Justin Thomas saved his pal Tiger Woods by dropping a shot at the Masters and moving the cut line back

That’s what friends are for

Justin Thomas should be getting a nice care package from his good friend Tiger Woods in the near future. A box of fine wine, a yacht or maybe even his own private island.

It’s all on the table after Thomas saved Woods from missing the cut at the 2023 Masters — and instead helped Tiger tie the all-time record for consecutive cuts made with 23 at the famed tournament.

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Woods was in serious danger of missing the cut at Augusta for the first time in his pro career on Saturday thanks to a bogey-bogey finish through 36 holes. After the second round of play was suspended on Friday afternoon due to weather —and trees falling on the course — Woods resumed play on soggy morning at 2-over-par and right on the cut line.

He finished the round with a 73 (3-over-par) despite an opportunity to save his tournament on No. 18. Woods just needed to make par or better on the par-4 hole to guarantee a spot inside the cut line.

Instead his tee shot went into the pine straws, his second was a lay up just short of the green and his third shot left him with a putt from 50 feet that he missed by two feet. The crowd roared behind him as he cleaned up for bogey, fearing this could be the last time they saw Woods at the event.

Tiger began his week at Augusta National with a very realistic look at his health and abilities and couldn’t help but note this could be his last time out at the Masters.

Then Justin Thomas came to the rescue.

The only hope Woods had left of making the cut was if Thomas or Sungjae Im dropped a shot behind him to finish at 3-over or worse and move the cut line back.

Considering the close friendship between Woods and Thomas, golf fans were hoping JT would do his pal a solid by bogeying one of his final holes.

Thomas obliged — much to his own demise. First, his tee shot at No. 17 went way left. Then he missed a 10-foot par putt by two feet. The bogey dropped the cut line back to 3-over and put Tiger back in play for the weekend.

But Thomas then bogeyed No. 18 to finish 4-over-par and miss the cut himself. It was a cruel twist of fate for two of the games most well-known pros. Golf fans went through all the emotions trying to process what just happened.

Woods last missed the cut at Augusta as an amateur in 1996. He came back the following year to win by 12 strokes, becoming the youngest player ever to win a green jacket (21 years old) and set a record for the largest margin of victory at the tournament.