After two largely positive days at the Masters, Tiger Woods struggled Saturday due to putting problems.
The five-time Masters champion shot a 6-over-par 78 in the third round at Augusta (Ga.) National, leaving him tied for 41st place at 7-over 223. He is now 16 shots behind the leader, Scottie Scheffler.
The Saturday score was Woods’ worst ever in the Masters, one stroke higher than his third-round tally in 1995 when he debuted in the tournament as an amateur.
He took three putts on four separate holes and four putts while making double bogey on the par-4 fifth hole. Woods also double-bogeyed the par-4 18th hole. He wound up with five bogeys and three birdies.
“I just couldn’t get a feel, I couldn’t get a feel for getting comfortable over the ball,” he said. “My posture, my right hand, my release, I just couldn’t find it. Trying different things, taking extra practice strokes, feel the swing of the putterhead, nothing worked. Even hitting as many putts as I did, you’d think I’d figure it out somewhere along the line but it just didn’t happen.”
As for his play from tee to green, Woods said, “For the most part I didn’t feel like I hit it that bad.”
Woods, playing in his first major event since he sustained major leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash, will aim for improvement on Sunday.
“Each and every day is a challenge,” he said. “Each and every day presents its own different challenges for all of us. I wake up and start the fight all over again.”
