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World No 1 Scottie Scheffler is right where he is supposed to be – leading the 88th Masters with one round to go. But such was the breath-taking freneticism of Saturday’s extraordinary Augusta action, it would be foolhardy to forecast that the season’s first major will follow anything like a neat script for its finale.
What a day this was. Augusta is famous for producing thrills and spills on the Sunday, but the final few hours here were like a highlights package of the agonies and ecstasies of major golf. So many players dared to rise up the leaderboard – but so many of them fell away.
The exception was Scheffler – trying to win his second Green Jacket in three years and become the first favourite since Tiger Woods in 2005 to prevail – who holds a one-shot lead over two-time major champion Collin Morikawa (69), with another American in Max Homa (73) in third a further shot behind on five-under.
Woods cut a sad sight as he struggled to an 82, his worst score in almost 30 years of playing in the majors. But just when it seemed that the third round would be overshadowed by the icon’s sad capitulation, so this unique layout proved its propensity for drama. The conditions were not as tough as the first two days, but, with the pins tucked in, as much as risks could be rewarded, they could also be punished
Scheffler burst out of the trap, chipping in from 32 yards on the first and grabbing another birdie on the third to assume a two-shot advantage. With two wins and a second in his last three starts, this was a familiar sight – until Scheffler double-bogeyed 10th and bogeyed the 11th.
Bryson DeChambeau grabbed a share of the lead at that stage, but the big-hitter suffered a rollercoaster back nine, bogeying the 11th and 12th and then wasting his birdie on the 14th by fluffing a chip into the water on to his way for a double-bogey on the 15th and bogeying the 16th. But then “The Mad Scientist” holed his third shot from 77 yards on the 18th for a 75 and a three-under total.
The debutants with history in their goggle-eyes had been laughing at the Masters stat that shows Fuzzy Zoeller is the last first-timer to win 45 years ago. But Ludvig Aberg – not only playing in his first Masters, but in his first major, despite only turning pro before appearing at the Ryder Cup last October – made two bogeys in his final two holes and had to be content with an exceedingly commendable 70, and a four-under total, to be in fourth.
Aberg’s spiral was nothing compared to that of Nicolai Hojgaard. The Dane – who was also another inspired wildcard selection by Europe captain Luke Donald for the victory in Rome – sensationally took the lead when he birdied three in a row from the eighth. But from there he calamitously bogeyed the next five holes. No pars in eight holes and from exhilarating contender to desperate descender. Cruel. But on two-under he still has hope. Just about.
Tommy Fleetwood retains dreams of giving England its third Masters champion, despite three-putting the last for a 72 to stay at one-under and move into the top 10.
Fleetwood’s best performance in seven Augusta appearances is a tie for 14th and that unimpressive return has never made much sense for a player who has runners-up finishes in both the Open and US Open to his name. Augusta is a second-shot course and Fleetwood, one of the sweetest ball-strikers on Tour, has a marvellous approach game.
He is without his long-time caddie Ian Finnis, who is back in England recovering from a severe chest infection, but he has Gray Moore, the former Augusta caddie master, on his bag and if his putter obliges and he gets on a tear then he is within range. Cam Smith, the 2022 Open champion, is on the same mark and certainly believes he is in touch.
“I think I’m still in the golf tournament, the way that the golf course is playing,” the Australian said. “The temptation will be to attack, but you can’t do that at the moment. If you start playing the course that way, I can see where that heads. I’ve been down that road before. I’d like to think I’m a pretty smart golfer. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, hitting it to 15, 20 feet, and hopefully they go in.”
Scheffler’s eagle on the 13th – when holing a 30-footer – and his eight-footer for birdie on the last were perhaps the most notable events. They moved the 27-year-old ahead. From there he has the talent and the experience to take control. But this has been a strange Masters and it promises plenty of twists and turns yet.
Further down the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy is in a tie for 21st on three-over after a 71, while defending champion Jon Rahm is on five-over following a 72.
