Tiger Woods scores final-round 69 at Masters Tournament

Tiger Woods knew before the start of play Sunday that he would not need to be fitted for a fifth Masters Green Jacket.

But he delivered the occasional snippet that displayed he might need to make more room in the closet in a future year after finishing strong with a final round 3-under 69.

Overall, Woods finished his four rounds at the Masters at 1-over 289 in his first time meandering around Augusta National since 2015.

"I thoroughly missed it. I missed playing major championships," Woods said in a post-round interview with CBS. "It's been 2 1/2, three years since I've played in a major championship and normally I build my schedules around them. This was great to be back and be able to play in a major again and to have an opportunity to win the title at the beginning of the week.

"Obviously, it didn't pan out. I didn't hit my irons good enough, I didn't make enough birdies, I made too many mistakes. But overall, it was fun to be able to compete again and play in the Masters."

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His highlight shot on Sunday was when he scored an eagle on the par-5 15th hole. Woods successfully read the 30-foot putt and pushed it hard to the left at the outset and the ball quickly shifted toward the right and went directly at the hole and dropped in.

Woods had a chance to finish at even par for the tournament but he missed a short par putt on 18.

For the round, Woods also had five birdies and four bogeys in addition to the eagle.

"I drove it on a string today, which was nice," Woods said. "I had another loose day on the irons and I putted awful today ... All in all, it was a bittersweet ending."

One of Woods' longtime rivals also scored an eagle on 15. Phil Mickelson had one earlier Sunday while posting a 67.

The round was easily Mickelson's best of the week as he finished at 2-over 290.

Meanwhile, Woods continues to search for his stride after the long layoff.

He had three birdies and three bogeys during an uneven 36 on the front nine. Woods scored birdies on two par-5 holes (2 and 8) and also recorded one on the par-3 4.

The bogeys were on par-4 holes 3, 7 and 9.

On the back side, Woods scored another birdie on the par-5 13 and that prompted a strong run that included the eagle on 15 and a birdie on the par-4 17.

The latter birdie briefly got Woods back to even par for the first time since Thursday.

Woods tipped his cap and his golf club to ovations as he walked up the fairway on 18. But he was unable to finish in style due to the subpar putting on the 18th green.

Woods is making his way back after undergoing four back operations. He recently returned to the PGA Tour earlier this year.

Woods has won 14 major titles but the last was back in 2008, when he outlasted Rocco Mediate in the famous 91-hole U.S. Open battle at Torrey Pines.

Woods opened the tourney with a 73 on Thursday in his first round at August National in 1,089 days.

The second round was a step back as he shot 3-over 75, but he managed to make the cut by one shot.

That round left Woods 13 shots behind second-round leader Patrick Reed, making it clear Woods wouldn't be a contender.

An even-par 72 on Saturday kept Woods at 4-over and also made it clear he wasn't going to be in the mix for a high finish. But he did need just 29 putts while playing the picturesque course.

Woods did a good deed prior to his opening round when he briefly visited with wheelchair-bound Shane Caldwell, a 52-year-old man from Columbia, S.C., fighting stage 4 lung cancer.

Caldwell's stepdaughter, Jordan Miller, put the word out through social media that the dying man had always wanted to meet Woods. The Tiger Woods Foundation eventually learned of Miller's request and set up a meeting with Woods and Caldwell as Woods was leaving the driving range.

Woods said he will now take a break and try to improve his fitness. But he leaves the event with an appreciative feel and liked this visit to the Masters much better than the last two.

"It felt great to compete out there again and walk this golf course," Woods said. "The last couple years I came here, it was just to eat. (This is) a much better way to come to August National."

--Field Level Media