The third round of the Masters gets underway Saturday at Augusta National, and the week’s best story continues as Tiger Woods made the cut 14 months after a horrific car accident.
After an up-and-down second round in which he bogeyed on four of the first five holes and six overall, the five-time Masters champion also hit four birdies to finish 1-over par through 36 holes.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is running away with the tournament, shooting 8-under par to lead 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama, 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry and Sungjae Im by five shots.
Five players have led by five strokes after 36 holes at the Masters and all but one, Harry Cooper in 1936, went on to win.
Woods and Kevin Kisner will tee off at 1 p.m. ET, while Scheffler and Schwartzel will tee at 2:50.
Masters payout
The winner of the 2022 Masters tournament will take home $2.7 million, with the total prize money being $15 million. Last year’s winner Hideki Matsuyama won $2.07 million out of a total purse of $11.5 million.
Second place will make $1.62 million and third place secures $1.02 million. The golfer that comes in last, or 50th place, will make $37,800. The remainder of the golfers will receive cash prizes ranging downward from $36,900 depending on the scores.
– Scooby Axson
Third round gets underway
The weekend is here and the third round is underway at the 86th Masters. Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Scott, who begin the day at 4-over par have teed off.
Of course, everyone is looking up at Scottie Scheffler, who scorched the course during Friday’s round and shot a 67. He is at 8-under, five shots ahead of defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry, Charl Schwartzel and first round leader Sungjae Im.
Tiger Woods fights way into weekend at the Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods was on his way to falling apart Friday at the Masters when something strange happened. He didn’t.
Struggling on a windy, chilly day that grew grayer by the hour, his face frozen in a pained grimace much of the day, the 46-year-old Woods somehow managed to claw his way through a challenging second round to easily make the cut in his first competitive tournament since the November 2020 Masters.
That is a sentence worth repeating: Tiger Woods made the cut at the Masters less than 14 months after crashing his SUV, shattering his right leg and fearing that he might lose the leg or never walk again.
It wasn’t easy; he started horribly by bogeying four of the first five holes Friday, his worst start in 92 rounds at the Masters going back to his amateur days in 1995. But he said later he was proud of how he fought back, making four birdies in a seven-hole stretch to finish with a 2 over round of 74 for a 36-hole total of 1 over par.
– Christine Brennan
Big names miss the cut
Some of the big names who won’t be playing during the weekend:
Jordan Spieth: Just as he did in 2016, Spieth dumped two balls into Rae’s Creek on the 12th hole. His final-hole double bogey sent him packing with a 76.
Brooks Koepka: The four-time major champion, who had 12 top 10s in his last 16 starts in a major, made just one birdie in each of his two rounds and went home after two scores of 75.
Bryson DeChambeau: The 2020 U.S. Open winner has now played just 13 rounds this year as he’s battled hand, wrist and hip injuries. After opening with a 76, he made just one birdie in the second round and signed for his first-ever 80 on the PGA Tour.
Xander Schauffele: The Olympic gold medalist made just one birdie in 36 holes.
– Steve DiMeglio, Golfweek
Tiger’s presence leads to big ratings
ESPN reported a 21% increase over 2021’s opening-day viewership and the largest television audience of the first round since 2018.
ESPN said its nearly five-hour Thursday telecast peaked at 3.6 million viewers between 4:15 and 4:29 p.m. ET as Woods played the final hole of his first competitive round since a car crash in 2021 left him with severe leg injuries.
Last year’s average viewership of the first round was 2.3 million.
– Jason Lusk, Golfweek
