RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: This tired and injured Tiger is still a sight to be lifted one day for everyone around him. Success can take many forms, and for Woods, triumph was found in his final round of 77 at Augusta.

It wasn’t the conclusion Tiger Woods wanted, but it wasn’t the end either. If he proved anything during his week at the Masters, it was that he retained his ability to surprise well beyond his days as a title contender.

This journey was never going to end with another, no matter what he had told himself. This jacket was still heading towards one of the men not yet on the course when he left it at 1:30 p.m., drenched in sweat and holding an ugly scorecard.

But success can take many forms and for Woods, the triumph lay in the 77 punches delivered in his final round. Just as we found it in the 82 constituting its worst loop of a major in its history on Saturday.

Combined, those numbers left him last among those who made the cut, but there was a win there, too. Not the kind of person he would care about. But how many great players have failed to qualify here?

As a starting point, you can cite Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland. You can also add Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman, who both won majors last year.

They didn’t make it to the weekend, but Woods did so for a record 24th straight time on these courses. After everything that has failed his body, after all the difficulties he has put himself through, he still pushes his limits.

And that’s admirable, even if his laps on Saturday and Sunday proved that the sport loves nothing more than to follow up a tickle with a slap on the lips.

Again, he won’t see it that way, which is why he signed for 77 and then spoke about his feeling that perhaps, with a few more elements in his favor, he could have matched the 66 shot by Tom Kim. But this is a conversation about illusion. Just like when he said he could win before the tournament and again after two rounds. A harmless illusion but an illusion nonetheless.

He will no longer win in the way he cherishes the most, but he continues to win in what he shows on the field. In the way he outsmarted Augusta at its peak in the winds on Friday. In the way he reached the finish line of a major tournament for the first time in two long years.

“It was a good week all round,” he said. “I think coming here, having played a full tournament for a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday.

“Unfortunately, yesterday things didn’t go the way I wanted. Today, the trick Tom played (a 66), I thought I had it in my system. Unfortunately, I didn’t produce it.

“I have to keep the engine running, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing.”

Sunday’s 77, bringing his final total to 16 over par, or 23 behind the mark at which Scottie Scheffler began his final round, wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

With 14 pars, it was generally even, beyond an almighty mess on the fifth, on which he made a triple bogey when his drive into the trees was declared unplayable. After returning to the tee to reload, he finally made a triple putt.

The rest of the loop was pretty nondescript, except for the finale where he came within an inch to score a birdie at the end.

It wasn’t a vintage thing, and yet just the sight of Woods can make a day for those around him. This is his place in golf.

Consider the reaction of his final-round playing partner, 22-year-old college amateur Neal Shipley. He was devastated after closing Saturday’s round with a double bogey, only to learn he would be matched with Woods.

“When we got here this morning and saw Tiger on the stand, we were like, ‘Oh my God, this is happening,'” he said. ‘It was Really cool. Playing with Tiger on Sunday at the Masters, all week, I think I have to win one of these things to be on top this week.

He at least won the day – Shipley’s 71 was six better than his partner’s and he sampled galleries bigger than any that later followed the leaders. Certainly bigger than those accompanying Rory McIlroy, whose tournament never came close to catching fire. Then there was defending champion Jon Rahm. The nine o’clock score after a closing 76 led to a gloomy return.

On the course, playing for much more than his pride, Scheffler began his round with Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and the phenomenon Ludvig Aberg, all three strokes from his lead at seven under.

He had shown enough vulnerabilities during his third-round 71 to give hope, but tracking down the 2022 champion is currently one of the toughest tasks in the sport. While his playing partner, Morikawa, could only par each of the first three holes, Scheffler opened the gap to two with a birdie at three, when he rose and fell from a bunker at the edge of the green.

Although it seemed worrying to the pursuers, there were signs of fragility. Scheffler leaned on a six-footer for par at the first and also got close to the crowd before parring the second. His first real mistake came at the fourth when he overshot the green on the par three and missed a 15-foot putt for the save.

To capitalize, a bolter from the platoon was needed. At press time, it didn’t come from Morikawa – he was regularly playing with six pars to start.

Likewise, Homa balanced a birdie with a bogey on his first seven holes in the group behind, but Tommy Fleetwood was having a good run, albeit from a distance.

After nine holes he had gone from one to three under, with fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton also making a dent – ​​starting at three on a course he doesn’t like, he had reached two under at 14. Great round, but probably too little, too late.

Where the threat seemed to grow was on the side of Aberg, 24, during his major debut. A 22-foot birdie putt at second and another birdie at seven moved him to six under.