Masters recap: Tiger Woods wins at Augusta National for first time since 2005
Tiger Woods earned his first major victory in more than a decade, winning the Masters for the fifth time in his storied career.
Woods, who last won at Augusta National Golf Club in 2005, became only the second player to win the Masters five times. It marks his second professional win since returning from a career-threatening back injury in late 2017.
The roar was back at Augusta on Sunday after Woods put on a performance reminiscent of his glory days from the early 2000s to outlast several contenders who made pushes up the leaderboard over the final nine holes of the tournament.
A teary-eyed Woods celebrated with his family and friends immediately after his final putt, hugging his 10-year-old son, Charlie, who was born after his last major win during the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008. He then walked to the clubhouse amid cheers and chants of Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!
“It’s overwhelming, just because of what has transpired,” Woods said. “Last year I was lucky to be playing again. At the previous year’s dinner, I was really struggling. I missed a couple of years not playing this great tournament. To now be the champion 22 years between wins is a long time. It’s unreal to experience this.”
Woods finished the tournament at 13 under after posting a two-under-par 70 in the final round. He finished ahead of Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka, who finished tied for second at 12 under for the tournament.
Jason Day, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau and third-round leader Francesco Molinari finished tied for fifth at 11 under.
Woods has 15 major championship wins in his career — second only to Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 titles.
Tiger Woods doesn’t lose his cool on the final hole
Hole 18 — Par 4; 465 yards: The old Tiger roar echoed one again through the dogwoods and azaleas of Augusta National as Woods made his way to the tee at No. 18. Woods overcame an awkward drive off the tee to receive a standing ovation as he made his way closer to the green.
With his family looking on and clapping, Woods acknowledged the fans with a tip of his hat. Focused on the task at hand, Woods quickly refocused and made a conservative approach shot. Two putts later, he became a winner again at Augusta National for the first time since 2005, defeating Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka by a stroke.
Austin Knoblauch | 11:27 a.m.
Tiger Woods leads by two strokes heading to final hole
Hole 17 — Par 4; 440 yards: Tiger Woods has looked like he has turned back the clock on his career 11 years over the last three holes.
After a nice drive down the middle of the fairway, Woods hit a stellar approach shot that landed him about nine feet away from the pin. His birdie attempt didn’t break and he made par on a tap in.
Woods’ 11-year long championship drought is on the verge of ending.
Austin Knoblauch | 11:10 a.m.
Tiger Woods leads by two strokes with two holes left to play
Hole 16 — Par 3; 170 yards: Tiger Woods is getting hot at just the right time. Woods moved closer to winning his first major championship since 2008 when he landed his tee shot four feet away from the pin.
The remarkable feat was met with a genuine Tiger roar from the gallery that could have rivaled anything heard from Woods’ glory days in the early 2000s.
Woods made the easy birdie putt to take a two-stroke lead heading into the final two holes of the 2019 Masters tournament. Woods stands at 14 under for the tournament. Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka are tied for second two strokes back.
Austin Knoblauch | 10:54 a.m.
Tiger Woods takes lead with three holes to go
Hole 15 — Par 5; 530 yards: Tiger Woods continues to drive the ball well. He keeps the ball on the fairway off the tee and puts down a well-placed approach shot that put him 45 feet away from the pin. He just missed an eagle putt, but sank a three-footer for birdie to move into sole possession of the lead once again at 13 under.
Francesco Molinari, conversely, is showing some cracks to his game. After his second shot went wide left of the green, Molinari appeared to hit a pine cone on a tree on his second attempt to land on the green. The ball landed in the water in front of the green. In short, it was a disaster that ended in a double bogey and saw Molinari fall out of a tie for the lead.
Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka are one shot behind Tiger.
Austin Knoblauch | 10:42 a.m.
Tiger Woods makes par to stay tied for lead
Hole 14 — Par 4; 440 yards: Tiger Woods hit the middle of the fairway 285 yards away from the tee before landing about 20 feet away from flag with his approach. He missed the tough birdie putt before making parr.
Woods remains tied with Francesco Molinari and Xander Schauffele for the lead heading into the final four holes of the tournament.
Austin Knoblauch | 10:22 a.m.
Tiger Woods once again sharing the lead after birdie on 13th hole
Hole 13 — Par 5; 510 yards: Tiger Woods hits the middle of the fairway with a solid 312-yard drive that was followed by a solid approach shot and putt that gave him another birdie on the day.
Woods and Francesco Molinari (-12) left the 13th green in a share for the lead with Xander Schauffele. Patrick Cantlay (-11) bogeyed on 16 to fall a shot back. Brooks Koepka also remains at 11 under through 14 holes and Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson are tied for sixth two shots back of the leaders.
