Woods shoots 82, worst round in a major
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods walked off the third green Saturday at Augusta National, having just missed a birdie putt he thought he should have made, and began striding up the hill toward the long par-3 fourth hole at the Masters.
Little did he know things were about to get a whole lot worse.
Whatever hope Woods had of staying in contention disappeared, along with his confident swing and mastery of the greens. The five-time champion spent the rest of the day struggling to his worst round at a major championship, a 10-over-par 82 that left Woods looking not only defeated but will force him to play his 100th round at the Masters on Sunday well out of the spotlight.
“I didn’t have a very good warm-up session, and I kept it going all day today,” said Woods, whose worst round at the Masters had been back-to-back 78s in 2022, the last time his battered and broken body was able to play the full weekend.
Woods said he “just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it.”
He started the day 1 over and seven shots off the lead, and feeling like he was capable of making a run at the leaders. But that was before eight bogeys and two double-bogeys, offset by just a pair of birdies, left the 48-yearold Woods at the bottom of the leaderboard rather than the top.
It was only the fifth round Woods has shot in the 80s as a professional, and only the third in a major. He shot an 80 in the first round of the 2005 US Open at Chambers Bay, and an 81 in the third round of the 2002 British Open at Muirfield.
His worst round as a pro came in 2015, when he shot an 85 in the third round of the Memorial.
“I haven’t competed and played much,” said Woods, who arrived this week having played just 24 holes of competitive golf this year. “When I had chances to get it flipped around and when I made that [birdie] putt at 5, I promptly three-putted 6 and flubbed a chip at 7 and just got it going the wrong way, and when I had opportunities to flip it, I didn’t.”
The week has been a grind for
Woods, who had to play 23 holes Friday after darkness brought an early end to his opening round. Yet he not only persevered through a marathon day, he shot a second-round 72 amid such blustery conditions that the average score was 75.09, allowing him to make the cut for a record 24th consecutive time at the Masters.
Woods had driven the ball well, hitting 22 of 28 fairways through two rounds, and offset some poor approach shots — just 17 of 36 greens in regulation — with an excellent short game. He began the third round in the top 10 in putting this week.
What had been his strength, though, became his downfall Saturday. Woods hit just four of 13 fairways, had a pair of three-putts, and was left trying to get his body back in shape before an early tee time Sunday.
“My team will get me ready,” he said. “It will be a long night and a long warm-up session, but we’ll be ready.”
No magic for McIroy
Rory McIlroy’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam will have to wait yet another year after the world’s secondranked golfer failed to make a leap up the leaderboard.
McIlroy shot 71, which was solid, but not nearly enough to climb into contention ahead of the final round.
“All I can do is come here and try my best,” McIlroy said with a shrug of his shoulders. “That’s what I do every time I show up. Some years it’s better than others. I’ve just got to keep showing up and try to do the right thing.”
The right thing has been elusive at Augusta National for the 34-year-old McIlroy, particularly this week. He is 3over 219 for the tournament.
His 77 on Friday proved to be his undoing this week. Still, McIlroy harbored some thoughts of making a run on moving day at the Masters and getting into the mix if he could get hot early.
But any early momentum was shunted when he pushed his tee shot on No. 1 into a fairway bunker and missed a 5-foot par putt.
He would rebound to make three birdies and one bogey the rest of the way, and admitted afterward it was hard to complain about his score.
“It was nice to see some red numbers on the card today,” he added.
Lowry likes it
Shane Lowry had the shot of the day at the difficult par-4 14th when the former British Open champ hit his tee shot into the trees right of the fairway. Lowry caught a break — the ball was right between two trees — and took advantage of it.
With just 118 yards left, Lowry knocked his approach left of the hole, took advantage of the green’s undulations, and watched as it tracked all the way in for an eagle. It was the first on the hole since Martin Kaymer in 2016.
Lowry threw his arms up in celebration, but the good vibes didn’t last long. He bogeyed two of the next three and shot 75.