Tiger Woods’ performance at the Masters took a disappointing turn on Saturday, as he shot a 10-over 82 in the third round. This marks the highest round of his Masters career, and it was certainly a far cry from his previous successes at Augusta National.
The day started off on a relatively positive note for Woods, as he was even par through five holes and even managed to record a birdie on the difficult par-4 5th. However, things quickly went downhill from there. The front nine proved to be particularly challenging for Woods, as he went bogey-double bogey-double bogey-bogey in his final four holes. This resulted in a front-nine score of 42, the highest nine-hole score of his Masters career.
On the back nine, Woods struggled to regain his momentum. He recorded five bogeys, one birdie, and three pars, further adding to his disappointing round. To make matters worse, this is now the third time in Woods’ career that he has carded a score of 80 or more at a major championship.
This poor performance contrasts sharply with Woods’ first two days at Augusta National. He shot a respectable opening-round 73, followed by a second-round 72 after playing 23 holes on Friday. These scores were enough to extend his made-cut streak at the Masters to 24, setting a new record.
It is worth noting that Woods’ preparation for this tournament was limited, as he had only played 24 holes of tournament golf this year prior to the Masters. He also hadn’t completed 72 holes in an official tournament competition since February 2023. These factors may have contributed to his struggles on Saturday.
Despite his disappointing performance, Sunday will mark an important milestone for Woods as it will be his 100th career round at the Masters. This achievement solidifies his status as one of the greatest players in the history of the tournament, joining the ranks of only 20 other players who have reached this milestone.
While this round was undoubtedly a setback for Woods, it is important to remember his incredible accomplishments in the sport. With 15 major championships under his belt, he has proven time and time again that he is capable of bouncing back from adversity. As he looks ahead to future tournaments, it will be interesting to see how he responds to this challenging round at the Masters.