Tiger Woods needed something special on Sunday in Round 4 of the 2018 Memorial Tournament to have a real chance at picking up his sixth win at Muirfield Village. He didn't get it, though, as he shot an even-par 72 and stayed at 9 under overall for the tournament. As a result, he slipped out of the top 20 for the week as the leaders and those around Woods surged ahead on a day when the scoring average was under par.

It did look as if Woods would mount a charge for the ages out of the gate. He made birdie at the first, and the galleries went wild as he pulled within a few of the lead. But his putting doomed him once again despite one of the best ball-striking performances of his life.

That's not hyperbole, either. Woods gained 14 strokes on the field from tee to green this week, which was No. 1 in the field, but he couldn't putt it in the ocean. If he had putted average (0.0 strokes gained on the field), he would have finished at around 17 under and moved into a spot among the leaders.

Sunday was more of the same as he missed a 3-footer on No. 10 and an 8-footer on No. 16, making bogey on both. Throw in a ball out of bounds on the par-4 13th, and Woods followed up a solid 34 on the front nine with an ugly 38 on the back when he needed something closer to 30 to have a shot at his sixth win at this event.

It's hard to overstate just how bad Woods was on the greens. His No. 1 spot in strokes tee to green came, somewhat remarkably, after hitting two balls out of bounds on the week. He was locked in with his irons and wedges and whatever the opposite of locked in is with his Scotty Cameron (and to a lesser degree with his driver).

It's not that he wasn't lagging the ball well, either. He missed 5-footer after 5-footer, which has to be frustrating when you're leading the field in approach shots and proximity to the cup.

If you're a Tiger fan, the exciting news heading into the U.S. Open in two weeks is that this is as good as he's looked all year -- and probably in the last half decade -- from a swing standpoint. Putters go hot and cold, but stingers off the tee, long irons flighted both ways and luscious wedges from 100-150 yards are less volatile. Woods seems to have found his new old (or old new?) groove, and his play this week is the new expectation going forward.

If not for a 4-over start through the first seven holes on Thursday, Woods would have been in the heart of the event coming down the stretch on Sunday. Instead, it's just another "what could have been" episode as Woods heads to Shinnecock in two weeks looking for major championship No. 15 and his first victory of 2018. I can't believe I'm saying this five months into his latest comeback, but I fully expect him to play well enough to contend for it.