AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods finished the Masters with a personal record he could do without, walking off the course Sunday afternoon at 16-over-par 304, his highest 72-hole score in a professional golf career that began in August 1996.
Woods' previous high was 302 at the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament in 2015. Before this year, he had failed to break 300 at the Masters just once, shooting 78-78 on the weekend two years ago to finish at 301.
Despite the score, Woods called it a "good week" at Augusta National Golf Club and said he's going to begin preparing for the year's other three majors. The PGA Championship is May 16-19 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, the U.S. Open is June 13-16 on North Carolina's Pinehurst No. 2, and the British Open is July 18-21 at Scotland's Royal Troon.
"This is a golf course I knew going into it, so I'm going to do my homework going forward at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon. But that's kind of the game plan," said Woods, whose 15 major championships trail only the 18 won by Jack Nicklaus.
The 48-year-old Woods, who is still dealing with the effects of numerous surgeries that have impacted his body and limited his time on the PGA Tour, hasn't played all four majors since 2019, when he earned his fifth Masters victory and what remains his most recent major title. He did play in all three majors held in 2020, when the British Open was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this year's Masters, he played the first two rounds in 1 over to make the cut for the 24th consecutive time, setting a record for the tournament. The final two rounds were a struggle for Woods, who posted his worst round of his career at a major with an 82 on Saturday.
Still, he wasn't unhappy with how he performed overall, having played only 24 holes of competitive golf this year before the Masters.
"Coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday," Woods said Sunday. "Unfortunately, yesterday didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to."
It hardly mattered to the crowd in Augusta. The player with a record-tying 82 PGA Tour victories — though none since winning the Zozo Championship in October 2019 to catch Sam Snead — received a huge roar as he pitched close to the hole on No. 18 before making par to finish off a 5-over 77 that included one birdie, three bogeys and one triple bogey.
Wearing his traditional Sunday red, Woods tipped his hat to the crowd as he wrapped up the 100th Masters round of his career.
"I'm just going to keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing," Woods said. "Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer."
AP photo by David J. Phillip / Tiger Woods shakes hand with playing partner Neal Shipley, the only amateur to make the cut at the Masters this year, after they completed their final rounds Sunday at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club.Woods finished last among the 60 players who made the cut, but as always, the patrons flocked to see the man who took golf's popularity to new heights a generation ago. He isn't the dominant player he once was at Augusta National, but that hasn't diminished the demand to see him play there.
Woods hasn't really been competitive at the Masters since 2020, when he tied for 38th. He finished at 13 over in 2022, then was forced to withdraw in 2023 in the third round due to injuries that weren't helped by the cold, rainy weather that had taken an obvious physical toll on his body.
This time, there were glimpses of Woods' past greatness, largely due to his extensive knowledge of the grounds, but that came before his disappointing weekend.
"It's always nice coming back here because I know the golf course, I know how to play it," Woods said. "I can kind of simulate shots. Granted, it's never quite the same as getting out here and doing it."
Before the final round, Woods appeared to receive some swing tips from his 15-year-old son Charlie on the practice range. Things started off well enough, with an opening par and a birdie on the second hole, but that didn't last long as he made a bogey on the next hole, with his triple on the fifth before dropping yet another stroke on the sixth.
Woods said the toughest part of the week for him was battling the wind, which gusted to 45 mph at times.
"What it was doing out here to the golf shots and the balls and putting, how difficult the course was playing — it doesn't take much to get out of position here," Woods said. "Unfortunately, I got out of position a lot yesterday and a couple times today."
Woods played the final round with Neal Shipley, the only amateur to make the cut at the Masters. It was a stark reminder of just how long Woods — who was the low amateur at Augusta National in 1995 and missed the cut when he returned the following year — has been around.
His streak of cuts made at the Masters began when he won the tournament in 1997. That was before the 23-year-old Shipley was born.