Mark SchlapachSenior writer for ESPN3 minutes to read
Augusta, Georgia — Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods needed some help on Saturday, but he snapped to his 23rd consecutive Masters tournament, tying Fred Kobles and Gary Player for the longest streak in tournament history.
After making a bogey on each of the last two holes to drop back to 3 after 36 holes, Woods needed good friend Justin Thomas or South Korea’s Sungjae Im to post a bogey down the stretch to move the cut line from 2 to 3 overs.
With the rain pouring heavily at Augusta National Golf Club, Thomas made a bogey pass on each of the final holes to finish 4 par. He bogeyed a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole and missed the cut. After his final shot, Thomas stared up at the sky with a look of disbelief.
I also made a bogey on the 4th 17th and finished 3 times.
After his tour, Woods was asked what it meant to make the cut again. He never missed a loss at the Masters as a pro; He was not around for the weekend as an amateur in 1996.
“I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” Woods said. “Obviously I’m missing a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. I loved it. I got a chance to play on the weekend. I hope I get a chance to play a couple more rounds.”
Considering how much he struggled walking into Augusta National Golf Club on his surgically repaired right leg, ankle and foot, Woods will have a tremendous challenge over the final 36 holes.
The third round kicked off at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, and Woods, who limped noticeably as he played the first seven holes of the third round in a par 6 to drop to the 9th, fell to last place, 22 shots behind leader Brooks. kupka.
Third-round matches will continue on Saturday morning, with the final round scheduled to begin immediately thereafter.
The 15-run major champion seemed in good shape to make the cut after he bowled a 27-foot birdie putt at the par 5 15, which moved to 1 under. But then he hit the tee on the 17th right, couldn’t get up and down the bottom of the green and made a bogey. On the 18th, he pulled a tee shot at the trees on the left. He stroked it and his approach fell back to 50 feet. He put two up for another bogey.
“I hit it right off the heel,” Woods said of his tee shot at No. 18. “I was just trying to hit kind of a low cut over there, and I hit it right off the neck.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information, this is the fourth time in Woods’ career that he has lowered the digit in a major. He also did so at the 2003 Masters, 2005 PGA Championship, and 2014 Open Championship.
Woods, 47, made his competitive return to golf after a 508-day hiatus at the 2022 Masters and finished 47th. It was his first competitive start since sustaining serious injuries in a car wreck in February 2021. He struggled in the cold weather at the weekend He scored scores of 6 to 78 in each of the last two rounds, his worst results at the Augusta National.
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