Tiger Woods posts third-round 70 at Augusta National in the midst of controversy

There has never been a golfer as mentally tough as Tiger Woods. The man has battled injury, controversy and his fair share of Sergio Garcias to snag 14 majors and 77 PGA Tour titles. We’ve all questioned parts of him at times; his decision to change his golf swing, change coaches and obviously his personal life decisions, but until Saturday at Augusta National nobody ever questioned his integrity on the golf course.

That is basically the long and the short of what happened when Woods landed a two-shot penalty, and near disqualification, as he pushed along at the 2013 Masters. Dialed in on Friday at Augusta, Woods got one of the worst breaks of his career when his ball careened off the flagstick on No. 15 and into the drink. What happened after was the part that had everyone buzzing on Saturday morning as the gates opened at Augusta National. Woods had taken a favorable drop that some thought might end in disqualification, but it didn’t and Tiger was allowed back on the golf course to go after green jacket No. 5.

[Masters 2013 leaderboard: See how Tiger Woods and others are doing]

His round wasn’t all bad, starting off with a birdie and nearly getting the 15th back with an eagle putt that went begging, and while his third-round 70 moved him up the leaderboard, you could tell all day that Woods wasn’t the same guy we saw stalking his putts on Thursday and Friday.

His game turned around on the back nine, that’s for sure, but he still looked a little sheepish and unsure. The golf gods, for whatever reason, turned against Tiger on Friday and while Augusta National decided against disqualifying him, there was still a black cloud that hovered over Woods throughout his third round.

Is Tiger going to win his 15th major this week at Augusta National? It sure doesn’t look like it, thanks to the flagstick and the penalty and his inability to get in a groove for long stretches at the Masters. Most likely he will go another year without adding to his Masters legacy, and while that shouldn’t be totally surprising, the way his Saturday went sure was.

Nobody can say that Tiger handled this awkward situation poorly, but for the first time since his return from his personal travails Woods looked uncomfortable on the golf course.

For whatever reason, this week wasn’t meant to be. If it wasn’t the rest of the field, it was the break, or bad break, of the game of golf that finally doomed Tiger Woods.

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