Tiger Woods Shoots Even Par to Stay Far Behind Leaders in 2018 Masters 3rd Round

Tiger Woods failed to make a charge Saturday during the third round of the 2018 Masters Tournament, finishing with an even-par 72 in damp conditions at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Woods walked off the course at four over in the season's first major. He was in a tie for 42nd place and 13 strokes behind leader Patrick Reed just after the golfers atop the star-studded leaderboard teed off.

The 14-time major champion's inability to complete a moving-day surge all but guaranteed his quest for a fifth green jacket will have to wait another year.

Tiger has yet to showcase his A-game through three days at Augusta.

Expectations were sky-high for Woods coming into the event after his recent uptick in form, which was highlighted by his performance at the Valspar Championship last month, when he tied for second with Reed. But Woods' Masters showing has illustrated the difference between a standard PGA Tour tournament and a major championship.

Any hope of a super-low round Saturday faded quickly as Woods opened with back-to-back bogeys.

Bleacher Report's Marcus Mosher stuck a fork in things right then:

The 42-year-old Stanford product recovered from the early dropped shots to salvage a solid round. Yet every moment that made it appear he might be starting to climb the leaderboard was met with an extended stretch of mediocre play.

Masters Highlights provided a look at Woods' first birdie of the day:

Woods' inability to take advantage of par fives remained a key storyline in Round 3 and was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the week given his dominance on those holes in his prime. He finished Saturday with two bogeys, a birdie and a par in those situations but likely needed to play them in four under or better to set the table for something special.

ESPN's Bob Harig commented on Woods' missed opportunities:

He finished the third round with three birdies, three bogeys and 12 pars.

ESPN Stats & Info supplied a note about his results through three days:

All told, Woods is staring down also-ran status barring a Sunday miracle. He simply hasn't struck the ball well enough off the tee or with his irons to contend on a course with such a thin margin for error, and he's also lacked a red-hot putter to help keep him in the mix.

If Tiger finished the Masters with a red-figure score Sunday, it would be a success.