There was no hint of controversy when Woods returned to replay his shot from the same area his initial shot ended up finding the water.

But following his press conference, after signing for a one-under-par 71, there were claims Woods had dropped the ball further away from the initial position than permitted.

The United States Golf Association rule 26-1a states that a player must take their drop "as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played", but Woods suggested he had opted to take he re-stroke "two yards away" from the original position.

That has prompted the claims that Woods contravened the drop rule and that he should have instead incurred a two-stroke penalty, instead of the extra shot he signed for.

Explaining the circumstances around his drop Woods, who is three shots behind leader Jason Day, said: "I went down to the drop area, 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 where I played it from, but I went two yards further back.

"I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit - that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back.

"I felt that that was going to be the right decision to take off four right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly."

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Former world top-10 player David Howell believes, however, that Woods could be disqualified for his actions, saying that he was "right on the limit" in terms of where he took his drop.

"One more yard and Tiger is getting disqualified I don't think any rules official would be able to give him that much leeway," Howell told Sky Sports.

"He was right on the limit.

"Only Tiger knows whether he deliberately chose to go one yard further back because he preferred an extra yard. I know it sounds unbelievably precise.

"He may have preferred one more yard. If he's done that he should be disqualified - he is the only person that knows that.

"If he hasn't and he has just thought that is near enough then I think there is enough leeway for him to stay in the competition.

"It seems unbelievably harsh but only he knows really."

Should Woods be sanctioned it would be the second major decision to come from yesterday's round after officials handed Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang a one-stroke penalty for slow play.

Guan, at 14 the youngest ever player at Augusta, was given his penalty on the 17th hole after previously being warned that he was taking too long over his shots.

After Woods was informed of that decision in his press conference he said: "Well, rules are rules.

"We have had a case of slow play for some of the guys out here on Tour and we have our policies.

"And, unfortunately, he either didn't pick it up or sometimes you can get guys who are hitting shots or backing off a couple shots and you can get weird times. It can happen. I don't know what his situation is, but it's unfortunate."