Tiger Woods’ chances of winning a fifth green jacket faded away on April 9 as the former No. 1 ranked pro golfer shot just a 2-over par in the third round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in August, Ga.
Woods stood in a four-way tie for ninth place heading into the final round, and was just seven strokes behind board leader Rory McIlroy, who scored a 70 in the third round to take a four-stroke lead over the rest of the field, the biggest 54-hole lead at Augusta since Woods led by 9 strokes in 1997.
“It’s a great position to be in,” McIlroy told reporters, according to ESPN.com. “I feel comfortable with my game, comfortable with the way I prepared, and all of a sudden I’m finally feeling comfortable on this golf course. With a combination like that, you’re going to feel pretty good.”
McIlroy said he expected Tiger to be more of a threat by closing in on the competition in the final rounds, as he has time and again during a storied career.
Woods trailed by only three shots heading into the third round, but he missed a few birdies that ultimately pushed him too far behind to catch up to McIlroy.
“I just made nothing,” Woods said, according to ESPN.com. “I hit the ball well all day. That wasn’t the problem. Take away the two three-putts there, a couple of unforced errors and it should have been a pretty good round.”