Tiger Woods may still be looking for consistent form after only sporadic appearances in recent years, but when it comes to The Masters, he has proved that his love affair with the tournament is alive and well after setting the record for the number of consecutive cuts made at the Augusta National Major with 24.
That staggering run stretches back to 1997, and the five-time Masters champion achieved the feat despite a mammoth Friday that saw him first need to complete his opening round after thunderstorms delayed the start of Thursday's action, before going on to shoot an even-par 72 in his second round.
That leaves him at one-over for the tournament, and, crucially, he set the new record while showing few ill effects from the injuries he has suffered in recent years. Even more remarkably, he achieved his record after a grueling 23-hole day, one less than the entirety of his competitive golf in 2024 after he withdrew from the Genesis Invitational in the second round through illness.
Afterwards, Woods explained what the record means to him. He said: "It means I have a chance going into the weekend. I'm here. I have a chance to win the golf tournament. I don't know if they're all going to finish today, but I'm done. I got my two rounds in. Just need some food and some caffeine, and I'll be good to go."
Woods’ day got off to an unsteady start, with two bogeys among the final five holes of his first round, leaving him one-over for the round. However, he soon recovered in the second round with a birdie at the par-four third, which included a beautifully judged second shot to leave him nine feet from the hole.
Understandably, for someone who had played less than two rounds of competitive golf in the year before The Masters, he showed some signs of rustiness, and that was particularly evident with three bogeys either side of a birdie on the sixth, but his third birdie of the round on the eighth left him comfortably above the projected cut line of four-over.
Another bogey followed on the 14th, but a further birdie at the 15th, which included another stunning effort, this time from all of 257 yards to within 25 yards of the hole, put him back on track.
Woods closed out his round with three pars, and, despite a slight limp by that point, he still seemed remarkably mobile considering the exertions of the day.
Last year, Woods scraped over the cut line to draw level with Gary Player and Fred Couples’ record of 23 consecutive cuts made at The Masters, but this seems an altogether different player from the fragile figure who ultimately withdrew during the third round of the 2023 edition before undergoing ankle surgery days later.
Woods certainly isn't giving up the chance of a sixth title. He said: "I'm right there. I'm only eight back as of right now. I don't think anyone is going to run off and hide right now, but it's really bunched. The way the ball is moving on the greens, chip shots are being blown, it's all you want in a golf course today."
Of course, time will tell how well he performs at the weekend. However, regardless of what happens from here, the 15-time Major winner has added another record to a long list of Augusta National achievements, and he did it with some room to spare.
