AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods decided to tee it up at the 2022 Masters in an attempt to win his 16th major championship, sixth green jacket and 83rd PGA Tour event -- just 14 months after nearly losing his right leg in a car accident. It was a shocking turn of events when Woods made his decision, and while his effort through the first two rounds at Augusta National made it appear as if he made the right call, Tiger's play over the weekend was that of a golfer who was neither completely healthy nor in position to contend across an entire tournament.
What Woods did show at Augusta this week, however, was an unquestionable, endless supply of fortitude. Which is why, as he walked through a sea of patrons having just carded a weekend 156 for a 47th-place finish -- his worst in history at the Masters -- he had an ear-to-earn grin on his face.
No one, perhaps not even Woods himself, would have predicted Tiger finishing 72 holes at the 2022 Masters.
"I had the same questions [about whether I could complete 72 holes]. It was an unbelievable feeling to just have the patrons and the support out there," Woods told CBS after walking off the course on Sunday. "I wasn't exactly playing my best out there, but to just have the support out there -- an appreciation from all the fans -- I don't think words can really describe that given where I was a little over a year ago and what my prospects were at that time. To end up here and be able to play all four rounds, even a month ago, I didn't know if I could pull this off. I think it was a positive. I've got some work to do, and I'm looking forward to it."
After impressing with a 71 on Thursday and making the 22nd consecutive Masters cut of his professional career on Friday, Woods ended this trek through Augusta National with a pair of 78s on Saturday and Sunday. The 6-over scores were each, individually, the worst rounds of his career at Augusta, and the combined 156 on the weekend was easily his highest such score over any of his two rounds at the Masters.
Woods started well enough with a birdie on the second, but he bogeyed Nos. 4-6, No. 11 and No. 14 before scoring a double bogey on the 17th. He finished 13 over for the tournament.
The still-recovering right leg -- Woods used his clubs as canes frequently throughout the weekend -- showed significant fatigue (at a minimum), and he was unable to display his normal discipline throughout the course. Most notable was Tiger's putting, which at its most generous could be described as efforted. Woods himself joked that he took "thousands" of putts on Saturday. He finished the weekend seventh-worst among golfers who made the cut in strokes gained putting, giving more than two strokes back over the course of 72 grueling holes.
Tiger decided to play Augusta National to compete and win. He was not in the field simply to play the course at which he is the most famous. He competed with all his might again on Sunday, making the finish line in a display of overcoming tremendous adversity.
Keep on reading for stories and schedule information along with consistent updates throughout his time at Augusta National this week.
Tiger Woods is done for the day with a 78 in Round 4 after a 78 in Round 3, his worst two rounds at any Masters during his career. Was 4 over on the second nine today with a double on the par-4 17th. Currently sits 47th on the leaderboard, which would be his worst career finish at Augusta National.
Tiger somehow saved par after this.
Through three holes on the second nine, Tiger Woods is 1 over par after making par at both 10 and 12 and sandwiching a bogey at the 11th in between. He's hanging tough out there. Just delivered a dart on the par-3 12th and easily two-putted. If he can play the final six at, say, even par, that has to be considered a win given how tough this second nine is and given what physical shape he's in right now.
Tiger did make the cut this week -- making him a perfect 22 for 22 in doing so during his career -- but a rough Round 3 and a bumpy Round 4 thus far has him on pace for his worst career finish at the Masters.
His worst was his first (T41) and he's had a T40 and a T38 as well. Currently T47 and fading. Second nine playing very tough today.
Pretty good start, awful middle, just-OK finish to Tiger Woods' first nine here in Round 4 at the Masters. With three bogeys and a birdie he makes the turn at 2 over on the day and 9 over on the week. Woods is noticeably favoring the leg -- and using a club as a cane -- but he's still hitting some good shots today and battling despite not being anywhere close right now to 100%.
Playing the first three holes at 1 under par, Tiger Woods on Sunday opened the final round with his best start all week. But, alas, it did not last. He bogeyed 4, 5 and 6 to drop back to 2 over on the round and 9 over on the tournament, putting him 46th and near the very bottom of the leaderboard. He's had some good shots and struck the ball really well -- particularly off the tee -- but four grueling days of golf on a bum leg is clearly catching up with him.
After posting his worst round ever at Augusta National on Saturday, Tiger Woods is (of course) off to the best start of the week here on Sunday with an opening par-birdie-par on Nos. 1-3. Really challenging stretch on deck here, though. He's played holes 4-7 this week at 3 over.
After bogeying the par-4 first hole each of the last two days, Tiger Woods opens his final round at the 2022 Masters with a par while playing partner Jon Rahm bogeys. Great start to his round. First hole all week has played above par for the field.
You could see Saturday that Tiger Woods was favoring the leg quite a bit by the end of Round 3. Seems like today may again be a struggle with early reports out of Augusta suggesting he's got an even more pronounced gimp. Hopefully he's able to gut it out and finish the week on a high note after a six-over 78 on Saturday.
