Saying Tiger Woods had an up-and-down day at the 2018 Quicken Loans National in Round 3 on Saturday would be doing an injustice to Isaac Newton. Woods shot a 2-under 68 that felt at times like it might turn into both a 78 and a 58, but eventually settled right in the middle as Woods jumped a few spots on the leaderboard. He is now 7 under on the week but six back of the leaders, which is farther back than he started his day.

Woods started with a bogey at the first, and the No. 1 golfer on the PGA Tour this year in Round 3 scoring average did not seem like he brought his best stuff on Saturday. Two pars later, it seemed he had righted the ship. Then he really opened it up and reeled off four birdies in a row, the last three of which he more or less hop-stepped into the cup. The galleries following him seemed delirious, and Tiger was borderline jogging between shots. 

Then Woods hit a flyer over the 8th green and couldn't get up and down for par. It was a harbinger for what was to come for the rest of the day. A birdie at the par-3 9th, and his front nine 32 was complete with five birdies, two bogeys and just two pars. 

The second nine was a little calmer, but Woods missed a ton of opportunities. He hit seven-of-nine greens in regulation, and all seven looks at birdie were inside 25 feet, but he only turned one of those into a birdie. Bogeys at the 13th and 18th (both missed greens) translated to a 1-over 36 on the back nine. 

The way Woods played the 14th hole was a microcosm for the way he finished. Woods easily drove the drivable par 4 with a 3-wood and ended up just off the edge of the green, but with a seemingly solid lie. His chip ran 18 feet past the hole, though, and what looked to be a pretty straightforward birdie opportunity turned into a tap-in par. Woods ended the day losing strokes to the field around the greens for the first time this week.

"I guess one word would be 'frustrating,'" Woods told Jim Nantz and Ian Baker-Finch on CBS of his round. "To make four bogeys like that, I couldn't afford to do that. I figured I had to get to at least 10 under by the end of the day. Making four bogeys definitely hurts that."

At six back, Woods doesn't have a great shot at running down the lead on Sunday without something crazy low. That's frustrating for him in a week where he's putting it much better than he has been with his new mallet stick in the bag. 

Woods is inside the top 30 right now in strokes gained putting, but his Friday 65 may have been buoyed by the fact that he made four birdie putts from 15 feet or deeper. That's probably not sustainable, and Woods didn't sustain it on Saturday as he made just one putt over 15 feet. He made just 17 feet of putts total on the back nine. Still, he said he feels better about his process.

"This entire week, I've started the ball on line again," Woods said on CBS. "I've started to see it. Whether they go in or not, that's great, but I'm starting to see it again."

To me, Woods' round on Saturday is quite indicative of where he stands as a golfer right now. His talent is still immense, and he can still hit all the shots. But he's not holding rounds together with key putts or close chips. Woods is inside the top five in birdies made so far this week, but a bumpy landing has him wanting just a little more when it comes to actually winning.

The good news for him is that there's a feasible path to something wild on Sunday for the victory. A 62 has been shot in each of the last two days, and there's nobody ahead of him he can't power past. Woods is hitting the ball plenty good enough to win his first tournament since 2013 -- especially one lacking in star power like this one -- all he needs is a downhill final round to do it.

"If they leave it a little on the testy side and if I shoot a good round, I might have a chance," Woods said on CBS. "I need to see it testy in order to post a good round. Hopefully that will be enough."