Later on it was found out that a former rules official saw the bad drop on TV and called a rules official he knew at the Masters. It wasn't just Tiger's comment.
Here is an extensive description of the affair, which I will not question. It does not mention the analysis that I recall being described which determined the location of the drop. It does say that the original observer that reported the infraction thought that the original divot was "maybe three or four feet in front" of his drop. This was reported and an official reviewed it. As per the link:
At 7:30 p.m., 10 minutes after Woods completed his round, Ridley responded by text to Bradley. Regarding Eger's estimate of three to four feet, Ridley wrote that Woods "was closer than that." To look at it closer, he wrote, would be "splitting hairs." Ridley determined that Woods had done nothing wrong, so there was no point in asking him about the drop.
Then came Tiger's interview comments. So it remains true that it was his own statements that caused the penalty and the threat of disqualification to be incurred.