NORTON - Among his 81 worldwide victories as a professional, Tiger Woods never has come from more than eight shots behind with 18 holes to play, and the largest three-round deficit on the PGA Tour he’s overcome is five. So, with nine shots and 29 players separating Woods from the top, it would take a historic round for him to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Starting yesterday’s third round seven shots back and needing to make a move, Woods went the other way, shooting a 1-over-par 72 to complete 54 holes at 4 under, tied for 30th. The only time Woods has been out of the top 10 in five previous appearances here was in 2005, when he tied for 40th.
Yesterday, there were two birdies but three bogeys, including one on No. 16 when Woods dumped his tee shot into the water fronting the green. Woods chose to keep his post-round thoughts to himself, declining a request from the tour to meet with the media. But he did take a few minutes and sign autographs for some fans after his round.
Third-round surge
On a day when the field averaged 71.2,
Sergio Garcia’s 3-under 68 might be enough to get him into next week’s BMW Championship. Garcia started the week 71st on the
FedEx Cup points list; after three rounds, he is projected to finish 62d. He’s one of three players to never miss a round in any of the FedEx Cup playoff events, but he didn’t sound too upset if his streak ends and he’s not headed to Chicago.
“I’m just trying to shoot the best score I can. If that gets me into next week, perfect. If not, I’ll go back home and relax, which I’m looking forward to. So for me, it’s a win-win situation,’’ said Garcia, who is 4 under for the tournament. “The only thing I can do is try to play my best and see where that puts me.’’
Goal-oriented
It didn’t sound like an eagle roar, but then again, there were only 10 people or so surrounding the first green.
Mark Wilson’s sand wedge from 98 yards spun back into the hole for an opening 2, kick-starting his 5-under 66. At No. 47, the Chicago-area resident, who plays out of Cog Hill, is safely inside the number for next week’s event, giving him a home-course advantage, but his goal is the Tour Championship in Atlanta, an event in which he’s never played.
Qualifying for the Tour Championship “gets you into three of the four major championships next year, and I haven’t played in too many of those, so I’d love to put those on my schedule,’’ Wilson said.
Special thanks
Pulling off an event like this requires lots of help, and the tournament this year includes more than 1,700 volunteers, ranging in age from 10 to 90. The annual volunteer celebration, complete with live music and fireworks, was held last night, and featured the catering of Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine, which was planning to serve more than 1,000 lobster rolls.
Bump in the road
Jim Furyk, a co-leader after both the first and second rounds who had 14 birdies through 36 holes, had only three yesterday, including his final two holes, in a third-round 73. Furyk dropped to a tie for ninth . . .
Ben Crane went out first as a single and needed 3 hours 19 minutes to plod his way around TPC Boston. Despite three birdies, Crane shot 78, making a double bogey on the fifth hole and a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 12, when he took two penalty drops . . . Wilson’s eagle marked the third par 4 that has been eagled this week.
Brett Quigley eagled the 12th hole in the second round, and 12 players have turned the trick on No. 4, which can be driven with a well-struck tee shot . . .
Mike Weir, who finished second here last year, was only one shot out of the lead midway through the third round, then bogeyed No. 16 and doubled the 18th, hitting his third shot into the hazard fronting the green . . . For the second straight day, Team New England won six out of the nine better-ball matches, beating Team USA, 44-28, and winning the fourth John D. Mineck Deutsche Bank Championship Junior Cup at Boston Golf Club.
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. 
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