AUGUSTA, Ga. ?Tiger Woods will play the weekend at the Masters, albeit two strokes further back than he thought he뭗 be when he walked off property late Friday afternoon.
Woods met with officials early Saturday at Augusta National regarding his drop on the 15th hole during the second round. After bouncing his third shot off the flag stick and into a lateral hazard fronting the green, Woods returned to the spot from where he뭗 originally played to hit his fifth shot.
At issue is how close Woods dropped to the original spot of play.
밒 went down to the drop area, that wasn't going to be a good spot, because obviously it's into the grain, it's really grainy there. And it was a little bit wet,?Woods said. 밒 went 2 yards further back and I took, tried to take 2 yards off the shot of what I felt I hit.?/p>
Under the Rules of Golf, a player must drop nearest to the spot of the original shot in that situation and the television replay of the drop shows Woods playing his fifth shot a few feet behind that location.
Woods will be assessed a two-stroke penalty, which means he made a triple-bogey 8 on the 15th hole, dropping him to 1 under par and five strokes off the lead.
How Woods' drop at No. 15 originally came into question
Augusta National's official statement on Tiger ruling
Video: Analysis of Woods' illegal drop at No. 15
Woods is not being disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard under Rule 33-7, which states, 밃 penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the committee considers such action warranted.?/p>
According to a release from Augusta National, officials were made aware of the potential violation by a television viewer who called in and reviewed the video of the drop while Woods was playing the 18th hole.
밫he committee determined he had compiled with the rules,?the statement said.
After Woods admitted to the violation in his post-round interview, however, officials reviewed the tape again. Because this was after he had signed his scorecard 뱓he penalty of disqualification was waived.?/p>
밫he committee had previously reviewed the information and made its initial determination prior to the finish of the player뭩 round,?Augusta National said in a statement.
The decision immediately drew criticism from fans and longtime observers.
밠e personally, this is dreadful,?Nick Faldo said on Golf Channel. 밒 think Tiger would gain massive brownie points if he stood up and said, you know what boys, I broke the rule.?/p>
Woods ran into a similar ruling snafu at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship when he took an incorrect drop from an area in the sand and was penalized two strokes to miss the cut.
Officials did not repair after the ruling, which means Woods will tee off at 1:45 p.m. ET with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who is 2 under.