American Scheffler, new number one in the rankinghas not stopped treading on the accelerator since Friday and this Saturday has remained his distance of five strokes to those immediately chasing him.

After surviving the cut on Friday, Tiger Woods hopes to prove by the weekend that he is ready for another miracle in Augusta at age 46.

On Friday he was able to withstand strong winds to stay in contention in his first tournament since a violent car accident in February 2021, in which he nearly lost his right foot.

Woods came into the weekend in 19th position, nine shots behind Scheffler, a deficit that no Masters champion has won on the final 36 holes.

The best golfer of the century was not about to give up, but his options were quickly lost on Saturday amid the pain and fatigue of a cold Augusta National (Georgia).

Tiger made two double bogeys, five bogeys and three birdies for 78 strokes (+6) in the worst round of his 24 involvement in Augusta, where he staged the greatest success of his career and won five times, one on the record of Jack Nicklaus.

“It’s like putting practice, I hit like a thousand putts out there,” said Woods, the longtime leader of Augusta’s undulating, unforgiving greens. “I don’t think I’ve been hit that badly. I just don’t really feel for vegetables.”

In the dry and cold weather (10º C) that didn’t favor him because of his back problems, Woods stumbled at the start of the third round when he bogeyed the first hole on the second consecutive day.

In the second he was only inches away from an eagle but settled on a birdie that again left him nine shots away from Scheffler.

“Damn it,” the idol exclaimed on the tee shot of the fifth hole, as a premonition of the painful double bogey he would make when he passed a putt less than a meter away.

The misfortunes continued in the sixth when he sent the ball into the bunker and released steam with a strong two -handed grip on the stick. The Californian added three par holes but made another bogey before starting the second half of the course.

Thousands of fans who have been following him since Thursday have tried to make him happy, shouting every shot and making him happy on the green.

Two consecutive birdies on the 12th and 13th lifted Tiger’s spirits but, obviously tired, he fell into a painful closing with two bogeys and a final double bogey.

“I did what I had to do in terms of hitting the ball, but I did the opposite with the greens,” he lamented. “I just can’t feel that.”

To find the worst day for Woods in Augusta, you have to go back to the 77 shots he recorded in the third round in 1996, when he made his amateur debut.

Although he fell to 41st out of 52, Woods continued to return to golf after several weeks in hospital and months unable to walk due to multiple fractures to his right leg in the accident, in which he collided with his SUV in almost 140 km/h

At the top of the table, Scottie Scheffler was able to hold off his rivals and maintain the extraordinary five shot lead which he entered the weekend.

Scheffler flew to Augusta on Friday with a 67-stroke (-5) card to take the lead and this Saturday he added five birdies and two bogeys on the first 13 holes for a combined -11.

The American had a six-stroke advantage reduced by Australian Cameron Smith to five with a spectacular eagle on the tenth hole.

Six strokes behind Scheffler was South African Charl Schwartzel and eight strokes was Irishman Shane Lowry.

In the search for his first Grand Slam title, Scheffler is the most in-form player on the tour with three trophies this season. In the last of them, the WGC Match Play in March, Scheffler ousted Spaniard Jon Rahm from number one in the PGA.

Rahm, who came in as one of the big favorites to win his first green jacket, was confirmed on Saturday as one of the big disappointments of his worst day at the tournament.

Instead of his desired comeback, Rahm fell to a 77 stroke (+5) card with a double bogey, five bogeys and two birdies.

For his part, Chilean Joaquín Niemann fell to 26th place with his worst performance of the week, 77 strokes (+5), leaving him 15 strokes behind in the lead.