West News Wire: Due to an injury, Tiger Woods withdrew from the Masters before the third round resumed on Sunday, breaking his record of playing the full 72 holes in every professional competition he has participated in at Augusta National.
Woods, who is still limited by the aftereffects of the automobile accident in 2021 that almost cost him his right leg, withdrew, the tournament announced approximately 90 minutes before play started. He had limped through the practice rounds earlier in the week as well as the first and second rounds, but as the weather got worse, the limp got worse.
Woods posted on Twitter, “I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis.” “I want to thank the fans and everyone at The Masters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!”
The five-time champion finished his second round in cold, driving rain on Saturday to make the cut on the number at 3 over, extending his Masters streak to 23 straight and tying Fred Couples and Gary Player for the longest in history.
The 47-year-old Woods headed back out for the start of the third round as temperatures struggled to reach 50 degrees, and it wound up being a water-logged slog. Wearing a gray winter hat over a baseball cap, he started on the 10th hole with a bogey, added another at No. 14, and then had back-to-back double bogeys after finding the water on Nos. 15 and 16.
It was the first time Woods has ever had consecutive double bogeys at the Masters.
By the time the horn blew ending play with rain still pouring and puddles beginning to stand at Augusta National, Woods was at 9 over and alone in last place among those that made the cut. That was 22 shots behind leader Brooks Koepka. “I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” Woods said after his second round Saturday. “Obviously I’ve missed a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. I’ve loved it.”
Woods also withdrew before the final round of last year’s PGA Championship with what his agent, Mark Steinberg, described as pain and discomfort in his right foot. That came hours after the 15-time major champion limped to a 79 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in similarly cold and windy weather; he had shot 69 in the second round.
Woods captured his fifth green jacket in 2019 when he finished one shot ahead of Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele. It was his first major win in 11 years and, at age 43, Woods became the second-oldest player to win the Masters after Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won his sixth green jacket in 1986.
The injuries have forced Woods to play a very limited schedule the majors and a few select events. He shot two rounds in the 60s and finished tied for 45th at The Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February, but he skipped Bay Hill and The Players Championship so that he would be healthy and ready for a return to Augusta National.
