Tiger endures all-time worst Masters round
AUGUSTA, Ga. — After his Masters second round was complete Friday, Tiger Woods crowed that he was entering the weekend “right there’’ in contention to win his sixth green jacket.
The 48-year-old Woods, a fivetime Masters winner, entered the weekend at 1-over and seven shots out of the lead.
Then on Saturday, he went from “right there’’ to long gone after shooting a stunning and uncharacteristic 10-over 82 — the highest score he’s ever posted in 99 career rounds in his 26 Masters appearances.
The result was a massive deflation after Woods had just set the tournament record for most consecutive cuts made at 24 on Friday.
“I didn’t have a very good warm-up session, and I kept it going all day,’’ Woods said afterward. “[I] just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it and I missed a lot of putts — easy, makeable putts.’’
Woods, who entered the week having played only one tournament this year, 24 holes of the Genesis Invitational in February before withdrawing with what he called the flu, lamented his lack of play as a factor. He, in fact, hadn’t completed a full-field, 72-hole tournament since the 2023 Genesis.
“I haven’t competed and played much,’’ he said. “When I had chances to get it flipped around, [like] when I made that [birdie] putt at 5, I promptly three-putted 6 and flub a chip at 7 and just got it going the wrong way. When I had opportunities to flip it, I didn’t.’’
Woods entered the day with the best third-round record to par at the Masters at 40-under par in his career. Saturday’s 10-over gave a quarter of those strokes back.
His Saturday started out steadily enough with pars on his first three holes, a bogey on No. 4 and then a bounce-back birdie on No. 5. At that point, he was even par for the day.
Then his round and tournament unraveled.
Woods double-bogeyed Nos. 7 and 8 and bogeyed No. 9 to make the turn in 42. Another bogey on 12 was followed by a birdie on 13 and then consecutive bogeys on Nos. 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18.
Still as he walked up 18, which he would par, Woods received a rousing ovation as he took his cap off in appreciation, though looking worn out.
Woods’ previous worst score at the Masters were the pair of 78s he shot in the third and fourth rounds of the 2022 tournament. Before those, his worst score was the 77 he shot in the third round of the 1995 tournament, during which he was still an amateur.
That stretch of holes 6 through 9 wrecked his 26th Masters.
On No. 6, a par-3, Woods did what you cannot do on that hole, which was hit his tee shot over the green. He attempted to putt over the fringe but left his ball 5 feet short. Then he missed his par putt.
On No. 7, things got ugly as he hit his drive into the pine straw on the right side and was blocked out from the green by a pine tree. He tried to hit a punch shot out of the straw but pulled his ball into a bad spot on the left, about 44 yards from the pin. Then he chunked a pitch shot into a left green-side bunker.
After another chip out, he left an 18-foot bogey putt short and made his first double bogey of the tournament.
Woods sprayed his tee shot on No. 8 into the left trees. After punching out, he hit a poor approach into the green, leaving a 25foot putt. From there, he threeputted for a second consecutive double. It was the first time Woods ever made double bogey on No. 8, which is a par-5 that traditionally yields a lot of birdies.
He followed that mess with a three-putt on No. 9 for bogey.