Might it be best if this was Tiger Woods' last Masters?

If this is the norm, then please let this be Woods’ last Masters. Only those who take a jealous, perverse pleasure in watching greatness brought down to earth could want more of this.

Just Friday, when Woods stood 1-over par and was being celebrated for making a record 24th straight Masters cut, his fans were thrown a lifeline of hope.

He threw them an anvil this weekend.

Watching Tiger Woods shoot 82 on Saturday was like seeing an aged boxer eating punches for a paycheck. A litany of wince-worthy moments.

More golfing agony followed Sunday, producing scenes at Augusta National so unworthy of a five-time Masters champion.

The triple-bogey on the par 4 5th hole was the lowest of lowlights. Before Woods was done there, he would hit three tee shots: His first deep in the right woods. A second provisional in case the original was lost. Then, after hitching a ride back to the tee on a cart, a third after he had found his ball in the woods but could figure no way to play it from there.

There was the 25-yard chip to the green at No. 3 that didn’t clear the front ridge and rolled back to near his feet.

Or the tee shot to the par-3 6th that weirdly came up 20 yards short of the green.

Or his inability to make hay on the backside par 5s, where he is a career 112-under par. He had to settle for a layup par on the 13th and a bogey on No. 15 after missing the green long on a 108-yard chip.

The highlight of Woods day was a run of eight straight pars — zircons compared to the diamonds he’s fashioned here.

There is little to show that Woods can get much better since ruining his leg in a 2021 car accident. In the last two seasons he’s been basically invisible, withdrawing from last year’s Masters and sitting out the other three majors. Nothing looks so different now. And if there’s no hint of improvement, what’s the use?

If he could accept the role of ceremonial golfer, of being a roving ambassador for the game, then watching days like Saturday and Sunday wouldn’t be so painful. You’d know his pride wasn’t invested in the outcome. But he doesn’t allow that. He insists we see him still as a real competitive threat.

So Woods leaves the course Sunday tilting at the windmills of the year’s three other majors. His plans for next month’s PGA Championship? “Just keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing,” Woods said. “Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer.”

More than any event, the Masters has shaped Woods’ legacy. This is where he won the first of his 15 major championships, announcing himself with a smashing 12-stroke victory in 1997. This is where he won his last, pushing his broken body to a win in 2019.

And, today, this is the place where it is fitting to wonder just how much more we want to see of him in this condition.

If this is all he has left, then the answer is: No more.

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