AUGUSTA – Tiger Woods said he never contemplated withdrawing from the Masters despite the controversy over his second-round two-shot penalty.Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo was among the critics who said Woods should have disqualified himself after taking an incorrect drop at the 15th.But four-time winner Woods, who shot a 70 on Saturday to reach three under, said he had “abided by the rules”. “I made a mistake, I took an improper drop and got the penalty,” said Woods.“If it was done a year or two ago, whatever, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to play. But the rules have changed, and under the rules of golf I was able to play.”The controversial incident happened after Woods’s third shot at the long 15th hit the flagstick and ricocheted back into the pond in front of the green. Woods took a drop, made bogey and eventually signed for a one-over-par 73.“I wasn’t even really thinking,” he added. “I was still a little ticked at what happened, and I was just trying to figure, OK, I need to take some yardage off this shot, and that’s all I was thinking.”Tournament officials initially deemed Woods’s drop legal, but decided to review the incident after he said in a post-round interview he dropped the ball “two yards further back”.Snedeker, Cabrera share lead American Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera of Argentina survived a drama-packed day at the Masters on Saturday to share the lead after the third round, nosing themselves ahead of a congested leaderboard that included the imposing figure of Tiger Woods.Snedeker kept his cool in the suffocating pressure of Augusta National to shoot a flawless three-under par 69 to finish the day at seven-under and in sight of a first major title.He was joined at the top by Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, who drained a birdie putt at the last hole for a 69, igniting a huge roar from the greenside galleries that echoed around the Georgia course.Adam Scott was third at six-under after also signing for 69, one stroke ahead of his fellow Australians Jason Day (73) and Marc Leishman (72), raising hopes the winner’s green jacket could finally be heading Down Under after years of near-misses.
