(CNN) After struggling to make the cut and troubled by persistent back problems, Tiger Woods showed promise of better things to come with a battling one-under-par 71 in the third round of the Memorial tournament on Saturday. Woods, playing his first tournament since February, carded a 71 on the first day, but dropped back through the field with a four-over 76 on Friday, complaining that he was hindered by a sore back and admitting that "aging is not fun." It left doubts that the 44-year-old reigning Masters champion would be a serious force in a season shortened and congested after a three-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.