Tiger Woods and son Charlie share a moment on the driving range at Augusta before dad returns for his 100th round at the Masters after a disastrous 10-over effort on Day 3
Promising young golfer Charlie Woods was pictured with his father on the driving range ahead of Tiger’s 100th career round at the Masters at Augusta on Sunday.
With Tiger in his Sunday red, Charlie wore a casual look with a collared sweatshirt and a baseball clip from his dad’s clothing.
Tiger is coming off a tough outing on Saturday.
He started Day 1 in front and seven shots off the lead and felt he was capable of making a run against Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and the rest of the leaders. But that was before eight bogeys and two double bogeys, offset by just a couple of birdies, left the 48-year-old Woods at the bottom of the rankings instead of the top.
It was just the fifth round Woods has shot in the 80s as a professional, and just the third in a major. He shot an 80 in the first round of the 2005 US Open at Chambers Bay and an 81 in the third round of the 2002 British Open at Muirfield.
Tiger and son Charlie Woods leave the practice area in a cart during the final round
Tiger Woods is seen warming up on the driving range with his son, Charlie
Tiger Woods talks to his son Charlie and his caddy Lance Bennett before the final round
His worst round as a pro came in 2015 when he shot an 85 in the third round of the Memorial.
“I haven’t been competing and playing much,” said Woods, who arrived this week having played just 24 holes of competitive golf this year. ‘When I had chances to turn it around and when I made that (birdie) putt on 5, I immediately three-putted 6 and flubbed a chip on 7 and just made it go the wrong way and when I had opportunities to reverse it, I did not.’
Difficult to turn it from the trees.
After his tee shot at the seventh bounded through the fairway, Woods dumped his approach into the bunker and made double bogey. At the eighth he drove it into the trees, struck out and made another double. And to end his worst first nine at the Masters, Woods again missed the fairway off the tee, again found a bunker and again walked away with a bogey.
Tiger and Charlie Woods are seen in the warm-up area at Augusta wearing Dad’s clothing line
Tiger Woods warms up on the practice range in Augusta as his son Charlie Woods looks on
Woods played the four-hole stretch before making the turn in 6 over.
Things didn’t improve over the next nine.
There was a wayward tee shot on No. 11 – bogey. It missed the 6-footer at the 12th — bogey. The drive into the trees at No. 14 – bogey. The chunked chip on the 15th — bogey. Three-putted at 16 – bogey. And more wood problems on No. 17 – bogey.
Playing partner Tyrell Hatton could at least sympathize. He four-putted the last hole.
“Obviously, he didn’t hit it the way he wanted to,” Hatton said, “but also like the putts he had, the greens are so fast out there. You guys, you don’t know, even a 2 1/2-foot putt is just brutal .They have been so lucky.
‘You start a centimeter off your starting line and it’s going to miss. So depending on the pace you hit it at, who knows how far away it ends up.’
Does Charlie show Dad how it’s done? Tiger Woods watches his son take a trip to Augusta
It has been a tough week for Woods, who had to play 23 holes on Friday after darkness brought an early end to his opening round. Yet not only did he persevere through a marathon day, he shot a 72 in the second round in conditions so fierce that the average score was 75.09, allowing him to make the cut for a record 24th consecutive Masters.
Woods had driven the ball well, hitting 22 of 28 fairways through two rounds, and offset some poor approach shots – just 17 of 36 greens in regulation – with an excellent short game. He began the third round in the top 10 in putting this week.
What had been his strength, however, became his undoing on Saturday. Woods hit just four of 13 fairways, had a pair of three-putts and was left trying to get his body back in shape before an early tee time Sunday.
“My team will get me ready,” he said. ‘It will be a long night and a long warm-up, but we are ready.’