Woods finds little reward for a long day at Masters

Tiger Woods was going the wrong way on a long day at Augusta National on Saturday, where his bid for a sixth Masters title was on the rocks.

Woods was four shots behind the leader after playing the final eight holes of his second round on Saturday morning, but an even-even third round saw him drift off the course at nine off the pace set by world number one Dustin Johnson.

Woods, the defending champion, said at the end of his second round that he expected Augusta to get some low scores in the afternoon.

“The golf course is definitely achievable,” Woods said.

But Woods couldn’t take advantage, bogeying the eighth and 11th before his only birdies of the round, 12-15 en route to a total of 54 five-under 211 holes.

“It got a little bit faster,” Woods said of the course that dried up after Thursday’s rain. “But the putts are not quite breaking yet.”

Woods said the long days resulting from a three-hour weather delay Thursday were tough on his surgically fused back.

“It’s just part of the deal,” said Woods, who looked stiff as he leaned down to retrieve his ball as the round progressed.

He still produced some impressive shots, landing his tee shot nine feet off the pin at 12 and draining it for a birdie.

At 15 he had an 18 foot eagle and ended up making a two foot birdie.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Woods’ first appearance at the Masters, as a lanky fan.

He donned his first green jacket in 1997 and rallied last year on Sunday to win his 15th major title, and his first in more than a decade.

Woods said this week that he still has chills as he looks back on last year’s win, but in his search for a replay he hasn’t stopped to consider what it would feel like to slip a green jacket over the shoulders of a new champion.

“Tuesday was a long and difficult day for me, but I still haven’t thought about tomorrow,” Woods said.

“I was focused on trying to get into contention before tomorrow.”

With the field again set to come off the first and tenth tees on Sunday, Woods was hoping for an early start.

“I will certainly be part of the first part of the division and I will follow it tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll see how exciting it will be after the round tomorrow.”