Tiger Woods extends Masters cut streak

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods can thank excellent good friend Justin Thomas for serving to to increase his streak of consecutive cuts made on the Masters to a record-tying 23 on Saturday.

Woods used to be at risk of lacking it for the primary time as a qualified when he resumed his moment around in cold, driving rain and bogeyed his ultimate two holes. That left Woods at 3 over and tied for 52nd, whilst the highest 50 and ties make the cut.

Moments after Woods signed his scorecard, despite the fact that, Thomas ignored a brief par putt on the seventeenth, shedding him to 3-over and bringing everybody at that quantity within the cut line. Thomas then bogeyed the 18th, making sure Woods would play the remaining the weekend and fit Fred Couples and Gary Player for the longest streak of cuts made on the Masters.

“I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” Woods stated ahead of Thomas completed. “I hope I get a chance to play this weekend — I’m sorry, I got a chance to play on the weekend. I wish I get a chance to play two more rounds.”

Woods were given his want, whilst Thomas’ bogey-bogey end despatched him house as an alternative.

The moment around used to be suspended Friday when storms swept over the direction, bringing down 3 huge pine timber close to the sixteenth inexperienced. Nobody used to be harm once they fell, and employees had them cleared by the point play resumed Saturday.

Woods used to be 2 over with seven holes left when he returned to the direction, and his birdie on the par-5 fifteenth gave him some respiring room. But a wayward tee shot on the seventeenth compelled Woods to put up in need of the bunker, resulting in bogey, and a tee shot into the timber left of 18 compelled him to hit his way shot off the pine straw.

Woods got here up in need of the fairway, subsidized up his way shot and two-putted for some other bogey.

The climate wasn’t getting any higher, despite the fact that, and Thomas took the brunt of it. With rain using so exhausting on the tricky, uphill par-4 18th that he needed to hit a fairway wooden from 218 yards, Thomas went up to now left he just about landed a few of the consumers. His pitch shot checked up brief, and some other bogey ended in a second-round 77 and a ignored cut.

That allowed Thomas Pieters and Charl Schwartzel to enroll in Woods in making the cut when it moved to three over.

That additionally supposed 12 of the 18 gamers from the Saudi-back LIV Golf circuit made it. Among them used to be chief Brooks Koepka, who dodged the dangerous climate Friday and used to be at 12 underneath, two photographs transparent of Jon Rahm heading into the 3rd around.

“It’s not going to be easy,” stated Abraham Ancer, one of the vital LIV gamers that made the cut. “It’s going to be blowing. It’s going to be cold. It’s going to be raining. But at least everybody is going to be out there in the same stuff.”

Rory McIlroy may not be there; he ignored the cut after a second-round 77 on Friday left him 5 over for the championship. The runner-up a yr in the past will wish to wait some other yr to take some other crack at finishing the occupation Grand Slam.

Others who ignored the cut incorporated Bryson DeChambeau, who shot back-to-back 74s to omit through one, and 2003 champ Mike Weir, who additionally completed at 4 over after he used to be compelled to play his moment around Friday with a marker.

One participant who did make the cut: 63-year-old Fred Couples, who used to be 1 over when he completed his moment around Saturday.

The 1992 champion trudged thru a bogey-bogey end, however he nonetheless become the oldest participant to make the cut at Augusta National, beating the mark that Bernhard Langer set all over the 2020 match.

“The last four years have been really mediocre golf. Maybe one year I was semi-close to making the cut, but that was my objective, and I did it,” Couples stated. “It’s not like, ‘Ha, ha, ha. Now I can screw around and play 36 holes for fun.’ I’m going to try and compete. Play a good pairing with some younger guys and watch them play.”

Couples, whose 31 made cuts on the Masters trails best Jack Nicklaus’ checklist of 37, did not know he’d develop into the oldest participant to make it. When instructed he had bettered Langer’s mark through 108 days, Couples responded: “Well, good.”

“Today is another day,” he stated. “If it was Friday, it would have been 107.”