Defending champion Tiger Woods made history during the final round of the 84th Masters, but for all the wrong reasons.
Woods was out of contention for the title as he played the par-three 12th, a hole which was a key part of his memorable victory last April.
On that occasion it was rivals Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka, Ian Poulter and Tony Finau who all found the water in front of the green, but this time Woods did so an amazing three times on his way to a 10 – the highest single-hole score of his entire career.
After hitting his initial tee shot into Rae’s Creek, Woods took a penalty drop before hitting his next shot into the hazard, then another penalty drop before overcompensating and firing his fifth shot over the green into a bunker.
Faced with an awkward stance in the sand, Woods thinned his sixth shot back across the green into the water and eventually made it out with his eighth shot before two-putting from the fringe.
Woods bounced back with a brilliant run of five birdies in his final six holes but it was the double-digit score at the 12th which was the main talking point.
There are nightmare rounds and then there is THIS from Tiger Woods! 😩 Tiger ended with a score of 10 on a par-three at the 12th after finding the water three times! 🌊 Watch live only on Sky Sports #TheMasters or follow: https://t.co/nFGK8h7LTt pic.twitter.com/qttXpL5znV — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) November 15, 2020
“I committed to the wrong wind. The wind was off the right for the first two guys, and then when I stepped up there, it switched to howling off the left, and the flag on 11 was howling off the left,” he said.
“I also got ahead of it and pushed it, too, because I thought the wind would come more off the right and it was off the left, and that just started the problem from there.
“From there I hit a lot more shots and had a lot more experiences there in Rae’s Creek.
That's how you respond. 💪 Tiger Woods never stopped fighting. pic.twitter.com/CGAH1vxWre — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 15, 2020
“This is unlike any other sport in which you’re so alone out there and you have to figure it out and you have to fight and no one is going to bring you off the mound or call in a sub and you just have to figure it out, and I did coming in.
“That’s part of our sport. That’s what makes this game so unique and so difficult mentally.
“We’ve all been there, unfortunately. Unfortunately I’ve been there and you just have to turn around and figure out the next shot, and I was able to do that coming home.”