Woods has looked impressive on the last two holes after hitting some mid-round hiccups. He might need to pull out something special to come out ahead on what’s becoming crowded territory at the top of the Masters leaderboard.
Austin Knoblauch | 10:07 a.m.
Tiger Woods plays it smart and stays a shot back of new leader Patrick Cantlay
Hole 12 — Par 3; 155 yards: Francesco Molinari tried to go straight to the pin from the 12th tee and paid the price, going into the water hazard in front of the green. Tiger Woods played it more cautious, landing on the front of the green. Woods’ shot was a much a testament to his talent as it is to his experience.
Woods’ putt for birdie rolled well short of the hole, but he made a five-foot par putt.
Molinari, however, had to settle for a double-bogey on the hole, pushing him down into a share of the lead with Woods and the surging Xander Shauffele at 11 under for the tournament. However, Patrick Cantlay moved into the lead minutes later after going six under through the first 15 holes.
Light rain is starting to fall on areas of the course. Augusta National organizers were hoping to avoid inclement weather by teeing off early today. It remains to be seen if play will be interrupted because of the weather.
Austin Knoblauch | 9:54 a.m.
Tiger Woods achieves par on No. 11, remains two shots back of leader
Hole 11 — Par 4; 505 yards: Tiger Woods’ approach shot was a thing of beauty after his tee shot hooked to the right and forced him to cut through the trees to make the green. He found redemption with a powerful and exquisite shot that landed serenely with a favorable roll toward the cup before resting about 25 feet away.
The approach allowed Woods to save par on the hole after he just missed a birdie putt by inches. Francesco Molinari made par on the hole, too, to keep his two-stroke lead over Woods.
While Woods has been finding ways to recover after some subpar shots, Molinari is playing another very solid round of golf.
Austin Knoblauch | 9:32 a.m.
Tiger Woods bogeys for third time today
Hole 10 — Par 4; 495 yards: Tiger Woods didn’t get off to a good start on the back nine. He bogeyed his third hole on the day after running into some problems off the tee with a shot that didn’t stay on the fairway. He couldn’t save par with a 13-foot putt that came up just short.
Francesco Molinari made par on the hole and holds a two-stroke lead. Woods is tied with Brooks Koepka at 11 under for second.
Austin Knoblauch | 9:15 a.m.
Tiger Woods remains in contention for Masters win after front nine
Hole 9 — Par 4, 460 yards: Tiger Woods nearly pulled a beautiful, 50-foot birdie putt, but the ball ran out of steam just before the pin. It was a solid hole for Woods, who nailed the tee shot and the approach before just missing out for birdie.
Woods (-12) remains one shot behind leader Franceso Molinari (-13). He’s a stroke ahead of Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau.
Austin Knoblauch | 8:55 a.m.
Tiger Woods birdies No. 8, remains a shot back of Francesco Molinari
Hole 8 — Par 5; 570 yards: Tiger Woods missed the fairway off the tee, but managed to stay out of the bunker on the right side, giving him a clear line of sight to the flag.
He overshot the green on his approach shot, but likely did so out of an abundance of caution in order to avoid potentially rolling off the front of the green. But his next shot put him back onto the green and he made birdie with a seven-footer. Francesco Molinari also made birdie, so Woods remains one shot back.
Austin Knoblauch | 8:40 a.m.
Tiger Woods birdies to move to within one stroke of the lead
Hole 7 — Par 4; 450 yards: Tiger Woods hit the middle of the fairway, unlike Francesco Molinari, who teed off wide left of the fairway before landing in the bunker on right of the green with his second shot.
Woods followed up with one of his best shots of the week, landing his approach shot about 20 feet from the pin before catching a favorable slope that pulled the shot to within two feet of the cup. Woods then resurrected the roar from the gallery by making his first birdie of the round.
Molinari (-12) just missed his par attempt, allowing Woods (-11) to make up two strokes on the hole. Finau (-10) missed his birdie attempt, too.
Austin Knoblauch | 8:19 a.m.
Tiger Woods misses out on birdie chance
Hole 6 — Par 3; 180 yards: Tiger Woods’ roar-inducing shot to within 11 feet of the pin off the tee set up a prime opportunity for him to claw into Francesco Molinari’s lead, especially after the Italian’s tee shot missed the green.
Woods, however, missed the putt after the ball curved slightly to the left. Molinari, however, made his seven-foot putt to maintain his three-stroke lead over Woods, Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka.
