AUGUSTA, Ga. » You could sense from the beginning that Tiger Woods would not charge up the leaderboard to capture his 15th major in Sunday’s final round of the Masters.

The overflow crowd that watched his first two drives go left and land in the pines began to wander to other parts of the course after he failed to birdie the first four holes and then bogeyed the fifth.

Roars reserved for greatness occurred in front and behind him. He even jerked his head around while standing in the third fairway after Jason Day eagled the second to go 3 under over the opening two holes.

This was something Woods needed to do to pressure those three groups behind him. He had to shoot 33 on the front and then equal that total on the back to have any real shot of winning his fifth green jacket. Instead, he bogeyed the seventh in a steady rain that descended on the Augusta National Course en route to a ho-hum 37.

Birdies at nine and 10 provided a flicker of hope for the Floridian, but near-misses at 11 and 12 proved fatal on his dreary day in Georgia. The drizzle that would be a blessing in Hawaii proved to be a curse for Woods.

He never quite found the proper speed on the greens, never was dialed in to what Bobby Jones’ famed course can give you. He said after Sunday’s final round that it was different all four days and contributed to him finishing tied for fourth for the third time in four years.

For his legion of fans, described by one patron as “Tiger’s tsunami of humanity,” it was a disappointing finish. He played well enough, had several big par saves, but his performance on the par 5s was lacking. Tiger didn’t have a single eagle. And that was more telling than anything.

For those who feared his reprieve by the Masters for taking an improper drop on Friday would lead to a tainted victory on Sunday, they breathed a sigh of relief. Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors would not be cut to three on this day. Woods had no magic in him.

In his previous 14 major victories, Woods never came from off the pace, preferring to blitzkrieg the field into submission rather than rallying from behind. A prohibitive 2-to-1 favorite coming in, Woods hasn’t been fitted for a green jacket since 2005, and you have to wonder if he will ever be again.

Closer to 40 than he would care to admit, the idea that he will win five more majors before putting his clubs in the garage for good seems unlikely. The fields are stronger than ever, the talent pool he helped create worldwide is deep and the mystique Woods once held over his fellow contract workers is no more.

With all that said, you can’t help but wonder what might have been had he not hit such a perfect shot at 15 or described the drop to the media that eventually did him in. It conceivably cost him five shots; an eagle instead of a snowman. At the very least he’s in a playoff with eventual winner Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera. He might even go on to win outright.

BUT IT DID happen. That’s the game. Look at the huge break Scott got when his ball didn’t roll back into the water at No. 13 on Sunday. Or the near-misses Cabrera suffered through on the back nine and the playoffs. Shoulda, coulda, wouldas abound in this game. Just ask anyone who plays it — pros or weekenders. They’ll have one of those every round.

As for Woods, his single goal of catching the Golden Bear moves on to the U.S. Open in June. He created a lot of controversy for himself this weekend, with the help of Masters officials. And you almost get a sense he’s like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby, chasing the green light on Daisy’s dock. Like Gatsby, it recedes before him, it eludes him, and to paraphrase Fitzgerald, you have to wonder if his boat is against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Reach Paul Arnett at parnett@staradvertiser.com or 529-4786.