AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods decided to tee it up at the 2022 Masters in an attempt to win his 16th major championship, sixth green jacket and 83rd PGA Tour event — just 14 months after nearly losing his right leg in a car accident. It was a shocking turn of events when Woods made his decision, and while his effort through the first two rounds at Augusta National made it appear as if he made the right call, Tiger’s play over the weekend was that of a golfer who was neither completely healthy nor in position to contend across an entire tournament.
What Woods did show at Augusta this week, however, was an unquestionable, endless supply of fortitude. Which is why, as he walked through a sea of patrons having just carded a weekend 156 for a 47th-place finish — his worst in history at the Masters — he had an ear-to-earn grin on his face.
No one, perhaps not even Woods himself, would have predicted Tiger finishing 72 holes at the 2022 Masters.
“I had the same questions [about whether I could complete 72 holes]. It was an unbelievable feeling to just have the patrons and the support out there,” Woods told CBS after walking off the course on Sunday. “I wasn’t exactly playing my best out there, but to just have the support out there — an appreciation from all the fans — I don’t think words can really describe that given where I was a little over a year ago and what my prospects were at that time. To end up here and be able to play all four rounds, even a month ago, I didn’t know if I could pull this off. I think it was a positive. I’ve got some work to do, and I’m looking forward to it.”
After impressing with a 71 on Thursday and making the 22nd consecutive Masters cut of his professional career on Friday, Woods ended this trek through Augusta National with a pair of 78s on Saturday and Sunday. The 6-over scores were each, individually, the worst rounds of his career at Augusta, and the combined 156 on the weekend was easily his highest such score over any of his two rounds at the Masters.
Woods started well enough with a birdie on the second, but he bogeyed Nos. 4-6, No. 11 and No. 14 before scoring a double bogey on the 17th. He finished 13 over for the tournament.
The still-recovering right leg — Woods used his clubs as canes frequently throughout the weekend — showed significant fatigue (at a minimum), and he was unable to display his normal discipline throughout the course. Most notable was Tiger’s putting, which at its most generous could be described as efforted. Woods himself joked that he took “thousands” of putts on Saturday. He finished the weekend seventh-worst among golfers who made the cut in strokes gained putting, giving more than two strokes back over the course of 72 grueling holes.
Tiger decided to play Augusta National to compete and win. He was not in the field simply to play the course at which he is the most famous. He competed with all his might again on Sunday, making the finish line in a display of overcoming tremendous adversity.
Keep on reading for stories and schedule information along with consistent updates throughout his time at Augusta National this week.
