Scottie Scheffler leads; Tiger Woods rebounds
The third round of the Masters gets underway Saturday at Augusta National, and the week’s best story continues as Tiger Woods made the cut 14 months after a horrific car accident.
After an up-and-down second round in which he bogeyed on four of the first five holes and six overall, the five-time Masters champion also hit four birdies to finish 1-over par through 36 holes.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is running away with the tournament, shooting 8-under par to lead 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama, 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry and Sungjae Im by five shots.
Five players have led by five strokes after 36 holes at the Masters and all but one, Harry Cooper in 1936, went on to win.
Woods and Kevin Kisner will tee off at 1 p.m. ET, while Scheffler and Schwartzel will tee off at 2:50.
Nice save
Tiger Woods made a big save after his second shot on the par-4 14th ran across and over the green.
Woods looked as if he was going to be in good position with his second shot when the ball landed on the lower part of the green. But it never slowed down, racing across the green and rolling off the back side.
That left Woods to make an up-and-down from a downslope just to save par, and he did, chipping to within about 2 feet and making it.
Start of a run?
After looking as if the wheels were coming off his round, Tiger Woods is rebounding.
The five-time Masters champion had back-to-back birdies in Amen Corner on Saturday afternoon, including his third birdie in as many days on the par-5 13th. Woods is now 2 over for the day, and 3 over for the tournament.
The Masters is the first significant tournament for Woods since he shattered his leg in a February 2021 car wreck. He had said it wasn’t his game that was the concern but the physical demands of Augusta National, and it seemed as if he was running out of steam on the 11th hole. He labored as he approached the green, and his 3-footer to save par hit the edge of the cup and bounced off.
It was his second bogey in three holes.
But Woods rolled in about a 10-footer on 12, then took advantage of the par-5 13th. He was on the green in two, though he had about 27 feet to make eagle. He got within 2 feet of the hole, then tapped in for the birdie.
Woods had a similar rebound Friday, making birdies on 13 and 14 to ensure he stayed on the right side of the cutline.
Not done yet
Just when you think Tiger Woods is done, he shows he’s got something left.
After laboring on his rebuilt leg on his way to a bogey on the 11th, Woods bounced back with a birdie on the par-3 No. 12.
The fans at Amen Corner greeted the five-time Masters champion with applause as he walked slowly onto the 12th tee, and he tipped his cap in recognition. He drew more applause with his tee shot, which landed about 10 feet from the pin.
Woods drained it, and smiled as he went to retrieve his ball. It was only his third birdie on a par-3 this week.
Scottie Scheffler isn’t leaving any openings early in the third round.
Scheffler made birdie on the par-5 No. 2 to get to 9-under for the tournament. Charl Schwartzel and Shane Lowry are five strokes back.
Scheffler, who has won in three of his last five starts to reach No. 1 in the world, has played the par-5s at 6 under so far this week. He has yet to make a bogey on a par-5.
Running out of gas
Tiger Woods seems to be feeling the physical toll of his comeback at the Masters.
The five-time Masters champion, playing in his first significant tournament since shattering his right leg in a February 2021 car crash, moved slowly as he checked the line on his par putt on the par-4 No. 11. His limp had also seemed more pronounced as he walked off the tee box with Kevin Kisner, though he was smiling and laughing.
Woods had said it would be his stamina that would determine how he fared at the Masters, saying he still had his hands. And, indeed, he can still make some of those impressive, signature shots.
He left himself about a 3-footer for par after putting from off the green. But the ball banged off the rim of the cup, leaving him with another bogey. He’s at 4 over for the day, 5 over for the tournament.
If Tiger Woods can’t make something good happen, he at least has to avoid trouble.
He two-putted from the far right side of the green to make par on No. 10.
Tiger at the turn
This isn’t the kind of moving Tiger Woods hoped to do.
Woods played the front nine at 3-over, including the first four-putt of his career at the Masters. (He has another listed from the first round in 2005 on No. 13, but that included a ball that went into Rae’s Creek.)
Woods needed to go low early in the third round to have any chance of making a run at leader Scottie Scheffler. Instead, he got off to a rough start with his first three-putt of the week for a bogey on No. 1.
He got the stroke back on the next hole, nearly holing out for an eagle from a greenside bunker before tapping in for birdie.
But Woods’ round began…