Tiger Woods’ Masters title dream turns to nightmare
Tiger Woods of the United States lines up a putt on the fourth green during the third round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP
Tiger Woods saw his dream of a record-tying sixth Masters victory collapse in Saturday’s third round of the Masters after firing a 10-over par 82 — his worst-ever score in 99 rounds at Augusta National.
A day after setting a record by making the cut in his 24th consecutive Masters, the 48-year-old legend made bogeys on four of his last five holes to soar past his prior worst Masters total — 78s in the third and fourth rounds in 2022.
“I was not hitting it very good or putting well,” Woods said. “I didn’t have a very good warmup session and I kept it going all day today. Just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it.
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“And I missed a lot of putts. Easy, makable putts. I missed a lot of them.”
Woods delivered the 78s in his comeback bid from severe leg injuries suffered in a 2021 car crash, injuries that led to right ankle surgery last April and leg issues that appeared to hamper him at times on Saturday.
But Woods, who said he was worn down physically after playing 23 holes on Friday due to storms on Thursday, vowed he will not withdraw and complete 72 holes on Sunday.
“My team will get me ready,” he said. “Club has have been awesome. It will be a long night and a long warmup session, but we’ll be ready.”
Asked if any moment sent the day spiraling into disaster, Woods said, “All day.”
On Friday, Woods had declared himself in with a chance of taking a sixth green jacket to match the record of Jack Nicklaus after 36 holes.
Five-time Masters champion Woods, who had rounds of one-over 73 and par 72 to stand on one-over 145 for 36 holes, had just made a birdie at the fifth following a bogey at the par-3 fourth when disaster struck.
Woods reached the turn with double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey for a front-nine 42, his worst nine-hole score on either the inward or outward halves of the famed 7,555-yard layout.
His prior nine-hole worsts were 40s on the front nine of the first round in 1997, on the way to his first major title, and 2004.
The 15-time major winner went over the green at the par-3 sixth then missed a five-foot par putt and made bogey.
At the par-4 seventh, Woods smacked two shots into trees and sent his third into a greenside bunker before pitching out and missing an 18-foot bogey putt.
It was his first double-bogey of the week, but only a sign of the trouble to come.
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Double-bogey double dip
Woods then came to the par-5 eighth, the easiest hole of the week at Augusta National.
Woods pulled his tee shot into trees left of the fairway, then blasted out to the short grass. He needed two more from there to reach the green and then missed both a 26-foot par putt and a four-footer for bogey.
“It’s just that I haven’t competedd and played much,” he said. “When I had chances to get it flipped around when I made that putt at 5, I promptly three-putted six and flub a chip at seven and just got it going the wrong way, and when I had opportunities to flip it, I didn’t.”
Woods found a greenside bunker at the ninth, pitched out to nine feet but then missed his par putt for another bogey to end a horror show front nine.
Woods missed the green and a six-foot par putt to bogey the par-3 12th, answered with an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-5 13th, only to bogey 14 for a third consecutive round, missing the green with his approach and then missing a 15-foot par putt.
That began a bogey streak for Woods, who again at the par-5 15th missed the green with his approach and a 15-foot par putt, then added a three-putt bogey at the par-3 16th and a six-foot par putt miss at 17 for his fourth bogey in a row before a closing par.
