Woods set to face destiny

The climax to this 77th Masters has hopefully already been written in the stars – with Tiger Woods destined to miss out on a 15th Major by either one or two strokes.

Leaving aside the question of whether Woods should have been sat at home in Florida watching the climax to the event on TV, fate will surely decree that the two shot penalty he picked up will deny him a fifth green jacket.
Having to sign for a six on the par five 15th on Friday night was bad enough after he had hit an approach shot with just one flaw – it was too perfect!
How else can you describe a shot that clatters the flagstick, and suffers the misfortune of bouncing into a watery grave?
Having his score adjusted to a triple bogey eight no that hole after Masters officials decided he had dropped in the wrong place would have broken most players.
Then again, you wonder whether any player other than Woods – who drives TV audiences and sponsorship dollars like no-one else – would have been reprieved after signing for an incorrect score.
One or two Woods apologists insisted that since Rule 33-7 was now part of the game, it was only fair to give him a second chance.
Even Nick Faldo switched from his hard-line stance suggesting Woods should have walked away to one that said: “Hang on, maybe there are two sides to this story after all”.
But the overwhelming majority within the game support the view that the new rule to avoid unfair disqualifications was meant for incidents where players had no idea they had done anything wrong.
Woods not only knew he had dropped in the wrong place – he actually admitted the fact.
Ignorance of the fact that by doing so meant he was liable to be penalised is simply not good enough.
Woods also picked up a two shot penalty for taking an incorrect drop in the Abu Dhabi Championship at the start of the year – and instead of making the cut by one shot, he missed it by one.
That is what happens when you mess up, and that should surely have persuaded Woods he needed to take a refresher course on how, where, and when to drop a ball.
Instead he dropped an almighty clanger – and you fear that golf’s rulers have done the same thing by letting him play on at Augusta.
If there is any justice in the game, the green jacket will go to one of the third round leaders, Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker, or one of their nearest pursuers.
But not Woods, who is only four shots back after a third round 70 that was nothing short of remarkable in the circumstances.
A win for Woods would be hard to stomach after the shameless wheeler-dealing that got him into this position.
If he misses out on the title or a play-off by one or two shots, there will not be too many tears shed for him in Augusta.