Golf: Kiwi Ryan Fox, superstar Tiger Woods struggle through US Masters final round at Augusta National

Ryan Fox finds water on the 16th at Augusta National. Credits: Image - Getty, video - Sky Sport

Kiwi Ryan Fox has dropped three shots late in his final round to finish his second US Masters appearance at seven over par, tumbling down the leaderboard at Augusta National.

A surprise leader early on the opening day, the world No.54 continued his mastery of the early holes, recording an eagle on the par-five second hole and birdie on the par-three fourth to make a run up the field, but that was as good as it got.

Bogeys on the ninth and 10th undermined his hopes of a top-10 finish, but worse was to come, when he found water with his tee shot on the par-three 16 and finished with a double bogey. Fox then dropped another shot on the 17th, before completing his round with par.

After finishing 26th equal in his 2023 debut and occupying the same position overnight, he is headed for a finish in the late 30s, tied with former champion Hideki Matsuyama, and one shot ahead of Major winners Phil Mickelson, Shane Lowry, Jose Maria Olazabal and Jon Rahm. 

Meanwhile, golfind superstar Tiger Woods has kept a positive outlook on his time spent at the Masters, despite following up a 10-over-par 82 third round with a five-over 77 fourth.

All told, Woods finished 16-over 304 for the tournament at Augusta National. His previous high at a tournament was 302 at the Memorial in 2015.

Sure, this one wasn't one for the books, but the five-time Masters champion and 15-time Major winner took a bigger-picture view of it all in Augusta, Georgia.

"It was a good week, it was a good week all around," said Woods, 48, who set the record for the most consecutive cuts made at Augusta National with 24 on Friday.

"I think that coming here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately [Saturday] didn't quite turn out the way that I wanted it to.

"Today, the way that Tom [Kim] is playing is what I thought I had in my system - unfortunately, I didn't produce it."

Two years ago, Woods made his return to competitive golf at the Masters, less than 14 months after a single-car accident nearly cost him his right leg. He made the cut at Augusta National, before finishing 47th.

This time, wearing his traditional Sunday red, Woods started off strong by recording a birdie on the par-five second hole, before giving back that stroke with a bogey on the third.

He then imploded on the par-four fifth hole by sending a tee shot deep into the trees, forcing him to take an unplayable lie. Woods was allowed to use a cart to go back to the tee box, as a means to maintain the pace of play.

The end result was a triple-bogey on that hole, followed by a bogey on No.6.

Woods seemed to get into a groove with eight straight pars, before recording a bogey on the par-five 15th hole. He returned to form with a par on the 16th hole.

As he prepared to walk toward the next tee, Woods stopped to shake the hand of legendary broadcaster Verne Lundquist, who is working his 40th and final Masters this week for CBS.

Reuters/Newshub