Sunday’s winner will earn $3.6 million (£2.9 million), the most ever for a major champion. This is further evidence of the LIV effect. The total purse is $20 million, $2 million up on 2023 and $5 million more than in 2022, when LIV had yet to be formed. The prize fund is twice as much as in 2015 and the largest in major history.
But it is still $5 million less than what the PGA Tour pros competed for in last month’s Players Championship and only the same as they will play for at next week’s RBC Heritage in Hilton Head. Silly money. And, as Saturday highlighted, silly game.
“I want to see six or seven players make a run at Scottie Scheffler tomorrow afternoon.
“He played wonderful golf today, with just a couple of hiccups, but I want to see this thing jam-packed going into the second nine tomorrow.”
“I actually struggled my way around. Even though I made my first two birdies on 15 and 16, that was probably the least comfortable I have felt coming down the stretch.
“I have scored very well [this week] and I think I was about as patient today as anyone can be. I felt I hit the right shots all the time. I will do a bit of practice now but overall I have been playing good. You don’t get through 72 holes without having a patch where you don’t feel that great. Hopefully, that is my one done.”
“I feel like my game is in a good spot. My swing has been in a good spot for some time now. Major championships are always very challenging and so it’s nice to have the lead going into tomorrow.
“I’m going to stick to my process and try to execute shots tomorrow. I’m excited. The eagle on 13 was extremely important after the double at 10 and bogey on 11.”
With round three in the books, we now know the final pairings for the final round. Bryson DeChambeau will be in the third-from-last pair with fellow American Xander Schauffele. The penultimate pairing will be Swede Ludvig Aberg and Max Homa and the final pair out tomorrow will be world number one Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.
Homa lands a niggly little par putt and finishes on five-under-par after a round of 73. The final pair in round three are done.
That is sensational from DeChambeau. His third lands a few feet away from the pin and rolls into the hole for a birdie three. It is a round of 75 (three-over-par). He is -3, four shots off the lead going into the final round.
A tough spot for Bryson to play his second. He just simply has to hack the ball out and he does a decent job of it.
Homa is in a great position in the fairway but his second lands in the bunker on the right-hand side of the green. That is going to be a tough shot with not much green to play with.
The last pair are on the 18th tee. Homa finds the fairway but DeChambeau goes quite far right. That is going to be a very tricky shot for Bryson.
Max Homa has had so many chances of birdies today but none of them have gone in. He has to settle for another par on the 17th, as DeChambeau.
Scottie lands the birdie putt on the last and moves to seven-under-par. It is an one-under round of 71 and he holds a one-shot lead over Morikawa ahead of his final round tomorrow.
Scheffler finds the fairway with his drive on the last and his second is magnificent. He has a good shot at a birdie here.
Back on 17 Homa and DeChambeau have sent their drives down the fairway.
Morikawa misses the green on the last but a delicate chip shot sets up a par. He finishes on -6 and has the clubhouse lead.
On 16 DeChambeau misses his par putt and has now dropped three shots in two holes. He is now down at two-under.
Having gone just over the back of the green on 17, Scheffler has a tough putt to save par. It skirts round the left-hand side of the hole and ends up around five feet away. He is going to drop at least one shot. He manages to sink the bogey putt but now Morikawa shares the lead with Scheffler.
Up on 18 Aberg has managed a par on the last to finish on -4. As it stands the Swede is just two shots off the lead.
Bryson is on his fifth shot and he is going to have a tricky putt for bogey as his chip is still a little way away from the hole. He misses the bogey putt and has to settle for a double bogey. He is now -3.
Morikawa meanwhile lands the tricky par putt to remain at -6 going to the last.
On 18 Fleetwood bogeys the last to finish his third round at one-under-par.
DeChambeau’s second on the 15th has gone quite a way right so they have had to move the patrons out of the way to give Bryson a run to the green, where Homa’s third shot is in a good position. Bryson’s effort from a tricky position is woeful and he ends up in the water. A huge mistake from Bryson.
Over on 17 Morikawa nearly lands a long birdie putt but as it goes around the hole it has left him a lengthy putt to save par.
On the par-five 15th Scheffler sinks his birdie putt and he takes the outright lead on seven-under-par.
