Share

Back to drawing board for Tiger

Augusta - Tiger Woods was proud of his share of 17th at the Masters in his comeback from a two-month layoff, but the 14-time major champion needs more time to work on his game.

Woods displayed a solid short game this week at Augusta National, where he has lifted four green jackets, but stumbled off the tee, managing to find only two of 14 fairways in Sunday's final round.

"Not going to be for a while," Woods said of his next start. "I have a little time off and go back to the drawing board, work on it again, and refine what I'm doing. I really like what I'm doing, I got my distance back, and everything is good."

Asked if he would play next month's Players Championship, Woods said, "I'm going to practice. Practice some more."

That could mean Woods might not return until the Memorial, his usual tuneup for the US Open, which in June will be staged at Chambers Bay.

"It's going to take some time," Woods said. "I was pleased with the way I was able to hit the ball this week. I've got my pop back. And then on top that have I got my short game back, which was nice."

Woods produced consecutive rounds at Augusta National in the 60s on Friday and Saturday for the first time since his most recent Masters victory in 2005.

It was a major improvement from his career-worst 82 at the Phoenix Open and his withdrawing after 11 holes in February at Torrey Pines, his game imploding with iron and chipping woes and swing issues.

"Considering where I was at Torrey and Phoenix, to make that complete swing change, I'm pretty proud of what I've done," Woods said. "To make my short game my strength again was pretty sweet. That's something that I have worked my butt off to get to that point.

"No one knows how hard we had to work to get to this point, but I'm very pleased. This is my first tournament back, being a major championship, and to give myself a chance, it felt good."

Woods was 10 back of eventual Masters winner Jordan Spieth entering the last round and lamented not making a harder charge even though he would have needed the greatest comeback in Masters history to win.

"I needed to shoot probably 31 on that front nine, and make a little bit of a run," he said. "I missed three shorties in a row on two, three and four and didn't gather any momentum after that. And basically I struggled from there."

Part of Woods' problems came at the ninth when he injured his right wrist hitting a tree root on his second shot.

"A bone kind of popped out and the joint kind of went out of place, but I put it back in," Woods said.

"I tried to get some height and drove it straight into it. I was in a hole. There was a big depression there and I didn't really suspect there would be anything in front of it. Evidently there was."

Final scores in the Masters over par-72 Augusta National on Sunday:

270 - Jordan Spieth (USA) 64-66-70-70

274 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 70-68-67-69, Justin Rose (ENG) 67-70-67-70

276 - Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71-71-68-66

277 - Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 71-70-70-66

279 - Dustin Johnson (USA) 70-67-73-69, Paul Casey (ENG) 69-68-74-68, Ian Poulter (ENG) 73-72-67-67

280 - Charley Hoffman (USA) 67-68-71-74, Zach Johnson (USA) 72-72-68-68, Hunter Mahan (USA) 75-70-68-67

282 - Kevin Na (USA) 74-66-70-72, Bill Haas (USA) 69-71-72-70, Kevin Streelman (USA) 70-70-70-72, Ryan Moore (USA) 74-66-73-69, Rickie Fowler (USA) 73-72-70-67

283 - Tiger Woods (USA) 73-69-68-73, Sergio Garca (ESP) 68-74-71-70

284 - Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 72-69-71-72, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 73-73-70-68

285 - Russell Henley (USA) 68-74-72-71

286 - Patrick Reed (USA) 70-72-74-70, Keegan Bradley (USA) 71-72-75-68, Mark O'Meara (USA) 73-68-77-68, Ernie Els (RSA) 67-72-75-72, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 72-69-73-72, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 75-70-70-71

287 - Jason Day (AUS) 67-74-71-75, Webb Simpson (USA) 69-75-72-71, Morgan Hoffmann (USA) 73-72-72-70, Jonas Blixt (SWE) 72-70-70-75, Steve Stricker (USA) 73-73-73-68

288 - Brooks Koepka (USA) 74-71-71-72, Ryan Palmer (USA) 69-74-74-71, Chris Kirk (USA) 72-73-72-71, Bae Sang-Moon (KOR) 74-71-72-71, Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 74-71-76-67

289 - Danny Willett (ENG) 71-71-76-71, Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) 70-74-72-73, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 71-70-73-75, Adam Scott (AUS) 72-69-74-74, John Senden (AUS) 71-74-72-72, Cameron Tringale (USA) 71-75-69-74, Bubba Watson (USA) 71-71-73-74, Jimmy Walker (USA) 73-72-74-70

290 - Matt Kuchar (USA) 72-74-72-72, Lee Westwood (ENG) 73-73-70-74

291 - Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 74-70-73-74

292 - Anirban Lahiri (IND) 71-75-74-72, Jason Dufner (USA) 74-71-74-73

293 - Erik Compton (USA) 73-72-74-74

294 - Darren Clarke (NIR) 74-71-77-72, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 71-74-76-73

295 - Vijay Singh (FIJ) 75-70-79-71

297 - Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 75-70-80-72

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2247 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE