Projecting Tiger Woods' Final-Round Score at 2013 Masters

Through three rounds at the 2013 Masters, Tiger Woods is tied for seventh with a score of three-under par, just four strokes back of co-leaders Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker.

A Saturday morning that started with the announcement of a two-stroke penalty for an illegal drop on the par-five 15th turned into a two-under 70 by the afternoon at Augusta, putting Woods in position for a return to the top of the golf world by way of his fifth Masters green jacket. 

But as we all know, Sunday at Augusta is anything but predictable. 

Woods will start his day fairly late on Sunday, likely paired with Saturday's biggest mover up the leaderboard, Tim Clark. Clark, who also sits at three under through three rounds, finished with the best round of the day at five under to climb back from 30 spots down the board. 

It's a familiar position for Woods, but one that has never netted him a major championship win. 

Although he has a sparkling 14-1 career record when holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes at a major, his impressive resume does not include overcoming any kind of deficit during the final round. 

So far, Tiger has been most impressive on holes No. 7, 8 and 13, each of which he has birdied twice during his 2013 stay at Augusta. His par-five game has also been good—five birdies—if you exclude the eight-stroke mark he put up at the 15th hole in Round 2. 

Tiger is hitting his stride at the right time.

His Saturday round was representative of that. With five total birdies, it was Woods' best day of the tournament so far, although three bogeys in the middle of the round kept him from moving up the leaderboard beyond his current landing spot.

He had no reservations about his approach shot to No. 15 on Saturday, stepping up and hitting a beautiful stroke that gave him a chance for his first eagle of the tournament. He missed the putt but managed to capture his final birdie of the day and finish the round strong and bogey free.

Everything seems to be falling into place for Woods.

He's hitting the ball well out of the box, his short game is better than it was during his disastrous return to this course in 2012 and his iron work in the middle of the course has been impeccable (the water hazard at No. 15 on Friday was a result of being too good of a shot by hitting the flagstick). 

Check out his shot from No. 12 on Saturday. It's vintage Woods and a chance to see that he is making the putts he needs to make to win the tournament on Sunday down the back nine.

However, things aren't going well enough to crown Woods the champ.

The obvious former results of his place in the leaderboard are scary enough. Are we to believe that he is even stronger than what he was during the prime of his career? How can we expect him to do something he has never done before?

While his long putting game has been quite solid, putts like this one on No. 8 make you think that the little things are once again going to keep Woods from winning major tournament No. 15—a mark that would put him just three short of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.

With three rounds in the books, it's looking like a solid round will win it on Sunday.

Marc Leishman stood out on Thursday with a six under. Jason Day did a similar number on Friday, while Clark and Snedeker made sure to play their best rounds of the tournament on moving day at Augusta. 

Look for two different sets of three straight holes to be the telling tale for Woods on Sunday afternoon. 

Those two stretches (6, 7, 8 and 13, 14, 15) have been his best of the tournament. Any slipups on these holes could be disastrous for a comeback attempt—especially any type of bogey on the par-five holes at this course (2, 8, 13, 15). 

We know what Woods is going to bring to the final turn if he's in the right spirits. Getting off to an early start could do just that, especially since he'll be chasing three other pairings while scoreboard watching during the early part of the match. 

All Tiger can do is play his best golf of the tournament. After that, the golf gods will have to decide his fate.

With a strong end to the day on Saturday and a full night to contemplate the magnitude of what he could accomplish on Sunday at Augusta, I think Woods has a great chance to post his best score at the Masters so far.

Whether or not it will be enough to win is another story.  

Some breaks haven't gone his way on the greens, and his two percentages (63 percent on greens, 57 percent on fairways) aren't particularly great but at this point, it's all about what he can do in one round when the pressure is on. 

And Tiger knows Masters pressure. 

Tiger Woods' Projected Sunday Score: (-4, 67; -7 total)

*For a complete look at the 2013 Masters leaderboard, check out PGATour.com. 

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