Tiger Woods. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. - At this writing, patrons are streaming into the gates of Augusta National in advance of Saturday's third round of the Masters. They've paid hundreds, even thousands of dollars for their badges today, and since they've left their cell phones in their cars, they're blissfully unaware of the fact that Tiger Woods faces the very real threat of disqualification for a rules violation.

But you're not unaware. I'm not unaware. Woods isn't unaware. And Augusta National most certainly isn't unaware.

[UPDATE: Woods has not been disqualified. He has been served with a two-shot penalty but will play on.]

Put simply, Woods appeared to take an improper drop following a shot on 15 Friday which found the water. (See here for a clearer explanation.) There's gray area - about the only gray you'll find anywhere near Augusta National - but there's enough blood in the water to suggest the appearance of impropriety.

And since, for Augusta National and the game of golf in general, appearance

Tiger Woods. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Tiger Woods' pursuit of a fifth green jacket may have just gone off the rails.

Woods is facing a potential disqualification stemming from a possible rules violation committed on Friday afternoon. After he struck one of the unluckiest shots in his Masters career, an approach on 15 that hit the flagstick and bounced back into the water, Woods dropped a new ball and began playing again. However, it's how he dropped that new ball that's at issue. [UPDATE: He's safe, but penalized. Details here.]

Stick with us here, this is about to get rules-heavy. When the ball went into the water, Woods had two options: drop the ball in a designated zone, or hit as close as possible to his original location. Here's Woods' quote when asked about the drop:

"I went down to the drop area," he said. "That wasn't going to be a good spot, because obviously it's into the grain, it's really grainy there. And it was a little bit wet. So it was muddy and not a good spot to drop. So I went back to

Jason Day is leading the Masters after two rounds — Getty Images

• The big story of the day came on the 17th hole, when 14-year-old Tianlang Guan was assessed a one-stroke penalty for slow play, a shocking event that had plenty of fans and pros alike up in arms. The story ended positively, as Guan made the cut on the number, marking a new record for youngsters making it to the weekend of a major championship.

• Jason Day, who finished T-2 here in 2011, had the round of the day at Augusta National, posting 4-under 68 to take the outright lead after 36 holes. Day was solid all day long and looks like he might have the game to be the first ever Australian to claim a green jacket.

[Masters 2013 leaderboard: See how Tiger Woods and others are doing]

• Tiger Woods was making a big push up the leaderboard until he hit the flagstick heard round the world. On the 15th hole, Woods hit a solid wedge that looked like it snuggle up close for another birdie, but his precise shot was a little too precise, smacking the flag and bounding back in the water.

The funny thing about golf is that sometimes the best golf shot can get the absolute worst break and completely ruin your round. On Friday at Augusta National, Tiger Woods was rolling in his second round, tied for the lead with a par-5 to play and looked like he would once again have a lead at the Masters.

Woods' tee shot on the par-5 15th found the pine straw, and a lay-up was in order. Tiger's third shot looked absolutely yummy when it came off the club, but as golf goes, it hit the flag and instead of having a kick-in for birdie, Woods was forced to drop another ball as his found the lake in front of the green.

Bounces like this happen, especially when you hit the flag, but it says a lot about how Woods is hitting the golf ball right now that his dropped shot on Friday came because he hit a golf shot too good.

Tianlang Guan — Getty ImagesOn Friday afternoon at Augusta National something very strange happened. A player on the verge of making the cut got penalized for slow play, but it wasn't just any player, it was 14-year-old Tianlang Guan. The story of the first two days of the Masters is currently on the cut line at his first Masters, but was given a slow play penalty, something that rarely (if ever) happens in the game of golf.

People on Twitter were up in arms, but it was the PGA Tour players that spoke up the most. Some of the players that aren't in the field this week took to Twitter to express their concerns with the questionable decision. Ben Crenshaw, who played with Guan, said after, "This isn't going to wind up pretty. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry this happened."

Hear the rest of the PGA Tour speak up after the jump.

Tianlang Guan. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Well, this is a kick in the baby teeth. Tianlang Guan, the 14-year-old amateur who's been the story of the 2013 Masters so far, was hit with a one-stroke penalty for slow play on the 17th.

Guan was apparently warned earlier in the round, but continued to play at a slower-than-acceptable pace. This could be significant, as he finished the round at +3 on the day and +4 overall.

[Related: Tianlang Guan's mom packs lunch as 14-year-old takes on Masters]

The cut line is the top 50 players (and ties) as well as anyone within 10 strokes of the lead. When Guan finished, the leaders stood at -5 ... in other words, Guan was exactly on the cut line. It would be a shame if a judgment-call ruling cost Augusta one of its best stories in years.

-Follow Jay Busbee all week from Augusta National on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - During this Masters week, when everyone involved with the production of this most famous golf tournament, present company included, gets a little dewy-eyed and nostalgic about the sanctified history of Augusta National Golf Club, it's worth remembering that not everyone regards this tournament in quite the same way ... and that "a tradition unlike any other" has very different meanings to different people.

Appearing on Dan Patrick's radio show on Friday, Bob Costas of NBC Sports took on the Masters and, more specifically, CBS. Costas took issue with the fact that CBS completely ignores Augusta's very real, and very recent, history of gender- and race-based discrimination. As Costas said:

What no CBS commentator has ever alluded to, even in passing, even during a rain delay, even when there was time to do so, is Augusta's history of racism and sexism. Even when people were protesting just outside the grounds—forget about taking a side—never acknowledging it. So not only

Cows wander Augusta National in the shaodw of the clubhouse. (Augusta National/Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. – You look out at the vast, impossibly green expanse of Augusta National Golf Club, and you see absolute manicured perfection.

Cows, meanwhile, see their lost homeland.

Yes, there was a time when cows roamed the fairways of Bobby Jones’ golf course. They stomped across the greens, trundled up and down rolling hills, devoured grass in the shadow of the Big Oak, the Eisenhower Tree and Butler Cabin.

The time was World War II, and a little golf tournament at a nine-year-old private club in eastern Georgia was pretty much the last thing on anyone’s mind. Nearby Camp Gordon in Augusta was the focus of growing war efforts, and the 1942 Masters, held just months after Pearl Harbor, would be the last to be played while the United States was at war.

For that tournament, Augusta National cofounders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided to donate their entire proceeds to what they deemed an appropriate war charity: the construction of a golf course, and donation of golf