For the 24th consecutive Masters, Tiger Woods has played himself into the weekend. The five-time champion got around a blustery Augusta National Golf Club in an even-par fashion on Friday to shoot a 36-hole total of 1-over 145 and pull himself ahead of Fred Couples and Gary Player for the longest made cut streak at the year's first major championship.
Unlike last year, when Woods tied Couples and Player, he is moving around Augusta National well and looks ready to play the weekend despite being seven strokes back of clubhouse leader and playing mate Max Homa. The last time Tiger saw through 72 holes at the Masters was in 2022 when he shot 78-78 over the weekend, grinding through pain to post the worst individual and combined rounds of his career at ANGC.
"It means I have a chance going into the weekend," Woods said of his made cuts record. "I'm here. I have a chance to win the golf tournament. ... I got my two rounds in. Just need some food and some caffeine, and I'll be good to go."
Despite his score Friday, Woods' second round was anything but level, at least early. Making a pair of pars out the gate, the 48-year-old experienced numerous exchanges of birdies and bogeys across his first nine. A birdie on the short par-4 3rd was immediately offset by dropped shots on his next two.
Woods was in danger of taking on more water when he missed the green on the par-3 6th, but as it has all week, his short game came to his rescue. Chipping from just below the putting surface, Woods' second rolled like a putt and found the bottom of the cup just like one for a birdie.
Tiger Woods gets back to one over par with chip-in birdie on No. 6. #themasters pic.twitter.com/h4G5CrbgdJ
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2024
Woods' mini heroics on the 6th were undone by a bogey on the 7th before yet another birdie on the par-5 8th. A beautiful save on the tricky ninth saw Tiger play his first nine in even par with three birdies, three pars and three bogeys. This up-and-down nature of his round subsided across the inward half as he set his sights on another entry in the record books.
Getting past the difficult 10th, the 15-time major champion once again showed off around the 11th green. Erring on the side of caution, he left his second long and right of the putting surface. From below the green, Woods once again hit a stunner to save par and kicked off an even-par trip around Amen Corner for the second straight day.
Tiger dropped a shot on the 14th but immediately made amends with perhaps his best full swing of the tournament. With a 3 wood in hand at the top of the hill, Woods unleashed a towering draw into the par-5 15th and found the green in two to set up an eagle opportunity. While the big bird did not land, another birdie did for Woods, pulling him back to even on his round and 1 over for the tournament, well inside the projected cut line.
Three pars to end put a bow on Woods' 72, which marks his first round of par or better at Augusta National since the first round of the 2022 tournament when he opened with a 1-under 71.
While his short game did most of the work the first two days, his 22 fairways hit through 36 holes mark the most for Tiger at the Masters since 1999.
"I'm right there. I'm only eight back as of right now," Tiger said. "I don't think anyone is going to run off and hide right now, but it's really bunched. The way the ball is moving on the greens, chip shots are being blown, it's all you want in a golf course today."
No one has been better than Woods around Augusta National -- or in the game of golf -- since that 1999 performance. He has five green jackets to show for his immense play in Augusta, Georgia, and now he has the ultimate sign of consistency in the game belonging to him and him alone.
"I've always loved playing here," Woods said of Augusta National. "I've been able to play here since I was 19 years old. It's one of the honors I don't take lightly, being able to compete. The years I have missed, I wish I was able to play because there's such an aura and mystique about playing this golf course that I don't think that -- unless you have played and competed here -- you probably don't really appreciate.
Watch the final two rounds of the 2024 Masters continuing Saturday as Round 3 will air live from 3-7 p.m. on CBS. You can also stream the entire round with Masters Live as we follow the best golfers in the world through Augusta National with Featured Groups, check in at the famed Amen Corner and see leaders round the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports app and Paramount+.
