Woods chasing Scheffler in bid for Masters miracle

Tiger Woods must pull out all the stops on Saturday if he's to gain ground on Masters leader Scottie Scheffler and give himself a shot at capping another remarkable comeback with a sixth green jacket.

The 15-time major champion, playing in his first tournament in 17 months and the first since suffering career-threatening injuries to his lower right leg, delivered a gutsy performance on Friday after flirting with his first missed cut in 22 appearances as a professional at Augusta National.

He went into the third round nine shots behind newly minted world number one Scheffler, who defied the swirling winds that pushed up scores to card a five-under par 67, his eight-under total of 136 putting him five shots clear of defending champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, Ireland's Shane Lowry, South Korean Im Sung-jae and 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel of Japan.

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Matsuyama is trying to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods as the only players to win back-to-back Masters.

Noting that Scheffler managed to "take care of his business" despite the demanding second-round conditions, Woods said he would have to do the same on Saturday.

"I could have easily kicked myself out of the tournament, but I kept myself in it," Woods said. "I need to go out there and put myself there. If you're within five or six on that back nine going into Sunday, you've got a chance, so I just need to get there."

Woods said the dry, chilly weather - it was forecast to be just above 50F (10C) when Woods teed off at 1 p.m. (19:00 SA time) - would make the course firmer and faster.

He liked the idea of that challenge, but has said that cold weather is harder on his surgically repaired back.

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