His playing partner for today, Hojgaard, has hit five straight bogeys to drop to +2.
Bryson sinks a tricky, lengthy birdie putt to move to -5. Homa’s birdie attempt slides to the right of the hole and he misses another chance to join the leaders on six-under.
Homa’ second into 14 is terrific. He will have a birdie chance from around 10 feet.
Up on 15 Hojgaard has found more water and his troubles on the back nine continue.
Morikawa plays a superb third shot on 15 which sets up a great chance for a birdie. But the putt goes round the hole and he remains at -6.
Ludvig Aberg makes a number of mistakes on the 15th and he ends up with a bogey. The Swede is now four-under-par.
Two Scandinavians are dropping shots as Hojgaard bogeys 14. He has four straight bogeys having led on -7 at 10.
It has been a quiet round for Tommy Fleetwood but a birdie on the par-five 15th moves him up to one-under-par.
Then on 16 his tee shot is sublime and lands the short birdie putt to move to -2. Tommy is still in this.
Scottie has looked off it on the back nine so far but what an emphatic response that is. He lands a lengthy eagle putt on the par-five 13th to join Morikawa on -6.
Hojgaard has dropped a shot on the 13th green and he is now -4.
DeChambeau cannot land his par putt and he is now down to -4. Homa bogeys 12 and he is now five-under.
Aberg has dropped a shot on 14 to go down to five-under-par. All of this has meant Morikawa has taken the outright lead on -6.
Homa and DeChambeau are at risk of dropping a shot on 12 and a few holes up ahead Aberg could be about to as well.
On 13 Hojgaard goes into the creek just shy of the green. The wind is certainly causing problems but also there are some nerves around.
Collin Morikawa has a birdie chance on 13 to take the outright lead but it just goes by the hole. He remains at -6.
It feels like everyone is going long on 12. Max Homa is the next man to go over the back of the green. Bryson DeChambeau follows him off the back.
DeChambeau may have avoided trouble with the water but he misses a par putt on the 11th. He drops a shot to drop back to -5.
On 12 Hojgaard has dropped a shot to -5.
Ludvig Aberg sinks a simple birdie putt on 13 to make it a five-way tie for the lead at the top of the leaderboard.
Hojgaard and Scheffler are onto the par-three 12th and the Dane goes long and over the back of the green. Scheffler also goes long.
Back on 11 DeChambeau has his heart in his mouth but his second shot just evades the water.
Hojgaard misses the green on 11 to the right and his chip on from a difficult spot with where the pin is positioned goes a long way past the hole. He misses the par putt so he will drop a shot. We now have a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.
Scheffler also drops a shot so is now on four-under-par. Three shots dropped in two holes for the world number one.
Tiger is making his way up 18 and it has been a tough day for the 15-time major winner. He started the day on one-over-par but he finishes on 11-over-par after a round of 82.
Bryson DeChambeau lands his birdie putt on nine to move to six-under-par, one behind new leader Hojgaard.
Scheffler’s lie is terrible and his difficult chip goes a long way past the pin and just keeps rolling. It looks like he is going to drop at least one shot. It is a mighty effort as his putt only just misses. But from no more than three feet he manages to miss the bogey putt. It is a double bogey for the world number one.
Whilst Scheffler was dropping shots, playing alongside him Hojgaard nails a lengthy birdie putt and takes the outright lead. Huge swing as Hojgaard (-7) takes the lead and Scheffler drops two shots to -5. Remember this is Nicolai Hojgaard’s debut at The Masters.
Scheffler’s drive on 10 is perfect but you cannot describe his second as perfect. He overcooks it and it goes over the back of the 10th green, which will be a difficult third shot.
Homa is in a good position on the ninth as his second shot gives him the chance of a birdie to join Scheffler on -7. But once again for Homa his birdie putt slides past the hole. He remains at -6.
DeChambeau overcooks it and goes over the back of the green. He leaves himself a tricky putt for par, which he misses to the left. He drops back to five-under-par.
Scheffler’s putt just misses and he finishes his front nine with a par. He currently has a one-shot lead.
