Tiger Woods' Masters Penalty Will End Up Costing Superstar a Championship

One mistake can cost anyone a title. That is what happened to Tiger Woods in the second round of the 2013 Masters.

The superstar entered the tournament as the overwhelming favorite after some impressive performances to start the season. Through the first 32 holes, Woods was right there with the leaders at five strokes under par.

Unfortunately, the 15th hole on Friday derailed his efforts.

First came bad luck, when a beautiful shot onto the green hit the pin and rolled into the water. A different bounce could have led to a birdie if he made his next putt.

However, this problem was exacerbated when Woods broke a rule on the subsequent drop. According to Nick Schwartz of USA Today, the golfer dropped the ball two yards behind his original shot instead of as close as possible.

This led to a two-stroke penalty that turned his 15th hole into a triple-bogey of eight. Combined with a bogey on 18, his round became a disappointing 73.

The good news is that Woods once again showed amazing resolve after this situation. He said on Twitter that he understood and accepted the penalty, and then he went out and had a solid round on Saturday, finishing with a 70.

At three-under-par entering the final day, the No. 1 player in the world is certainly capable of a come-from-behind win. Then again, he would have been much happier only two strokes back instead of four. 

Four strokes are difficult to make up on a tough course like this, especially with six players ahead of him on the leaderboard. As good as Woods is, finishing in first place is not very likely at this point.

To make matters worse, Woods has never had to make up a deficit in any of his 14 major championships. In every instance, he had at least a share of the lead heading into Sunday.

He will not have that luxury this time around. Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker enter the last round tied for the lead at seven strokes under par. Talented players Adam Scott and Matt Kuchar are also ahead of Woods in the standings.

There is little chance that all of these players struggle to keep Woods in the running for a championship.

The most popular golfer in the world has not played poorly, but the one mistake that earned a two-stroke penalty was enough to knock him out of contention for the title.

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