April 9 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods struggled with consistency Saturday during Round 3 of the 2022 PGA Masters tournament, finishing 6-over par in a performance that likely placed the 15-time winner too far down the leaderboard to remain in contention.
But Woods' appearance in the tournament -- his first in competitive golf since a car crash in February 2021 that severely injured his leg -- was nonetheless delightful for fans and players, who rooted for him after he made the cut Friday with a 2-over-par 74.
"Well, I was hitting too many putts. It was like putting practice -- I made a thousand putts out there today," a laughing Woods, 46, told CBS after his performance on the unseasonably cold, blustery Augusta, Ga. course.
"Honestly, I didn't really feel like I was hitting all that bad. I just had absolutely zero feel for the greens, and it showed."
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Woods started off on a bad foot and bogeyed the opening hole. He bounced back with a shot from the bunker that skirted the lip of the hole and positioned him for a short putt to card a birdie.
He kept it moving with a par on the next hole, but tripped up on the fourth, missing three close-range putts and hitting a double-bogey.
"Hopefully, I can get a good round tomorrow. It's going to be a little bit warmer. Hopefully, I feel a little more limber than I did today and get it going, and putt a little bit better," Woods said.
Among the field of 52 golfers, 25-year-old Scottie Scheffler continued to dominate despite an uneven round. He shot 1-under par and tied for the third-best round of the day. He remains at the head of the pack after 54 holes at 9-under.
If he holds onto his lead, Scheffler would round out a meteoric year that already includes three PGA Tour wins at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC Match Play.
However, the five-shot lead Scheffler carried forward from Friday was reduced to a three-shot lead after the third round of the tournament. On his heels is Australia's Cameron Smith, who shot 4-under Saturday to move into second place at 6-under par.
Cameron Smith's five other Masters tournaments included two top 10s and a runner-up finish in 2020.
Rounding out the top three is Sungjae Im of South Korea, currently 4-under after a strong opening day that propelled him to the lead after 18 holes.
