After a disappointing 10-over 82 on Day 3 of the Masters, Tiger Woods turned to a new swing coach on Sunday: HIs
Promising young golfer Charlie Woods was pictured with his father on the driving range ahead of Tiger’s 100th career round at the Masters in Augusta on Sunday.
With Tiger in his Sunday red, Charlie wore a casual look with a collared sweatshirt and a baseball clip from his father’s clothing line.
Tiger had a tough outing on Saturday.
He started the first day again seven shots off the lead, and felt like he was capable of beating Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and the rest of the leaders. But that was before eight bogeys and two double bogeys, offset by just a pair of birdies, left the 48-year-old Woods at the bottom of the leaderboard instead of at the top.
It was only the fifth round Woods has shot as a professional in the 1980s, and only the third in a major. He shot an 80 in the first round of the 2005 US Open at Chambers Bay and an 81 in the third round of the 2002 British Open at Muirfield.
Tiger and son Charlie Woods leave the training ground in a cart during the final round
Tiger Woods warms up on the driving range with his son Charlie
Tiger Woods talks to his son Charlie and his caddy Lance Bennett before the final round
His worst round as a pro came in 2015, when he shot an 85 in the third round of the Memorial.
“I haven’t competed much or played much,” said Woods, who arrived this week after playing just 24 holes of competitive golf this year. ‘When I had opportunities to turn it around and when I made that (birdie) putt on 5, I promptly three-putted on 6 and threw a chip on 7 and just got it the wrong way, and when I had opportunities to I didn’t freak out.’
Hard to turn it around while playing from the trees.
After his tee shot on the seventh cleared the fairway, Woods dumped his approach into the bunker and made a double bogey. On the eighth, he hit it into the trees, struck out and made another double. And to cap off his worst front nine at the Masters, Woods again missed the fairway off the tee, found another bunker and walked away with another bogey.
Tiger and Charlie Woods are seen in the Augusta warm-up room wearing their father’s clothing line
Tiger Woods warms up in the Augusta practice room as his son Charlie Woods looks on
Woods played that four-hole stretch before making the turn in 6 over.
Things didn’t get any better for the next nine.
There was a quirky tee shot at number 11: bogey. The missed six feet on the 12th – bogey. The drive through the trees on No. 14 – bogey. The fragmented chip on the 15th – bogey. The three-putt on the 16th: bogey. And more tree problems at number 17 – bogey.
Playing partner Tyrell Hatton could at least commiserate. He hit the last hole with four.
“Obviously, he didn’t hit how he wanted to,” Hatton said, “but also the putts he had, the greens are so fast there. Y’all don’t realize it, even a 20 foot putt is just brutal. They have so many turns.
‘You start an inch outside your starting line and it goes wrong. Depending on the pace you hit him at, who knows how far he’ll end up.”
Does Charlie show Dad how it’s done? Tiger Woods watches his son Augusta lash out
The week was a tough one for Woods, who had to play 23 holes on Friday after darkness prematurely ended his opening round. Yet he not only persevered through a marathon day, he shot a 72 in the second round in such stormy conditions that the average score was 75.09, making his 24th consecutive Masters finish.
Woods had hit the ball well, hitting 22 of 28 fairways in two rounds and compensating for some poor approach shots (only 17 of 36 greens in regulation) with an excellent short game. He started the third round this week in the top 10 in putting.
What had been his strength, however, became his downfall on Saturday. Woods hit just four of 13 fairways, had a pair of three-putts and had to try to get his body back into shape before Sunday’s early tee time.
“My team will get me ready,” he said. “It’s going to be a long night and a long warm-up, but we’re ready.”
