Shane Lowry was among those who seemed completely baffled that Tiger Woods was not disqualified from The Masters in 2013.
Woods has had an amazing number of incredible moments at Augusta National over the years. His emotional victory in 2019 was his fifth at the first major of the season.
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But six years earlier, Woods was perhaps fortunate to even get the chance to finish tied for fourth.
Rules drama overshadows Tiger Woods’ 2013 Masters performance
Woods was bringing himself into contention when he reached the par five 15th during the second round. Unfortunately, his third shot ended up in the water in front of the green after the ball hit the flagstick.
Rather than go to the drop zone, Woods opted to return to the spot of his third shot. He would go on to end the day in a tie for seventh, three shots off the lead.
But that was when the drama started.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Woods revealed in a television interview after his round that he had actually dropped the ball two yards back of the original spot.
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With that, officials met with the American early on Saturday ahead of his third round. Rather than disqualify Woods for signing for the wrong score, it was decided that he would receive a two-shot penalty.
Shane Lowry could not quite believe that Tiger Woods had been allowed to remain in the tournament, writing on Twitter: ‘This is a joke. In my opinion anyone else would have been DQ’d. When you sign for the wrong score that’s what’s supposed to happen.‘
What Tiger Woods said about the two-shot penalty he received
Woods would end up posting rounds of 70 on both Saturday and Sunday to finish four shots off making it into a playoff with Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera.
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It seems that Woods may have actually been saved by the mistake of Fred Ridley and the rules committee at The Masters after they initially cleared the then 14-time major champion of any wrongdoing.
Woods was asked about whether he expected to receive any penalties after completing his third round on a dramatic Saturday at Augusta National.
“No, because they already made the determination prior to me finishing the 18th hole,” he said. “Fred and the Rules Committee had already made that determination that everything was fine.”
Had Woods not been so candid in his television interview, the mistake may have gone without penalty. It would be fascinating to know what would have happened if Woods was two shots closer to the lead going into the weekend.
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