Tiger on the prowl – as Woods says recent form can help bolster Masters bid

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Tiger Woods believes recent form will count for more than his lengthy wait for a fifth Masters title as he tries to chase down Open champion Francesco Molinari.

Woods has not tasted victory at Augusta National since 2005, but contended in the last two majors of 2018 and led the Open at Carnoustie with eight holes to play before finishing sixth behind playing partner Molinari.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention here, but then again the last two majors counts for something,” said Woods, who finished runner-up to Brooks Koepka in the 2018 US PGA at Bellerive.

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“I’ve been in the mix with a chance to win in the last two major championship, so that helps. And tomorrow it will be interesting to see if that wind comes up like it’s forecast, 15, 20 miles an hour around this golf course is going to be testy.”

Tee times for the final round have been brought forward in anticipation of thunderstorms in late afternoon, with players heading out in groups of three from both the first and 10th tees.

The final group of Molinari, Woods and Tony Finau will tee off at 0920 local time (1420 BST), with both Woods and Finau two shots off the pace after Molinari’s flawless third round of 66.

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“Usually the reward for playing hard and doing all the things correctly is you get a nice little sleep-in come Sunday, but that’s not going to be the case,” Woods added. “We’ve got to get up early and get after it.

“My desire hasn’t changed. I’m just thankful to be able to come back here and play again. Last year was a step in the right direction and we built a season around that and then here we are.

“I always feel pressure. The day I don’t feel pressure is the day I quit. I always thought that if you care about something, obviously you’re going to feel pressure.

“And I’ve always felt it, from the first time I remember ever playing a golf tournament to now. That hasn’t changed.”