Woodland struggles to two-over Saturday

As his birdie attempt slipped by the hole on No. 18, Gary Woodland gave a little flip of his right hand.

It was clear what it meant.

"That's how it was all day," Woodland said following a frustrating third round Saturday at the Masters. "It was a struggle all day."

Indeed, it was. From sending his opening drive on No. 1 into the fairway on No. 9 to missing a 15-footer for birdie on No. 18, Woodland spent Saturday spinning his wheels.

The end result was a 2-over 74 that dropped Woodland back to even par for the tournament and tied for 38th with Robert Karlsson.

Woodland's ability with a golf club can sometimes be Herculean. Saturday at Augusta National, however, the Topeka native more closely resembled an altogether different figure from Greek mythology — Sisyphus, the Greek king whose punishment from the gods was to roll a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down.

Every time he seemingly made a shot that would get him going, Woodland followed it with one that effectively killed whatever momentum he had generated. And it didn't take long to see that it was going to be that kind of a day.

On No. 1, right after playing partner Phil Mickelson pushed his drive way left an onto the No. 9 fairway, Woodland followed suit with a pulled driver that also found its way a fairway over. Woodland seemed to dodge trouble when he took his approach over the pine trees dividing the two holes and put it onto the back of the green.

Then he three-putted for bogey.

"It was very frustrating from the first hole all the way to the last," Woodland said. " I didn't drive it particularly well, didn't hit my irons particularly well and I didn't putt it well. That adds up to 2 over par. It could have been worse, but it could have been a heck of a lot better. It was just a frustrating day. I just never got going and Phil never got it going either. It was a long day for both of us."

Mickelson shot a 1-under 71 to move to 3 under for the tournament, but he spent big parts of the day battling a wayard driver that often sent him rustling through the pine straw rough.

Despite a sometimes balky driver, Woodland didn't exactly follow the same adventurous route. But it was an adventure none the less as no part of his game showed any consistency.

The par 5s he'd been tearing up all week — Nos. 13 and 15 — he only managed to par. Woodland was indecisive about which club to use on his approach on 13 and, after switching from a 5-iron to a 6-iron, left it on the front bank and couldn't get up and down for birdie. On 15, he had to lay up after sending his drive left and also only made par.

Woodland did birdie the 575-yard No. 2, but even that came at a price after he missed a 10-foot eagle putt. And on the par-5 eighth, he clipped a pine branch with his drive, sent his second shot into the pines between Nos. 1 and 9 and then punched over the green before settling for a bogey.

"I played them in even par today and I can get to all of them with irons," Woodland said. "That's just inexcusable and it adds up to where I'm at."

Woodland only managed two birdies, coming at No. 2 and No. 9, the latter after stuffing a sand wedge to within 8 feet.

That seemed like it would give Woodland some momentum for the back nine and perhaps a shot at rediscovering the magical finish he produced in Thursday's first round when he played the final six holes in 6 under. Instead, Woodland made eight pars and bogeyed No. 12, making a huge bogey putt on the hole after hitting his tee shot into the front bunker and blasting out over the green.

Other opportunities presented themselves — an 8-iron on No. 16 to 8 feet — but time and time again, Woodland couldn't capitalize.

"Coming in the last nine holes, I felt pretty good," Woodland said. "If that ball goes another foot on 12, I par the last nine holes. It's not great, but I feel like it's starting to come around. I'll see if I can put it all together tomorrow and see what happens.

"Really, it's been three straight (frustrating) rounds. Outside of six holes the first day, I haven't played how I wanted to. We have a game plan in place, and nothing changes. I've got to go out and do what I'm supposed to do. I feel like I'm close where I can break out, I just have to do it."