![]() ![]() Par 4 14th: Drive left into the trees second shot clattering around the forest and staying put third to the front of the green, two putts – bogey 5. He parred his way around Amen Corner only to confront a nightmarish three-hole stretch. 10 short and his 7-footer to save par veered hard left off the hole. Going off on the back 9, Woods left his approach to No. He wore neither the face nor the wardrobe of a happy man. And had fitted a knit cap over his billed one. He had changed into a dry pair of sleeves and a warm vest. ![]() Saturday, dressed more for Carnoustie than for a piney corner of Georgia. Quickly a wish seemed to morph into a hard obligation that in the end he couldn’t meet. With him gone, the cut – consisting of top 50 players, including ties – shifted to 3 over. Behind Woods, Thomas was butchering his back nine, going 6-over 42 to drop to 4 over for the tournament. Wish granted, thanks to his good buddy Justin Thomas. ![]() “I wish I get a chance to play two more rounds,” he said. He joked, because of the rain delay, that he at least “got a chance to play on the weekend.” The cut line at that moment stood at 2 over. 17 and 18, he had dropped another stroke to go to 3 over. I’ve loved it,” he said.Īs Woods spoke with more players still on the course finishing their second round, it looked doubtful he’d make the cut. Obviously I’ve missed a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. “I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event. Later, in a brief stopover at the flash interview area behind the clubhouse, Woods touched on how just being here meant so much now and why maybe he’d go through all this. No victory on the line, just a license to loiter rather than contend. Here was a huge crowd defying the rain Saturday morning to rally for a five-time Masters winner playing only for the right to hang around a little while longer. That accomplishment is to the Woods catalog what “Yellow Submarine” is to the Beatles’, a trivial aside.Īt this stage of life, victories come in smaller packages for Woods. At 2 over through 11 holes Friday when rain and crashing lumber ended his second round, he was on the narrow ledge of the cut.Īll he had to play for was simple competitive survival, and to tie Fred Couples and Gary Player for most consecutive made Masters cuts. Woods showed up at dawn Saturday with one foot on rain-slicked Augusta National and the other on a private plane heading south. Who wouldn’t want to see those two guys wrestle around in the mud, or at the very least, match power fades with a Masters at stake?Īt the very bottom of the same board a different kind of drama took shape. Two heavyweights are at the lead of this one – Koepka and Jon Rahm. If after finishing his third round he resists the urge to demand his trophy and his pay before leaving skid marks on Magnolia Lane, there could be quite a finish setting up Sunday. There was all the usual intrigue atop the leaderboard going into Masters Sunday, when hopefully they’ll make up the lost holes and complete play.īrooks Koepka has become accustomed to playing only 54 holes in that LIV aberration he now inhabits. A full three strokes separated him from 53rd place. When play ceased Saturday, Woods, at 9 over, was last among the 54 players left after the cut. Sore, soaked to the bone and, worse yet, going bogey-double bogey-double bogey over his last three holes before the stoppage, Woods seemed beaten physically and mentally. The last vision of him Saturday was just sad. If Woods can’t summon enough to play in the event he most adores, where else can he? Now we wonder if we’ll see him walk here again. How much could he endure just to play a minor supporting role in it? The answer came Sunday morn: Not this much. The 2023 Masters became a survival test of Woods’ affection for this tournament. ![]()
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