Tiger Woods almost got away with breaking Masters rule

April 10, 2026 Oliver Obel

Tiger Woods avoided a potential disqualification at the 2013 Masters after a rules violation on the 15th hole resulted in a two-shot penalty, in one of the most debated incidents of his career.

The controversy centered on a drop Woods took after his third shot at the par-5 struck the flagstick and rolled back into the water while he was tied for the lead.

Under the rules in place at the time, Woods was required to replay the shot from as close as possible to the original position. Instead, he later acknowledged that he had dropped the ball slightly farther back.

“It was muddy and not a good spot to drop,” Woods said. “So I went back to where I played it from and I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt like I hit.”

The issue was not immediately flagged during the round. However, a television viewer later alerted officials, prompting a review of the drop. The ruling determined that Woods had taken an improper drop, resulting in an additional two-stroke penalty.

That created a further complication. Because Woods had already signed his scorecard without including the extra penalty, he technically risked disqualification under the rules.

According to Yahoo Sports, longtime rules official David Eger contacted Augusta National after noticing the incident. “I hesitated on calling simply because I knew how controversial it was going to be,” Eger said. “If it would have been Joe Schmo, I would have called in, too. It didn’t matter. I was trying to save the player from being disqualified.”

Tournament officials ultimately decided against disqualification, citing their own earlier review of the drop. Instead, Woods was assessed a two-shot penalty and allowed to continue.

“They called me in, and I told them exactly what I had done,” Woods said. “They gave me the ruling, and that was it. It was not a disqualification. You got a two-shot penalty and off you go.”

The decision sparked wider debate at the time about the role of video reviews and viewer intervention in enforcing golf’s rules. Woods went on to finish tied for fourth that year and later won his fifth Masters title in 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzJs2aVRHWQ

Sources: GiveMeSport, Yahoo Sports