By Jim Brighters, Senior Golf Editor

Augusta, GA (Sports Network) - Tiger Woods has endured a very disappointing Masters.

Heading into the tournament as a favorite, thanks in no small part to his first PGA Tour since his scandal a few weeks back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods is three-over for the tournament and 12 off the lead.

He opened with an even-par 72, but that was after back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18.

Friday was a disaster for Woods, a four-time Masters champion. He shot a three-over 75 and fell eight off the lead.

Perhaps the most revealing display of Woods' frustration came at the 16th hole. He hit a poor tee ball into a bunker at the par three, then dropped the club and kicked it.

On Saturday, after another even-par 72 failed to move him up the leaderboard, he addressed the tantrum from the prior day.

"Certainly I'm frustrated at times and I apologize if I offended anybody by that," Woods said. "But I've hit some bad shots and it's certainly frustrating at times not hitting the ball where you need to hit it."

He was then asked if anyone said anything to him about the behavior.

"I certainly heard that people didn't like me kicking the club, but I didn't like it either. I hit it right in the bunker and didn't feel good on my toe either."

Woods will indeed need a historic Sunday if he's to add a fifth green jacket to the trophy case. The largest comeback after 54 holes at the Masters is eight strokes.

MOST MAJORS

Who has won the most major championships since the start of the 2007 season?

Tiger Woods? Nope.

Phil Mickelson. No, sir.

The answer is Padraig Harrington.

The Irishman has three major titles (British Open in 2007-08 & PGA in '08), but his game has fallen. Harrington hasn't won since the 2008 PGA and is currently 96th in the world rankings.

"I have no problem that I have not won a major in the last couple of years. I'm quite happy to be sitting on three," said Harrington. "When you think about it, there's only two guys playing the game who have won more majors than me, so it's hard to be disappointed that I didn't win after winning three. It just doesn't work like that in golf. It's all about cycles."

This is a down cycle, but Harrington is playing well this week at Augusta National. He shot a four-under 68 on Saturday and moved into a tie for sixth, albeit five behind leader Peter Hanson.

"I'm in a nice position, reasonably relaxed position," said Harrington, who is in the field based on those major wins a few years back. "Obviously I'm chasing; it's not going to be the end of the world. It's not like I've got a big lead going out there and I have to hold on to it tomorrow. If it goes well, it goes well; if it doesn't, it doesn't. It's not a big deal."

* Hanson can become the first male Swede to win a major championship.

* Eight different players held at least a share of the lead on Saturday.

* Gary Woodland withdrew on Saturday with a wrist injury.

* Nineteen of the last 21 Masters winners have come from the final group on Sunday.

* Hideki Matsuyama is the low amateur at one-over par.

* The hardest hole of round three was the par-four opener, playing to an average of 4.4286. It is also the most difficult hole for the tournament and has netted only eight birdies for the week.

* The easiest hole, as it has been through the tournament, is the par-five second. It played to an average of 4.6984 on Saturday and 4.6798 for the championship.

04/07 20:02:34 ET