Tough day for Tiger on Saturday as he carded a six-over 78 on Moving Day that included double bogeys at the fifth and the eighteenth.
Woods' putting all week has mostly been his saving grace but he had four three-putts and an ugly, ugly four-putt. Seems clearly hobbled -- moreso than earlier in the week -- as he quite literally limps to the finish line.
"I just could not get a feel for getting comfortable with the ball," he said Saturday. "Posture, feel, my right hand, my release, I just couldn't find it."
He'll head into Round 4 with a 10:50 a.m. tee time at 7 over on the week -- 16 strokes back of the lead.
Tiger posted a 6-over 78, his worst round at the Masters in his career as a professional or amateur. That's a career spanning 93 rounds at the most majestic course in the nation.
Woods started with a bogey then four-putted for his first double bogey of the tournament on the fifth. By the time he reached Amen Corner, Woods was 4 over for the day in a make-or-break situation. In typical Tiger fashion, he birdied the 12th and 13th in succession. It looked like Woods may have an outside chance at a top 10 finish on Sunday if he could find a little momentum down the stretch.
Instead, consecutive bogeys on the 16th and 17th -- plus a three-putt on the 18th for another double bogey -- led to him signing a 78 on his scorecard, something he's never done before at Augusta. Woods ends Round 3 at 7 over, 18 shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler through his front nine.
anyone who has watched Tiger Woods throughout this Masters probably felt that an ejection was only a matter of time. Woods has been using his clubs as canes. His foot has twisted as he walks on it. Chances are Tiger will need a significant period of time off once he arrives home for Augusta National. It took nearly 2.5 rounds, but his pain is finally starting to show in his play. Woods now has six bogeys or worse on the day to just three birdies, ballooning his score to 5 over entering the 18th hole.
After making his fourth bogey or worse of the day at No. 11, Tiger bounced back with birdies at the final two holes of perhaps the trickiest section of the course. Despite facing so many opportunities to pull the rip cord on this week, Woods' desire to bounce back and continue to compete even with nothing at all to prove has been spectacular and maybe the most impressive part of what has been a pretty incredible performance. Tiger is now 3 over, and while he has completely fallen out of contention at the Masters, a top 10 finish is not totally out of the cards if he plays the next 22 holes well.
Tiger Woods bogeyed No. 9, moving him to +3 for the day and +4 for the championship, currently checking in at T35. There has been some good drives and a couple fantastic chips, but ultimately one big mistake at the par-4 5th hole has been a blemish on his Saturday round that has removed Tiger from even remote contention. The real surprising aspect of his struggles isn't so much the strain on his body, playing for a third straight day in cold and windy conditions, but some of the putting mistakes on the green. We are so used to Tiger and his institutional knowledge of the Augusta National greens being an advantage, but he's given up multiple strokes to the field with rushed putts or errors with his reads.
The fifth green was not kind to Tiger on Saturday as he sought to save par and remain even on the first nine. Instead, Woods missed a 9-foot putt slightly wide left then saw his 3-foot bogey putt lip out of the cup to his utter dismay. The result was a double bogey -- his first of the tournament -- that pushes Tiger to 3 over, 11 shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler (who has yet to begin his round) and six strokes behind the T2 group. While Woods already had long odds to win his sixth green jacket entering the weekend, this double was likely the knife in the heart of those chances.
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It's been an up-and-down first four holes for Tiger, who bogeyed the first, birdied the second (despite finding a bunker) and pared the next two. The result: Nearly one-quarter of the way through his third round, he's were he started the day at 1 over and nine shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler. The top of the leaderboard have yet to take the course on this chilly day in Augusta, by once they do, the chilled air and occasional winds may well affect scoring.
Wood is off and running for the third time this week at the Masters. He opened the round nine shots behind 36-hole leader Scottie Scheffler but only four back of a large group tied for second at 3 under. The entire field needs Scheffler to collapse over the weekend to have a chance at winning a jacket, but first, Tiger must focus on regaining his top-10 positioning and attempting to duel with the group at 3 under. If Woods can sit relatively close to Scheffler by the time the day concludes, then anything could happen on Sunday.
In addition to, oh, I don't know, chasing history in what may very well be the most impressive comeback in golf history, Tiger Woods this week is chasing a legend in Jack Nicklaus.
Woods has five wins at the Masters, second-most in the history of the tournament behind only Nicklaus, who has six. A win this weekend would (obviously) put Woods into the same company, and would also set a new record held currently by Nicklaus as the biggest gap between first Masters win and last Masters win. (Nicklaus won in 1963 and 1986; Woods' first win came in 1997.)
Nicklaus is also the only name ahead of Woods in all-time major championships won. With 18, he's still got a three-major edge on Woods.
His 2-over 74 in the rearview for Round 2, Tiger Woods on Friday overcame an ugly start in which he bogeyed four of his first five holes to make the weekend cut.
"It was blustery. It was windy. It was swirling all over the place," Woods said inside Butler Cabin. "I hit a couple shots that got a couple of bad gusts and also made a couple of bad swings on top of that. Then on No. 4 I ended up in a divot. It was just like, Okay, what else can go wrong?"
