Tiger Woods, 48, made history again at Augusta National, making his 24th consecutive cut at The Masters. Despite the tough windy conditions and a grueling Friday itinerary, Woods shown tenacity and determination in setting a new record that will be remembered for years.
A Marathon Friday
It wasn’t a walk in the park, or a leisurely stroll amid Augusta’s flowering azaleas. Woods was certainly tested. After being forced to finish his unfinished Thursday round early on Friday morning due to darkness, he ended round one with a one-over-par 73 in the cool of the morning.
Following the completion of his first round, Woods had only 52 minutes to rest and prepare to tee off in round two.
Woods’ Friday round was a story of perseverance, with a birdie at the third to lift his spirits before back-to-back bogeys at the fourth and fifth to test his willpower. However, it was his brilliant chip-in birdie at the sixth that reminded everyone on the course and throughout the world why he is regarded as one of the best golfers of all time.
Tiger fared much better on the back nine. Pars on the 10th through 13th holes preceded his only bogey on the back nine, which came on the 14th. Woods promptly responded with a birdie on 15 to right the ship, and he closed the round with three consecutive pars for an even par and +1 for the event.
A Record Unlike Any Other.
Tiger’s accomplishment breaks Gary Player and Fred Couples’ shared record of 23 consecutive cuts at The Masters. It demonstrates consistent performance and a lasting spirit that appears to thrive among Augusta’s huge oaks and beautiful fairways.
“It means I have a chance going into the weekend,” Woods said, not thinking about his latest accomplishment that will go down in history, but about his goal to be at the top of the scoreboard once more on Sunday.
“I am only eight back as of today. I don’t think anyone will run away and hide right now, but it’s incredibly crowded.”
Toward the Weekend
With the cut made, Woods will now focus on the Augusta weekend. While he is fairly far down the standings, just making the cut at this point in his career is obviously worth celebrating. However, a top-20 finish remains a possibility, and it would be a huge accomplishment in his first full 72-hole round of the year after withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational earlier in the year.
We haven’t seen Woods play weekend golf in quite some time, but it appears that we’ll get our first glimpse at Tiger in Sunday Red this weekend at Augusta.
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