Tiger ties cut record at Augusta

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | Tiger Woods never has relied on generosity from others in his peerless career, but it came in handy in the rain and cold Saturday at Augusta National.
One stroke outside the cutline as the storm-delayed second round slogged toward its finish, Woods needed a bogey from someone, anyone, to backdoor his way into the Masters weekend and make his 23rd consecutive cut, tying the tournament record shared by Fred Couples and Gary Player.
It was Justin Thomas, one of Woods’ closest friends, who was the gift giver, playing himself from inside the cutline to outside with bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes, a finish so disgusting that when it was over, Thomas tilted his face skyward and let the rain hit him like a spray of gravel.

Woods was a beneficiary of his friend’s torturous finish (ultimately a late bogey by Sungjae Im would have let Woods sneak under the wire had Thomas not imploded), the reward being an afternoon tee time in conditions that had him dressed as if he were in the Iditarod rather than the Masters.
With temp...