Austin Knoblauch | 8 a.m.
Tiger Woods bogeys on the fifth hole for the fourth straight time
Hole 5 — Par 4; 495 yards: Tiger Woods hit the middle of the fairway from the tee, landing just in front of a pair of bunkers. He followed that with a solid 219-yard shot to the right edge of the green that put him into a strong position to make par on the hole 39 feet away.
However, Woods overshot the hole on his third shot and missed the par attempt from 11 feet out. It marked his fourth bogey on No. 5 for the week. Leader Francesco Molinari made par to hold a three-stroke lead (-13) over Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and Woods (-10).
Austin Knoblauch | 7:48 a.m.
Tiger Woods bogeys No. 4 to fall back to two shots behind Francesco Molinari
Hole 4 — Par 3; 240 yards: Tiger Woods wasn’t particularly pleased with his first shot, which landed on the front of the green and rolled back, setting up a tricky chip shot.
The chip landed on the green about 30 feet from the pin, but it didn’t get as much roll as Woods anticipated, with the green not playing fast. That created a challenging 10-foot putt that Woods lipped around the cup. Woods had to settle for bogey.
Austin Knoblauch | 7:27 a.m.
Tiger Woods moves into sole possession of second place
Hole 3 — Par 4; 350 yards: Woods capitalized on a fine-looking 226-yard drive off the No. 3 tee and a great approach shot to set up an easy four-foot putt for birdie to move into one shot of Francesco Molinari’s lead at the Masters.
Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau remain tied in third at 11 under.
Austin Knoblauch | 7:15 a.m.
Tiger Woods manages to make par on No. 2 after struggling off tee
Hole 2 — Par 5; 575 yards: Tiger Woods’ tee shot on No. 2 landed in the rough among the dogwoods and pine trees to the left of the fairway, but he managed overcome a potential disaster with a solid 123-yard shot into the middle of the fairway. The hacking shot put him firmly in position to save par.
Woods was audibly disappointed with his third shot, which landed at the front of the green but failed to catch the slope that would have rolled it closer to pin for a potential birdie attempt. He failed to sink the 59-foot putt on his fourth shot, but made par with a four-foot putt. Considering how the hole started, saving par is a minor victory for Woods.
Francesco Molinari remains in the lead at 13 under with Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau tied with Woods in second at 11 under.
Tiger Woods remains tied for second after first hole
Hole 1 — Par 4; 445 yards: After receiving a hearty applause on the No. 1 tee, Woods nestled a perfect drive for 277 yards into the left kink of the fairway. His second shot landed on the green 166 yards away to within 30 feet of the pin.
On his birdie putt, he just overshot the cup with an attempt that failed to break to the right. He then sank his four-foot try to make par and stay at 11 under.
Francesco Molinari made a great putt for par to stay in the lead at 13 under.
Masters leaderboard heading into final round
Recapping Tiger Woods’ 67 to move to within two strokes of Francesco Molinari’s lead
Tony Finau may not have slept that mid-April Sunday night in 1997 after he’d watched Tiger Woods absolutely blitz the field in the Masters to take his first major championship.
It was a transcendent sporting moment that made a 7-year-old kid of Tongan and American Samoa descent, growing up in Utah, dream of wearing his own green jacket someday.
As for Francesco Molinari, who was 14 that spring, he’s not even sure he stayed up until the wee hours of the morning in Italy to watch a golf hero in his country, Costantino Rocca, get smoked by 15 shots in Woods’ record-setting win.
“We all knew how it was going to end,” a grinning Molinari said Saturday evening of the 83rdMasters.
Two men who were but boys when Woods turned golf upside down will stand next to the 43-year-old on the first tee Sunday morning at Augusta National Golf Club. They are sizeable obstacles between Woods and his first Masters win in 14 years, and a first major triumph in 11.
-- Tod Leonard
Officials prepare for severe weather for the final round of the Masters
There’s no running at Augusta National, but there sure will be some scrambling around the course Sunday to beat the rain.
Given the possibility of severe weather, officials adjusted the grouping, tees, and tee times for the final round of the Masters.
Players will be grouped in threesomes, with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. local time off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees, with the last group — Francesco Molinari, Tiger Woods and Tony Finau — teeing off at 9:20 a.m., as opposed to the early afternoon.
Woods, pursuing his fifth green jacket and first since 2005, said after his round of 67 on Saturday that he was going to “try to get to bed as soon as possible.”
“It’s an early start tomorrow, so I’ll get the mind and body ready for tomorrow, and get after it a little bit earlier than we’re used to,” he said.
-- Sam Farmer
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