGA Tour history and was in position to do it through 13 holes, needing two more birdies (and no bogeys) on the closing five holes.

"It felt really good," Woods said in a TV interview after his round. "I had it going. Four under through 3 is always a nice thing to have. I let the round build from there."

Woods also referenced shooting 59 at his former home course of Iselworth prior to the 1997 Masters.

Stuart Appleby was the last player to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour, at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. No player has ever broken 60 on the European Tour and Annika Sorenstam is the only LPGA player to achieve golf's Holy Grail.

It was Woods' best score since shooting a final-round 62 in 2002 at the Honda Classic, where the PGA National Course is also par-70. The next best score of the day was a 4-under-par 66 by John Merrick. The scoring average for the day was 71.1.

Playing partner Hideki Matsuyama shot 68. Woods, who has won the Bridgestone Invitational seven times, has opened nine previous tournaments with two rounds of 66 or better and gone on to win each time. His last victory here was in 2009, when he closed the tournament with a pair of 65s.

Woods started fast, making a birdie at the first hole and then following with a 20-foot eagle putt at the second and another birdie at the third. After three straight pars, he birdied the seventh and turned in 30 strokes, 5 under par.

But things really got interesting on the back side as Woods birdied the first four holes, once after getting a good kick from the trees back into the fairway at the 13th. Another errant drive at the 14th meant some maneuvering to get his approach to the back fringe, from where he chipped to 7 feet and made the par putt to keep the round going.

Woods missed from just outside of 10 feet at the par-3 15th, then wasn't able to go for the green from 275 yards at the par-5 16th, where he seemingly laid up to a perfect yardage but hit his wedge shot approach 30 feet beyond the hole and settled for par.

The possibility of a 59 still existed with birdies at the last two holes, but Woods missed a 7-footer at the 17th, all but ending the threat. And then an errant drive at the 18th forced him to play well to the right of the green, and a pitch to the back, where he holed the par putt.

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You thought you would go to Augusta, load up on the cheap eats and inexpensive beer before heading out with the rest of fans to line the tee box. That's when you were going to yell "Get in the hole" and leave chuckling. 

Well, don't. 

Yahoo! Sports' Jay Busbee witnessed firsthand what kind of stern vigilance Augusta officials are using against would-be miscreants. 

It seems Busbee was hanging around the 17th hole on Thursday to see Tiger Woodstee off, only to hear a very familiar call from the relatively respectable crowd. "Get in the hole!"

That's when all hell broke loose, at least how it can at the Masters: in a very reserved and sensible manner. 

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Before the second word was out, the Augusta National security team — well, security pair — shadowing Woods was snapping into action. A guard in white shirt and black slacks, earpiece crackling, and a supervisor in well-pressed khakis began craning their necks, trying to see along the rope line for who would have dared lift their leg on Augusta National's decorum.

Kind of sounds like teachers trying to figure out which wiseacre student shouted something awful at a school assembly. 

Busbee later asked a security guard about the anonymous shouter who would dare violate Augusta with such shtick. 

"You see who it was?" the supervisor said, in that kind of Southern-cop hint-of-menace voice that made it sound like this could go very well or very poorly for me, depending on what I said next.

"I didn't. But you'll take his badge, right?"

"Oh, yeah," the guard said, with more than a hint of anticipation, and resumed scanning the crowd. This time, alas, the screamer escaped to yell again. But if he did lose his badge, he wouldn't just lose it for this afternoon. He'd lose it for this year, and every year afterward, forever and ever, amen.

I am not quite sure if the golf reporter indeed confirmed that yelling "Get in the hole" would warrant a lifetime ban from Augusta, but it sure sounds like it. 

Like Busbee, I agree that the familiar crowd call jumped the shark roughly a decade ago. If I am pressed, I would have to say my favorite is the "Mashed potatoes" cry that brings a smile to my face when I am fatigued and don't know any better. 

Still, shouting any of the usual cries is just, for lack of a better word, lame. These are the people that go around quoting Dane Cook jokes from the 90s. 

Unless you are yelling something new and inventive, just keep quiet. In fact, take another bite of those super-cheap delicacies at the Masters. 

Sure, the calories will go straight to your hips, but they won't get you axed from one of the best sports locales around. 

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If you bump around the golf course in regular golf carts, I feel sorry for you. Indeed, the era of the tricked-out golf cart has arrived. 