Where Scheffler fails, Nicolai Hojgaard succeeds as he moves to six-under with three others, just one shot behind Scheffler.
It looked like Ludvig Aberg was about to move to six-under but the putt does not go in.
Bryson DeChambeau’s chip from the front of the green is a good one and leaves him with a simple birdie putt, which he takes.
Homa has a putt to take a share of the lead but he cannot take it so he remains at -6.
Up on nine Hojgaard plays a sublime second shot onto the green to leave him a short birdie putt. Scheffler also plays a quality shot from a similar position to Hojgaard.
Ludvig Aberg is in good shape at the moment. His second shot from the fairway on the 10th lands just to the left of the hole, with a six-foot putt for birdie to come.
On eight Homa’s tee shot goes miles left and he simply has to just chip out. Homa’s third takes a lucky bounce and gets on the green, with an outside chance of a birdie.
DeChambeau’s tee shot lands just short of the bunker and his second comes up just short of the green.
On 14 Tiger’s poor round continues with another bogey.
Back on eight Scheffler sees a birdie putt just miss and his chance of extending his two-shot lead is wasted.
Nicolai Hojgaard birdies where Scheffler misses to move to five-under-par.
DeChambeau is in a little bit of bother on the seventh as he finds the bunker at the front of the green with his second shot. He lands the par putt, which was not easy, to remain at -5.
Up on nine Aberg uses the slopes of the green to his advantage as he gets his second shot within six feet of the hole. He lands the birdie putt and moves to -5 alongside DeChambeau and Cam Davis.
Collin Morikawa is back to within one shot of the leader Scottie Scheffler with a birdie on eight.
Playing alongside Morikawa is Australian Cam Davis, who also lands a birdie putt from pretty much the same spot to move to five-under.
On seven Scheffler has a putt for birdie that just misses so he remains on seven-under-par.
Given he had just watched his dream of a career Grand Slam ebb away for a 10th straight year, Rory McIlroy went surprisingly light on the self-flagellation afterwards. After a third-round 71 left him 10 behind leader Scottie Scheffler, he refused to despair, saying: “All I can do is come here and try my best. That’s what I do, I show up. Some years it’s better than others.” For all his fatalistic acceptance, the past three days have been chastening. Even with his otherworldly talent, a first Green Jacket remains as stubbornly out of reach as ever.
At the sixth Homa’s putt looks destined for the hole but it comes up just short. DeChambeau has a 20-footer for birdie but his putt goes just right as he slightly mis-reads the putt.
Woods has made a birdie up on 13 to move to +7.
On the seventh Morikawa comes so close to a birdie to return to six-under but it just does not fall.
Scheffler sends his birdie putt on six well past the hole and he will have a tricky par putt. That is a gutsy putt thought from Scheffler as he sends it into the middle of the hole. Scottie showing some bottle there.
Hojgaard misses his birdie putt to the left and he remains at four-under. He will feel that is a missed opportunity.
Tiger is in the midst of Amen Corner and he misses a par putt to drop to eight-over.
On the par-three sixth Nicolai Hojgaard comes close to hitting his tee shot into the hole but it goes just past and he will have around seven feet for birdie. Good birdie chance for the Dane.
Collin Morikawa is no longer just one shot back. His par putt on six somehow does not go in and he is left to rue that missed putt. He drops back to five-under.
Scottie Scheffler’s birdie putt on five is agonisingly close to dropping in, but it stays out so he has to be content with a par. He is seven-under, one shot clear of Morikawa and Homa.
Up on the 14th it may not be Shane Lowry’s day but he has hit an eagle from around 180 yards.
Homa and DeChambeau both make par on the fourth and can move on to the fifth on -6 and -5 respectively.
Homa goes left and long on the par-three fourth but his chip shot is terrific, leaving him with a short putt for par.
Bryson DeChambeau drops a shot on the third as his play around and on the green lets him down. He did not read the pace of the green well. He is now down to five-under-par.
Scheffler found the bunker off the tee on the par-three fourth. His chip was not bad but left him with a tricky putt back. He cannot land the putt and drops a shot.
