If anyone other than Tiger Woods was six shots behind with one round to play, they would not be considered to be in contention. However, when it comes to Tiger, six shots might as well be one shot according to the mainstream media. Why? Because in-contention Tiger means better ratings and more reads. It does not mean he has a chance to win.
What doesn’t align with the media hype is that Tiger has never come from behind at the Masters to win. Tiger’s 54-hole lead in the years he has won the Masters:
2005 – Three shots ahead of Chris DiMarco
2002 – Tied with Retief Goosen
2000 – One shot ahead of Phil Mickelson
1997 – Nine shots ahead of Constantino Rocca
It’s clear that Tiger wins when he’s even or ahead, but even when presented with the chance to catch the leaders from only one or two shots back, he has not capitalized.
Tiger’s round today may have been a glimpse of hope in an otherwise shadowy recent past at Augusta. It was his first round under 70, and his second under par in two years of competition. To find his last round in the sixties, you would have to look back as far as the third round of 2005 when he posted a flawless 65. Unfortunately for Tiger and the mainstream media, hope does not guarantee a miracle, and that’s what it will take for Woods to overcome a six-shot deficit on Sunday at the Masters.
Tiger said it best on Thursday:
You don’t really shoot low rounds here anymore.