Tiger Woods finishes Masters with his highest score as a pro

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods completed the Masters on Sunday with a file he might do with out, strolling off the course with a 16-over 304, his highest 72-hole rating in a profession that spans three many years.

Woods’ earlier excessive was 302 on the Memorial in 2015. He has solely failed to interrupt 300 one different time on the Masters two years in the past when he shot 78-78 on the weekend and completed at 301.

Regardless of the rating, Woods known as it a “good week” and mentioned he’s going to start making ready for the opposite three majors together with the PGA Championship in Could, the U.S. Open in June and the British Open in July.

“This can be a golf course I knew going into it, so I’m going to do my homework going ahead at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon,” Woods mentioned. “However that’s type of the sport plan.”

Total, he wasn’t sad with how he performed.

“Coming in right here, not having performed a full event in a really very long time, it was a superb struggle on Thursday and Friday,” Woods mentioned. “Sadly (Saturday) didn’t fairly end up the best way I wished it to.”

It hardly mattered to the gang.

The 48-year-old Woods, who remains to be coping with the results of quite a few surgical procedures which have impacted his physique and restricted his enjoying time on the PGA Tour, obtained an enormous roar from the gang as he pitched near the opening on No. 18 and made par.

Carrying his conventional Sunday purple, Woods tipped his hat the gang.

Woods has performed solely 24 holes in a single event going into the Masters

“I’m simply going to maintain lifting, preserve the motor going, preserve the physique shifting, preserve getting stronger, preserve progressing,” Woods mentioned. “Hopefully the apply classes will preserve getting longer.”

Woods was in final place among the many 60 gamers who made the minimize when he completed. The earlier time he completed in final place was within the 2020 Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

Nonetheless, the patrons flocked to see the person who took golf’s recognition to new heights, even when he isn’t been the dominant participant he as soon as was at Augusta Nationwide.

Woods hasn’t actually been aggressive right here since 2020 when he completed tied for thirty eighth one yr after his beautiful fifth victory at age 43.

He completed 13 over two years in the past, then was pressured to withdraw in 2023 within the third spherical resulting from accidents that weren’t helped by the chilly, wet climate that had taken an apparent bodily toll on his physique.

For a short while this week Woods confirmed glimpses of previous greatness, relying totally on his data of the course.

He performed the primary two rounds in 1 over to make the minimize for a file twenty fourth time. However the closing two rounds had been a wrestle for Woods, who posted his worst spherical of his profession at a serious with an 82 on Saturday.

“It’s all the time good coming again right here as a result of I do know the golf course, I understand how to play it,” Woods mentioned. “I can type of simulate pictures. Granted, it’s by no means fairly the identical as getting out right here and doing it.”

He performed the ultimate 36 holes in 15 over, taking pictures 77 on Sunday in his a hundredth profession spherical on the Masters.

Earlier than the spherical Woods appeared to obtain some swing suggestions from his 15-year-old son Charlie on the apply vary.

Issues began off nicely sufficient, however that didn’t final lengthy.

After enjoying the primary two holes in 1 beneath, Woods made a bogey on No. 3 earlier than issues began to unravel on the par-4 fifth gap when he took an unplayable lie and needed to be pushed again to the tee field in a golf cart to hit once more. He wound up with a triple-bogey 7.

He added one other bogey on the sixth.

He practically chipped in from the sand on No. 16, giving followers a thrill and bringing again fond recollections of his iconic chip in in 2005 en path to the fourth of his 5 championships at Augusta.

Woods mentioned the hardest a part of the week for him was battling the wind, which reached 45 mph at occasions with gusts.

“What it was doing out right here to the golf pictures and the balls and placing, how troublesome the course was enjoying,” Woods mentioned. “It doesn’t take a lot to get out of place right here. Sadly, I obtained out of place lots (Saturday) and a pair occasions at this time.”

The once-dominant Woods performed with Neal Shipley, the one beginner to make the minimize on the Masters.

It was a stark reminder of simply how lengthy Woods has been round.

Woods’ streak of cuts made on the Masters started in 1997, earlier than the 23-year-old Shipley was born.

Even with Woods being out of competition he nonetheless attracting the same old large throng of followers keen simply to get a glimpse of the participant that turned the face of the game. Followers applaud after each Woods’ shot — good or unhealthy — and proceed to shout encouragement his approach.

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