Over on five Ludvig Aberg has sunk a birdie putt and moves onto four-under-par, four shots behind Scottie Scheffler.
Rory sinks a tricky par putt on the last to complete a round of 71. He is three-over-par and that was not a clean round for the Northern Irishman. It looks like his quest for the career Grand Slam will go on for at least another year.
What a putt from Scottie Scheffler. It is a very, very long putt for birdie but somehow he sinks it to move to eight-under-par and two shots clear at the top of the leaderboard.
Tyrrell Hatton has made back-to-back birdies to finish his front nine and he is now even-par.
Three straight birdies to start his round pushes Collin Morikawa up the leaderboard to six-under-par, just the one shot off the lead.
What an awful front nine it has been for Tiger. A bogey on the ninth means he has dropped six shots on the front nine.
Defending champion Jon Rahm has just completed his third round, where he has carded an even-par 72 to remain at five-over-par. He will not be defending his crown.
Double bogey for Tiger on seven, now another double bogey on eight. The round is unravelling for Tiger.
He misses the green on the first but that does not stop Scottie from securing a birdie as he chips in. He moves to seven-under-par to take the outright lead.
The last duo is out. Bryson DeChambeau lands his on the fairway but Max Homa misses the fairway.
Up on the first green Nicolai Hojaard misses a tricky par putt and drops a shot to three-under-par.
Ryan Fox has made a brilliant start to his third round, making back-to-back-to-back birdies on the opening three holes to move to four-under-par.
Back on the first tee the penultimate group is out and unsurpisingly world number one Scottie Scheffler sends his opening drive down the fairway.
Having dropped a shot on the sixth, Tiger would have been hoping for a positive response at the seventh. But instead he makes a double bogey and drops back to four-over-par. Not going to plan so far for Woods.
Ryan Fox has made it back-to-back birdies on the first two holes to progress to three-under-par. Meanwhile on the third Cam Smith has made birdie and he is two-under-par now.
It was a bogey on the first for 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and he has followed that up with another bogey on the second to drop to one-over-par.
Rory has made birdie on the 14th to move to three-over-par, still nine shots off the lead. He is now making his way to the par-five 15th,
Cameron Young has moved to two-under-par with a birdie on the first.
It has been an up-and-down start to Tiger’s third round and on the sixth he drops a shot with a bogey, leaving him at two-over-par.
On the first New Zealander Ryan Fox has made birdie to move to two-under-par, four shots off the lead.
Not the start 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett would have wanted. He starts his third round with a bogey to drop to even-par.
Tiger was not at +2 for long as he sinks a lengthy putt on the fifth to return to one-over-par.
There was a wild rumour doing the rounds earlier that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were here. Still not sure whether that’s true or not. Such an outing would usually break the internet, but The Masters’ ban on mobile phones makes it tricky to verify. Wandered over to the clubhouse to see whether they were in the members’ area, but the most powerful couple I saw was Nick Faldo and Tom Watson.
Tyrrell Hatton is not the only one dropping a shot. On the same hole Tiger follows him with a bogey of his own and two members of Europe’s Ryder Cup-winning team, Sepp Straka and Matt Fitzpatrick, have also dropped a shot.
Tyrrell had made a great start, making two birdies on his opening three holes. But having found a bunker on the fourth, he bogeys the hole and drops back to one-over-par.
On the third Xander Schauffele has made birdie to move to one-under-par, five shots off the lead.
7.05pm: Cameron Young (America), Tommy Fleetwood (England)
7.15pm: Ludvig Åberg (Sweden), Matthieu Pavon (France)
7.25pm: Cam Davis (Australia), Collin Morikawa (America)
7.35pm: Scottie Scheffler (America), Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark)
7.45pm: Max Homa (America), Bryson DeChambeau (America)
Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler were the first group to go out today and they have just finished, inside four hours. Considering some of the slow play yesterday, that is not bad. Anyway Fowler bogeys the last to finish on five-over-par and Matsuyama’s par also sees him end up on +5.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele are out on the course to get their third rounds under way and they have both made pars at the first to remain at even-par.
