The Masters: Woods proud of response following 12th-hole nightmare

Augusta, November 16: Tiger Woods imploded in remarkable fashion on the 12th hole at Augusta on Sunday, but the five-time Masters champion was proud of his response to the setback.

Woods – who triumphed at Augusta in 2019 – fell apart on the par-three hole at Rae's Creek during his final round, shooting a 10.

Woods finished 19 strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson, who capped a supreme performance with a fourth-round 68 to finish on 20 under, the first player to reach that number in Masters history.

Emotional triumph for Johnson

The 15-time major winner's tee shot bounced back into the water and a wedge from the resultant drop also found the drink.

Woods' then landed his next shot into a bunker, before his subsequent attempt out of the sand sailed over the green and back into the water for a third time.

He regained his composure to finish with two putts, though the damage was already done as he slipped to four over par.

However, Woods hit back to shoot five birdies over his last six holes, ensuring he ended his tournament by signing for a score of 76, leaving him at one under.

"That's part of our sport," Woods told reporters. "This sport is awfully lonely sometimes.

"You have to fight it. No one is going to bring you off the mound or call in a sub. You have to fight through it.

"That's what makes this game so unique and so difficult mentally. We've all been there, unfortunately. I've been there and you just have to turn around and figure out the next shot, and I was able to do that coming home."

That's how you respond.

Tiger Woods never stopped fighting. pic.twitter.com/CGAH1vxWre

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 15, 2020

Explaining his error-strewn effort on the 12th, Woods added: "Well, I committed to the wrong wind.

"The wind was off the right for the first two guys, and then when I stepped up there, it switched to howling off the left, and the flag on 11 was howling off the left.

"I didn't commit to the wind, and I also got ahead of it and pushed it, too, because I thought the wind would come more off the right and it was off the left, and that just started the problem from there.

"From there I hit a lot more shots and had a lot more experiences there in Rae's Creek, and then this is unlike any other sport in which you're so alone out there and you have to figure it out and you have to fight and no one is going to pull you off the bump and you just have to figure it out."