At end of crazy Saturday, Woods is right there again

Tiger Woods was frustrated by his even-par 72 Saturday, but at least he stood still while the rest of the field backed up. Four behind when he finished, the round ended with him just one behind leader Stuart Appleby and in the final pairing.

By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- After a disappointing bogey-bogey finish for an even-par 72 on Saturday, a frustrated Tiger Woods walked away from the 18th green at Augusta National trailing by four shots.

"I made a mistake at 17 by not playing long, playing into the gallery, or playing 40, 50 yards over the green there," the four-time Masters champion said. "It's an easy pitch coming back. On 18, I hit a good 8-iron, but the wind switched. Just got the wrong gust at the wrong time and that's the way it goes ... I'm only four back, it's not like I'm a hundred back. So I've got a shot at it."

Fast forward to the end of a crazy day and, believe it or not, Woods is only one shot behind leader Stuart Appleby and they'll be paired together in the final round on Sunday.

How did that happen? Just like the wind blew dust off the ground on an uncharacteristic blustery spring day in Augusta, it blew names down the leaderboard.

"It was a tough day with the wind gusts," Woods said. "You hit quality shots and just get absolutely hosed. That's just the way it is here. Hopefully, you get committed to hit the proper shot and get lucky at the same time with the wind."

All of a sudden the seemingly monumental task of coming from four shots back in one round for the world's best golfer isn't so monumental at all.

"If you make 18 pars, you're going to move up that board," Woods said. "Normally, that's not the case."

Appleby's total of 2-over-par 218 through three rounds is the highest in tournament history. If that doesn't illustrate just how difficult this particular Masters is playing, maybe this will -- in his professional career, this is only the second time Woods has ever gone three straight rounds at Augusta without a score under par. The only other time was when he shot a 75 in the last round of the 1999 Masters and followed it up with a 75-72 start to the 2000 Masters, which, by the way, he won.

Only three times in Masters history has the winner won the tournament at even par or worse: Sam Snead in 1954 at 1 over, Jackie Burke Jr. in 1956 at 1 over, and Jack Nicklaus at even par in 1966.

If Woods can add a fifth Green Jacket to his closet Sunday evening, it will be the first time he's ever won a major championship coming from behind. If there's one thing he has going for him -- aside from being Tiger Woods -- it's the fact that the winner of the Masters has come out of the last group on the final day for the last 16 years, dating back to Ian Woosnam's win in 1991.

It's been written and said many times that the Masters doesn't begin until the back nine on Sunday. Drama unfolds on Amen Corner (holes 11, 12 and 13), the par-5 15th and the par-3 16th, arguably unlike any other stretch in golf. Typically, the winners rise with birdies and eagles over that stretch, while others plummet off the leaderboard with devastating bogeys or worse.

It will be interesting to see how those holes play out on Sunday, as the conditions have virtually blown eagles and birdies off the course.

"It's just different," Woods said. "The way they set up the golf course and the way it's playing, its length, you get dry conditions, that's what's going to happen. At least it hasn't been like this for four days. We actually caught a break."

If not major experience, will the wind be the X-factor on Sunday?

"If it blows like this, you don't know," Woods said. "Putts from two and three feet you've got to play a little bit of wind and that's trouble out here? That's the way it is. We are all struggling in it together. We've just got to get by."