Busted Coverage spotted some wonderful images of the sweet ride that takes Michael Jordan around the links. Your feelings of jealousy are warranted.

Here is a closer look at a customized marvel that features a stereo system, leather seats and a cool North Carolina paint job topped off with a Jumpman logo on the front. 

Photo Credit: Busted Coverage

Photo Credit: Busted Coverage

Photo Credit: Busted Coverage

If that weren't enough, there is even a tinted sunroof, because not having one would have just been ridiculous. 

Photo Credit: Busted Coverage

Busted Coverage also reminds us Jordan took a similar cart out for a test drive back in 2012. He was just as amazed with that golf cart as we are with this one. (Video features NSFW language.) 

'It brought water to my eyes, I was flyin’,' Jordan said.

'Was it fast,' someone asked Jordan.

'F–k yeah,' Jordan responds. 'It’s gotta be doin’ about 30.'

Doing 30 on a golf course would certainly speed up play.  

Sadly, this is only the second-greatest golf cart in existence, because I still say driving to your ball in a hovercraft is far more remarkable. 

There is Bubba Watson's hovercraft designed by Oakley. If you are wondering, you most definitely want one. 

In fact, the amazing golf conveyance is making a cameo at the Masters in Augusta. WRDW-TV spotted the massive vehicle making its way to golf's greatest major, if only to sit in the parking lot. 

Somehow, I doubt we will see Watson maneuvering around the course in a hovercraft this weekend, no matter how much we all want that to happen.

If you are anywhere near the Masters, I imagine you can take a photo with the best ride in sports while chowing down on a pimento cheese sandwich. All in all, a great day. 

Now, quit your daydreaming and get back to the dregs of municipal courses and their uncomfortable golf carts. 

I'm just impressed if my golf-cart rental features a windshield or cup holders that aren't sticky. Here, we have two revolutionaries choosing to step the golf-cart game up to unbelievable levels. 

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 Tiger Woods exploded on Saturday, and he is in solid position to make some noise on the final day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Woods posted a six-under 66 and sits two strokes ahead of Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and John Huh heading into the final day of play in Orlando, Fla. If Woods wins, he will regain the No. 1 world ranking for the first time in nearly three years.

Here is a look at the top 10 scores on the leaderboard at the close of play on Saturday.

Per ESPN.com:

POS	START	CTRY	PLAYER	TO PAR	TODAY	THRU	R1	R2	R3	R4	TOT
1	7	USA	Tiger Woods	-11	-6	F	69	70	66	-	205
T2	10	USA	Rickie Fowler	-9	-5	F	73	67	67	-	207
T2	3	USA	John Huh	-9	-1	F	67	69	71	-	207
T2	1	IRE	Justin Rose	-9	E	F	65	70	72	-	207
T5	21	DEN	Thorbjorn Olesen	-8	-6	F	69	73	66	-	208
T5	10	SPA	Gonzalo Fdez-Castano	-8	-4	F	69	71	68	-	208
T5	4	USA	Jimmy Walker	-8	-2	F	69	69	70	-	208
T5	4	USA	Ken Duke	-8	-2	F	70	68	70	-	208
T5	1	USA	Bill Haas	-8	+1	F	69	66	73	-	208
T10	28	USA	Keegan Bradley	-7	-6	F	74	69	66	-	209
T10	7	USA	Mark Wilson	-7	-2	F	71	68	70	-	209

Dominant Front Nine

David Cannon/Getty Images

Woods began the day steady with pars on the first three holes, but he then went on a birdie bonanza. He birdied the fourth, sixth and seventh holes to get himself on track for a great day.

Tiger has been solid on the sixth hole throughout the event. He's come away with at least a birdie on the 555-yard par five on all three days of play. 

He hasn't been too bad on the short holes, either. Take a look at him securing the birdie on the par-three seventh hole. 

Despite the strong start, Woods had to know that his biggest test would come on the back nine.

It was there that he fell apart on Friday.

Finishing Strong

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Consistency has been Tiger's biggest issue, but he is starting to show strong signs of the old Tiger. On Saturday, he bogeyed the 13th hole, but instead of allowing it to be the beginning of a slippery slope downward, he rebounded well.

He came away with a birdie on the 15th hole and an eagle on the 16th. It was the first time a player recorded three eagles in the same tournament at Bay Hill since 2001.

Take a look at the approach shot and putt that secured it for him.

The only question for Tiger now is, can he finish the deal on Sunday?

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