Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the 2023 Masters after aggravating his plantar fasciitis. One day after tying the all-time record for most consecutive made cuts at Augusta National Golf Club by playing the weekend for his 23rd straight tournament, Woods struggled to get the gears turning in Round 3 on Saturday, visibly struggling -- amid the harsh weather conditions and quick turnaround of rounds -- to walk on his surgically repaired leg.
Tiger slipped slightly when walking from the 16th green to the 17th tee in Round 2 as he labored to make the cut, and his demeanor was never the same afterward. He winced constantly during the third round and looked overwhelmed with pain.
Beginning his third set of 18 holes just a few hours after the second round ended, Woods started on the second nine as Augusta National split tees amid inclement weather. He played his first seven holes in 6 over, plummeting to the bottom of the leaderboard at 9 over and putting him on pace for his worst career round at the Masters.
Play was suspended for the day in the afternoon due to inclement weather, and Woods was faced with playing 29 holes on Sunday to conclude the tournament.
Walking Augusta National for four rounds on its own is tough enough. Doing so with a bad leg in the harsh, frigid conditions Tiger fought through Saturday only to then play more than a round-and-a-half the next day made his withdrawal unsurprising.
"I've always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event," Woods said after Saturday after finishing his second round and being unsure whether he would make the cut. "Obviously, I've missed a couple [Masters] with some injuries, but I've always wanted to play here. I've loved it. I hope I get a chance to play this weekend. I'm sorry. I got a chance to play on the weekend. I wish I get a chance to play two more rounds."
With Woods' withdrawal, the five-time Masters champion will be afforded the luxury of not making further history. Woods' previous worst round at Augusta National was 78, which occurred over both weekend rounds in 2022. His worst score at a major championship coming into this year's Masters was a 10-over 81 at the 2022 Open. Given the way his third round was going, it's likely he would have surpassed both totals in Round 3 once play resumed Sunday at the Masters.
"I don't know how many more I have in me," Woods said Tuesday ahead of this Masters tournament. "So, just to be able to appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories [is a positive]. But still, to just look at the golf course, it looks like it's been here for over a hundred years and hasn't changed, and each and every year we come here, everything has changed since I first played here."
This is the second time in five competitive tournaments since the start of 2022 that Woods has withdrawn from an event. After making the cut at the 2022 PGA Championship, Woods signed for a third round 9-over 79 at Southern Hills prior to making his exit.
At the time, it was Tiger's first withdrawal at a major championship since the 1995 U.S. Open when he was an amateur. He had never previously withdrawn from a major as a professional. Woods' last withdrawal from any event before that had come ahead of the second round of the 2019 Northern Trust.
The PGA Championship is in six weeks at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
