Tiger Woods will not leave again with the Augusta Masters trophy.

But, if his golf and his physique suffered during the tournament, he nevertheless knew how to hang on and go the distance, which is a great victory in itself.

The golf star still had a complicated third round on Saturday, for his return to competition thirteen months after the car accident which almost cost him a leg, his +7 card destroying his chances of a 6th coronation.

The 46-year-old American, winner of 15 Majors, achieved a score of 78. His worst in a lap, in 24 participations in this event, the fatigue becoming stronger and stronger, in windy conditions not helping nothing.

He totals +7 after 54 holes and is temporarily sailing around 40th place.

Far from the leader, the world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who, halfway through, continued to fly over the debates (-11).

"I just didn't have a feeling"

“It was tough.

Today was a challenge because the conditions were difficult.

They were already yesterday at the start, but at least we had a bit of a break at the end.

Today the wind blew all day,” Woods responded.

Like the day before, he conceded an entry bogey, but immediately recovered with a birdie on the N.2, by making a superb exit from the bunker which almost made an eagle.

After paring on the next two holes, he committed his first double-bogey of the tournament at N.5, betrayed by a deficient putt.

“I must have hit about a thousand today,” Woods railed.

“I did what I was supposed 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."

The Tiger bogeyed again at N.9 then at N.11, the first segment of the Amen Corner, where the Masters are often won and lost.

But he reacted like a champion, with two consecutive birdies at N.12 and N.13, which complete the most difficult triptych of the course.

A fleeting bright spot in the day for Woods, who then chained two more bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, before collapsing on the last with another double-bogey.

Near miss amputation

The return of the Tiger is still impressive.

He had indeed narrowly avoided the amputation of his right leg, after his exit from the road on February 23, 2021 near Los Angeles, for the multiple open fractures which finally required him to insert a metal rod in the tibia, and screws to strengthen the bones of the foot and ankle.

Woods had been hospitalized for weeks and unable to walk for months.

But, the body already bruised by countless injuries, he once again knew how to get up, to achieve a return that no one expected so fast in Augusta, after 17 months without playing.

His last tournament was indeed the 2020 edition of the Masters.

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