Woods battened down the hatches from there, though, playing the final 13 holes at 2 under par.
"I told Joey, 'It's tough for everybody. Let's get back to even par for the day. Let's finish out the day at even par somehow,'" he said. "We had a lot of holes in front of us. We have some par-fives and tough holes, but it's tough, and hopefully it stays tough for the entire day and everyone is struggling."
Woods added post-round that he wasn't feeling near as good as he'd hoped to feel, but it's OK because, "I've got a chance going into the weekend."
"I think it's going to be the golf course that Augusta National wants," he added. "It's going to be quicker, dryer, faster, and it will be a great test."
Following a 2-over 74 in Round 2, Tiger Woods, who is 1 over for the tournament, enters Moving Day as the fifth group off the course today with a 1 p.m. ET scheduled tee time next to Kevin Kisner.
Woods will begin the weekend nine strokes off the breakneck pace of leader Scottie Scheffler, who on Friday finished with a 5-under 67 to take the lead at 8 under par. No Masters champion has ever overcame that large of a deficit. However, there has been a comeback from down eight strokes: Jack Burke Jr. dug out of such a deficit ... in 1956.
Still, it's not as if Woods is not capable. Remember: in 2005, he won his fourth career green jacket by overcoming a seven-stroke deficit after opening up his Masters week with a 3-over 74. That comeback came after a miserable opening round, though, so with only 36 holes and not 54 holes left, he'll have to have a near-perfect weekend -- and maybe run into some luck -- to climb back into this thing.
After opening Round 2 with four bogeys in his first five holes, Tiger Woods on Friday finished in a flurry, playing the final 13 holes at 2-under par, putting him at 1 over on the week and comfortably in the field ahead of the weekend.
Woods at one point looked like he may miss the cut -- something he's never done at the Masters -- but of course he gutted it out down the stretch by making big putts and coming up with a few clutch shots from the fringe to boot.
Things looked pretty bleak for Tiger before hitting a groove on the par-5 eighth hole, where he hit what was the most important -- and impressive -- approach shot of the round.
Woods from there rallied to save par on No. 9 and then birdied 10, 13 and 14 to move to the right side of the cut line.
The cut line isn't set yet, but it's looking like it may settle at 4 over. Regardless, it matters not for Woods, who had an impressive finish after a slow start to make the weekend field.
Consecutive pars at Nos. 15-16, two holes at which he had legitimate birdie chances, were disappointing. Nevertheless, Tiger has avoided further errors down the stretch as he looks to get back to even par and sit three shots back of second-place entering the weekend. Woods has two more holes to bounce himself closer into contention ... or perhaps take himself out of it ahead of Moving Day.
Consecutive birdies on holes 13-14 have calmed concerns of Tiger Woods missing the cut. With the swirling winds having died down late in the afternoon, Tiger took advantage with a perfect pitch over the creek on No. 13 to put him a mere 3 feet from a simple birdie putt. On No. 14, hit the back of the green on his approach, rolling the ball down the modest hill to 9 feet from the hole. He drained another birdie putt to move from 3 over to 1 over and four clear of the cut line with four holes to play.
Tiger has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional. He's 21 for 21 all time. That statistic may change Friday evening. With six bogeys and only two birdies through 12 holes, Woods is 3 over and just two shots clear of the cut line, which is currently projected at 5 over. Tiger hit four bogeys across his first five holes with two more out of his first three on the second nine. He most shoot the final six holes of the day at 1 over or lower to continue his cuts made streak. As far as contending for his sixth green jacket goes, Woods is now seven shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler, one of few golfers who is playing better than average on Friday.
Holy hell, Tiger's approach into No. 10. Absolutely glorious. Darn near stuck it. Massive for him as he gets going on the second nine. After a 3-over 39 on the first nine, off to a nice start coming home with a tap-in birdie on the tenth thanks to this shot:
Four bogeys in his first five holes was (probably) not how he drew up his Round 2 start, but Tiger Woods has gone par-par-birdie since then as he heads to the ninth hole. Huge par save on No. 7 looks like it might've given him some confidence. Also had a beautiful chip from the fringe on No. 8 to within a few feet for what was essentially a tap-in birdie. Giving himself chances.
It's gone from bad to worse for Tiger here in Round 2. He's 4-over on the day with four bogeys and has bogeyed each of his last three holes at 3, 4 and 5. Some unfortunate breaks, some missed spots but all of it starting to add up. At 3 over with the cut line looming at 4 over, he's got to turn things around -- and quick -- if he wants to make the weekend at Augusta National.
Not a great start to the day for Tiger Woods. Bogeyed No. 1, made par on No. 2 (after finding bunker on both) then bogeyed the third as well after running a good look at par just past the hole.
Putter was his saving grace on Thursday but those mid-rangers on the green are going to have to drop with regularity for him to be in or near the red today. So far not the case, as he drops to 2 over on the day and 1 over on the week.
