Tiger ties Masters cuts mark after JT unravels
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods needed some help Saturday but made the cut for the 23rd consecutive time at the Masters, tying Fred Couples and Gary Player for the longest streak in the tournament’s history.
After making a bogey on each of the last two holes to fall back to 3 over after 36 holes, Woods needed his good friend Justin Thomas or South Korea’s Sungjae Im to post a bogey down the stretch to move the cut line from 2 over to 3 over.
With rain falling heavily at Augusta National Golf Club, Thomas carded bogeys on each of the last two holes to finish 4 over. He missed a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole and missed the cut. After his final putt, Thomas stared into the sky with a look of disbelief.
Im also made a bogey on the par-4 17th and finished 3 over.
After his round, Woods was asked what it would mean to make the cut once again. He has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional; he wasn’t around for the weekend as an amateur in 1996.
“I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” Woods said. “Obviously I’ve missed a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. I’ve loved it. I got a chance to play on the weekend. I wish I get a chance to play two more rounds.”
Given how much he has struggled walking Augusta National Golf Club on his surgically repaired right leg, ankle and foot, Woods is going to face a tremendous challenge over the final 36 holes.
The third round got underway at 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, and Woods, who was limping noticeably as he played the first seven holes of the third round in 6 over to fall to 9 over, tumbled into last place, 22 shots behind leader Brooks Koepka.
Third-round play will continue Saturday morning, with the final round scheduled to begin immediately after.
The 15-time major champion seemed to be in good shape to make the cut after making a 27-foot birdie putt on the par-5 15th, which moved to 1 under. But then he hit his tee shot on No. 17 to the right, couldn’t get up and down from below the green and made a bogey. On the 18th, he pulled his tee shot into the trees on the left. He punched out and his approach shot spun back to 50 feet. He two-putted for another bogey.
“I hit it right off the heel,” Woods said of his tee shot on No. 18. “I was just trying to hit some kind of low cut out there, and I hit it right off the neck.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information, it is the fourth time in Woods’ career that he has made the cut on the number in a major. He also did it at the 2003 Masters, 2005 PGA Championship and 2014 Open Championship.
Woods, 47, made his competitive return to golf after a 508-day layoff at the 2022 Masters and finished 47th. It was his first competitive start since suffering serious injuries in a car wreck in February 2021. He struggled in cold weather on the weekend and posted scores of 6-over 78 in each of the last two rounds, his worst scores at Augusta National.
