AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods has been assessed a 2-stroke penalty at the Masters today, the result of a penalty drop he took on the 15th hole of the second round on Friday.

There was a chance that the four-time champion could be disqualified.

Woods’ third shot from 87 yards hit the pin and caromed off the green, down the slope and into the water. Instead of going to the drop area on the other side of the water, Woods chose to take the one-shot penalty and play his fifth shot from the area of his original shot.

At question was whether that violated Rule 26-1, which states that the ball should be dropped as nearly as possible to the spot where it was last played.

The specter of a disqualification is tied to Woods signing an incorrect scorecard.

“I went back to where I played it from, but went two yards further back and I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit,” Woods said Friday after he signed for a 71, leaving him three shots out of the lead. “And that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back. I felt that was going to be the right decision to take off four (yards) right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly.”

Woods’ fifth shot landed short of the hole and spun to a stop about 4 feet to the left of the flag. He made the putt for a bogey.