After valiantly battling his way through the rain and the cutline at Augusta National Golf Club, Tiger Woods' Masters has come to an end. Withdrawing from the tournament Sunday morning before the resumption of Round 3, the 47-year-old cited his plantar fasciitis as the cause for his early exit. Woods was 9 over for the tournament and last among those who made the cut when he decided to make the call.
Woods' dismissal from the Masters comes after he tied his good friend Fred Couples and Gary Player for the all-time tournament record for most consecutive made cuts with 23. This also marks Woods' first ever withdrawal from the Masters and his second in five competitive tournaments he has played in since the start of 2022.
After making the cut at the 2022 PGA Championship, Woods signed for a third round 9-over 79 at Southern Hills prior to exiting. 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 He had never previously withdrawn from a major as a professional.
"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]."
Woods had the cards stacked against him from the beginning. Visibly laboring on his surgically-repaired leg, his condition worsened as the weather did. Failing to take advantage of the calm weather on Thursday and signing for an opening 74, the five-time Masters champion swam upstream the rest of the way.
As for what is next for Woods, the jury is still out. The 15-time major champion skipped last year's U.S. Open at The Country Club following his withdrawal from the PGA Championship. A similar cadence is not out of the realm of possibilities as the 2023 PGA Championship looms six weeks away at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
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Well, it's about time. It's not dangerous conditions, but the rain is continuing to dump. As it stands, Brooks Koepka is still in the lead at 13 under but will face an 11-foot par putt on the 7th green when play returns to action. Jon Rahm is his nearest pursuer at 9 under while Tiger Woods is struggling and 6 over thru 7.
It's absolutely miserable out on the course right now. Cold enough to numb your hands, rainy enough to flow right through your jacket. And there's Tiger, with absolutely nothing to gain, limping and grinding his way around ANGC because that's what professionals do.
He's playing at his ceiling right now, and that's probably difficult to accept when you're the best to ever do it. It would have been easy to look out the window this morning and say, "Nah, I'm good." Others did it. Nobody could or would have blamed him.
But Cat has always cared as much about being a pro -- about showing up with the best he can muster on every shot, every time out -- as he has being a legend. That's rare, and it's part of what's made him great.
And as inspirational as the first 25 years of his career were, I think the last couple, the ones in which he has cared as much about completing events as he used to care about winning them, have been equally aspirational.
Another bogey for Woods puts him 2 over for the day and 5 over for the championship. It's miserable out there. Let's just get home healthy and happy and fight for tomorrow.
Alrighty, a couple solid pars on 11 and 12 should give him some mo-mo. Let's see if he can make a couple birdies over this next three-hole stretch as two of them will be par 5s.
Welp, that's not the start you wanted to see. He now enters Amen Corner at +4 and 16 strokes off the lead of Brooks Koepka. Even par may be a pipe dream.
It may be a situation like the Genesis Invitational where Tiger draws patrons away from the final grouping. Let's keep an eye out on his gait and his general health. He closed the 2022 Masters 78-78 in similar conditions.
He will be on the other side of the golf course than the leaders when he starts Round 3. Still, it was a nice sight to see some time spaced out between his finish this morning and his tee time this afternoon. He will go along with Thomas Pieters and Sungjae Im and maybe make his way to red figures.
There is a chance the cut moves to +3 as Justin Thomas or Sungjae Im could drop and move the cutline entirely. It was a sloppy finish for the old timer as dropped shots on his final two holes now put his destiny in someone else's hands. Let's see if Thomas is as good as friends with Woods as he says.
Welp, it is a bogey on No. 17 for Tiger. He needs to par the last to make it to the weekend and make his 23rd consecutive cut at the Masters. Time to pony up!
It's a par on 16. But oh boy he is way right off the tee on 17. He has some wiggle room, but that may tighten after his initial shot on the par 4. Let's get this home big fella.
Oooo baby, that was needed. Felt like he deserved that one. After hitting the flag, Woods rolled in his birdie effort to get to 1 over and in red figures in Round 2. He's one inside the cutline with three holes to play.
Not quite, but Tiger's third at the par-5 15th hit the flag and settled outside 20 feet. He will have that for birdie, and honesty, was probably a decent break as it was probably going to one hop over the green (in my opinion). Let's knock one of these bad boys in.
That was a large, large up-and-down on 14. The putter looked good there, but this could prove to be the pivotal hole upcoming. It will be a three shot hole but if Cat is to create some breathing room between he and the cutline, now would be a nice time to do it.
Looks like Xander Schauffele is stealing all the early birdies in this group. He's 2-for-2 while Woods is 0-for-2 after being on his line. There has been some pop tee to green, but the putting hasn't looked great. Five left. Still on the cut line at 2 over.
Oh god, that was a horrible putt. Straight pull, straight off the blade. From 3 feet, Woods' ball didn't even touch the hole on the par-3 12th. That would have been big for the mojo with a pair of par 5s coming up in the next three. Alrighty, let's reset. He's 2 over and right on the cut line with six holes left.
First shot of the day, first birdie chance of the day. Woods' tee shot on the dangerous par-3 12th hunted the flagstick and will settle inside five feet. That will be to get to 1 over and one stroke inside the projected cutline.
Tiger's first shot of the day will come on the par-3 12th and it will be a difficult one. It is cold. Like Buffalo cold (not that I have ever been). The feel-like is currently 35 degrees which certainly doesn't help our man and his laundry list of injuries.
With play halted for Friday, our attention now turns to Saturday. Tiger Woods stands directly on the cut line in a tie for 50th at 2 over. The 15-time major champion's first swing of the day will come on the par-3 12th where danger lurks. Yet if able to get past the pesky par 3, scoring chances will be plentiful with two par 5s on the second nine. Woods aims to connect on his 23rd consecutive made cut as a professional at the Masters and tie the all-time record in the process.
A tidy par on 10 has Tiger at 2 over for the tournament. Let's grab a birdie around Amen Corner and get out of dodge.
That's a nifty par after a poor wedge shot into the ninth green. The Cat stands at 2 over for the tournament and directly on the cut line. He will need to skirt past Nos. 10-12 and make up some ground on the two par 5s on the second nine.
The shot of the day thus far has been the tee shot on No. 6. Unfortunately Woods failed to convert, but the iron play has looked much better.
The Big Cat is 2 over thru 8 holes as play was suspended at Augusta National. It has been a so-so day thus far for the 15-time major champion, but he finds himself directly on the projected cutline with 10 holes to play. It was a much better start to his round compared to yesterday when he was 3 over thru 7.
It's a bogey on the last for Tiger Woods. Drawing an unfortunate lie in the fairway with his feet in the bunker and ball well above him, Woods' ultimately carded one last 5. The bad news is he is in jeopardy of missing the cut as his name is outside the top 50. The good news is he played his final 11 holes in 1 under. There was clearly some rust and hopefully it is now gone for good.
A mighty lash has him in the fairway with hopes of adding one last birdie. With it, Woods would put an end to a three-round over-par streak at Augusta National dating back to 2022.
Did I call it or did I call it? A sauteed butter cut from the tee on the par-3 16th set up a beauty of a birdie. He's now just 1 over and has a chance to claw back to even par. Would be a fantastic finish to an other wise pedestrian round.
