AUGUSTA, Ga. — For a guy who “sucks,” Tiger Woods isn’t doing too badly.
While Phil Mickelson stole the Masters third-round spotlight yesterday with his dramatic back-nine charge, Woods was cursing himself, yet staying in contention for today’s final round. He shot an up-and-down 2-under-par 70 yesterday and enters today four shots off the lead and in position to win his fifth Masters.
“I was fighting it all day,” Woods said. “My warm-up wasn’t very good. I was struggling there. I really struggled with the pace of the greens and fighting my swing. It was a tough day.”
It showed.
During a stretch when Woods bogeyed three out of four holes, he grew vocally frustrated, cursing several times in clear sound pickup of the CBS microphones.
After a poorly struck tee shot on the par-3 sixth hole, Woods said loudly, “Tiger Woods, you suck.” He followed that with another expletive.
Asked if he regretted the outbursts on the front nine after his recent public vows to tone them down, Woods said, “Did I?”
Told he did on two separate occasions, Woods said, “If I did, then I’m sorry.”
Asked if he feels “normal” now in the golf course, Woods said, “Well, three-putting three times, no, it does not feel normal. I need to putt better than that. But overall, I feel pretty good out there.”
Woods salvaged going home in utter frustration after a bogey on 17 dropped him to 7-under when he birdied No. 18.
“After struggling just to fight back in the ballgame . . . the guys were running away from me there — at one point I was seven back. So to kind of claw my way back in there where I’m only four back right now, I’m in good shape,” he said. “We have a long way to go. This is only Saturday. If it was Sunday, it would have been a different story.
“I just wanted to put myself in contention, and I did that. I’m only four back, so a good round [today] and you never know. Four back, I’m in good shape.”
Woods said he still feels good about his position.
“I’m four back, so I’ve got a good shot,” he said. “Normally you’re not going to have four great days. I’ve played golf long enough where I’ve never had four great rounds in a row. One day is always going to be your off day, and on your off day if you can keep it under par it’s always a good sign, and I did that today.”
Woods has never come back from a deficit in the final round of a major to win. In all 14 of his major victories, he’s entered the final round with the lead.
“It’s important if I do it [today],” he said. “I have to. I’m not leading the tournament.”
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com