Angry especially with his putting, the Tiger, very diminished, did not roar this Saturday during the “Moving day”.
From our special envoy to Augusta,
The living legend Tiger Woods did not set fire to the audience of the Masters. They were just waiting to ignite, refrigerated by unusual temperatures for April in Georgia. Woods returned a heavy 78 (+6) in the cold with his putting, simply signing his worst card in 24 Masters.
It’s historical, and he never had three putts five times on a single lap… “I must have hit about a thousand today,” said the man who has long been a “killer” on the greens. “I did what I had to do when it came to hitting the ball, but I did absolutely the opposite on the greens.
I just didn’t have a feeling. I could never find the right posture. I tried a lot of different things, but nothing worked.
After an amazing first round (71, -1) for a golfer who had not played in the competition for 508 days, then a valiant second round in the wind played in 74 (+2), the five-time winner took the water this Saturday.
“It’s been hard,” he continues. Today was a challenge because the conditions were difficult. They were already yesterday initially, but at least we had a little lull at the end.
Today, the wind blew all day. The ball wasn’t moving forward much, either.”
“Moving day”
At the beginning of the last lap, the master of the place is in 41st place at +7 (223), in the company of Jon Rahm, who also passed through during this “Moving day”. Yet the Tiger historically negotiates best in Augusta in the third round.
Not this Saturday. The golf star has suffered logically from his lack of competition. He is back on earth after letting his many fans glimpse the possibility of a sixth jacket. With Woods, the impossible is often possible. Well, not always.
Especially with such a catastrophic putting. On the 1, there were three putts for a bogey—the same punishment on the 9th and the 11th. Tiger Woods did worse on the 5th, with a terrible four putts to sign his first double bogey of the tournament and throw his putter to the ground out of spite.
There were also sublime shots in the small game to save pars or look for birdies. His fabulous lobbed shot, played above the bunker of the 7th, landed towards the mast for a par. His magnificent iron shot at the 12th (par 3) allowed him to sign his second birdie of the day.
In the eagle position on par 5 of the 13th, he chained a new birdie to return to +3. Then the mistakes accumulated on his return to putting more icy than ever with two consecutive three-putts on holes 16 and 17 and a catastrophic double bogey final.
Thirteen months after the car accident that almost cost him a leg, the man with 15 titles in Majors appeared breathless, the fatigue being too strong. Without pressure, and now very far from the leaders, he will try to finish on a good note on Sunday.
Despite the pains, to complete in beauty an already miraculous return thirteen months after his serious car accident: “Every day is a fight.
I will wake up tomorrow, and I will fight for a new challenge.” To meet his main challenge, say to go to the end of the tournament.
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