It was hard to believe when he struggled to put one foot in front of the other in the first round on Thursday, but Tiger Woods will definitely be making weekend rounds at the Masters. At the same time, who is surprised?
Woods equaled a tournament record, resisting the ax for the 23rd time in a row. Only Gary Player and Fred Couples had achieved such a feat.
In fact, Couples became the oldest player in history to qualify for the weekend rounds at 63 years, six months and five days. The winner of the 1992 edition is at 1 after two rounds.
Coming back to Woods, he had a lot to do to qualify. In fact, he had no room for error. Action resumed Saturday morning at 8 a.m., as round two was suspended late Friday afternoon due to weather conditions.
Woods still had eight holes to play. He was then at 2, at the limit of the ax. When he returned to the game, in constant rain and without intermission, the 47-year-old did what was necessary to survive.
On the 15th hole, he hit the yellow flag with his approach. His ball slipped on the green for a long time, but he still wedged a long putt for the birdie. This success allowed him to breathe a little.
Above all, it gave him a cushion for the holes to come. He nearly sabotaged himself, though, with an erratic tee shot in the 17th. The last two holes of the course, the two most difficult of the day, annoyed Woods. He finished his round with two bogeys for a cumulative 3.
To make sure not to leave Augusta prematurely, it was necessary that Sungjae Im or Justin Thomas also tumbles at 3, to raise the ax. As the golf gods are biased towards the five-time green jacket champion, Im returned a 3 and Thomas imitated Woods, his good friend, with two late-round bogeys to slide to a 4.
Tiger Woods will therefore be able to play two more rounds.
Only nine holes were played on Saturday, but despite the bad weather, golfers entertained the bravest amateurs, between the umbrellas.
Jon Rahm was three shots behind point guard Brooks Koepka when play was stopped on Friday.
In the rain and gray skies, Rahm was amazing. The bad weather did not seem to disturb the Spaniard’s game in any way. He started his round with a save at 11th and a birdie at 12th.
He also saved his skin in the 13th with a very long putt for par. It was time for the ball to hit the hole. The greens, obviously wet and slower, have changed the game for golfers. Rahm needed three putts to complete the par-3 on the 16th hole.
Nevertheless, the bearded man isn’t the best player around the greens for nothing. In the 17th, he used his putter, from the frieze, to achieve a birdie. Rahm, on one of the most difficult holes on the course, gave the impression of playing Fabreville mini-golf because he was so comfortable in these exceptional conditions.
He finished his round with a bogey, but he’s still just one shot off the lead at -11. Under these conditions, he was happy with his performance: “I would have been happy to play par on that back nine. I managed to save some holes on the 11th and 13th to give myself a chance. I’m really happy with the way I played, even though the 18th hole is brutal. It was difficult, but if you play properly, it can be a lot of fun. »
Round three begins at 11:30 a.m. with the lead group teeing off at 1:06 p.m. Amateur Sam Bennett (-8), Collin Morikawa (-6) and Viktor Hovland (-6) follow Rahm.