Tyrrell found himself in a little bit of strife on the second but manages to secure a par, as does Tiger. Both remain at one-over-par.
One man who is enjoying himself today is Luke List. He started the day on six-over-par but as he heads to the 15th he is now two-over-par.
McIlroy fails to make it back-to-back birdies and he reaches the turn even-par for today, four-over-par for the tournament.
Onto the ninth and McIlroy has found the green in two. A good approach shot gives Rory a birdie shot from within ten feet.
They have announced the prize money for this year’s tournament. It’s gone up to $20million with Sunday’s winner getting $3.6million. These are record sums in the majors and another part of the LIV effect. The purse is $2m greater than last year, $5million more than 2022 and twice what Jordan Speith received in 2015.
After a great approach shot at the first, Tyrrell Hatton makes his birdie putt to move to one-over-par. Woods’ second shot lands on the green, but he is a way off from the pin. He makes the two-putt and secures an opening par.
Rory has sunk a short putt for birdie to move to four-over-par.
Tiger Woods has got his third round up and running with a great drive, straight down the middle of the fairway.
15-time major winner Tiger Woods, whose last victory at a major came here in 2019, is about start his third round on one-over-par.
One man who has made a good start to his third round is American Denny McCarthy, who lost in a play-off last weekend at the Valero Texas Open. He has birdied the second and third to improve to two-over-par.
McIlroy’s second into the seventh is a beauty, ending up just five feet from the pin with a terrific chance of a birdie. But, you guessed it, he misses the putt and has to settle for a par. He remains at five-over-par.
If this does not make you hungry or thirsty…
Brunch at Augusta National. #themasters pic.twitter.com/bdXYfK1HuX
Look away McIlroy fans. He has just missed a par putt on the par-three sixth to drop to five-over-par. Another player you can put on that list of having next to no chance now of winning this.
In just under 20 minutes Tiger Woods will get his third round under way as he resumes on one-over-par.
Tiger has arrived for Saturday at #theMasters pic.twitter.com/7tu3kSA6s0
Thank you Greg, great work as always. I will be taking you through to the close of third round, whatever time that may be into the early hours of tomorrow morning.
Back on the course, defending champion Jon Rahm has just bogeyed the seventh to drop back to six-over-par. I do not think Rahm will be defending his crown.
He stays at four-over.
I am heading for the clubhouse and leave you in the hands of my friend, and yours, Kieran Crichard, who’ll be your guide all the way to the close.
Leaves him 162 yards in. But his approach isn’t great and is off the back of the green. He doesn’t look happy and it’s not hard to see why, it looks as though he pushing a bit too hard…
He left the downhill 13-footer for birdie short and walks off with par to stay at four-over. Rahm did the same thing earlier on the same hole, weird…pros never like leaving it short, so to see two of the world’s best do just that within minutes of each other is all a bit ‘World of the Strange’.
Thanks to bogey at the tough (not sure why I wrote that, they’re all tough…) par-four 10th. He’s back to four-over. He’s now got the toughest hole of the lot, the 11th, to negotiate.
He fires his tee shot at the par-three over the pin to within 13-feet.
…Rory is going to go at everything. He’s just been the dictionary definition of ‘aggressive’ with the long birdie putt at the third. It goes past the hole leaving him an eight-footer for par.
Can he make this? Yes. He. Can…phew…
Will he continue this approach? We’re only three holes in and it’s already been a bit of a rollercoaster with Rory…
He stays at four-over, level for the round.
And that’s because he’s hit his chip 11 yards beyond the pin. He’s knows he should have done better and at least left himself a good look at another birdie.
At the third 310 yards, leaving him just 54 to the flag – another decent birdie chance.
The 2021 champion is through the front-nine on three-under and now at three-over for the tournament. Three birdies, the last of which came on the ninth, and no blemishes illustrates that the conditions at the moment are fine.
After the great drive at the par-five Rory did what he’s done all tournament – went for the flag (which is back left over the bunker…) and finds the sand. Oh no…BUT he gets up and down to secure the birdie to get back to four-over.
It’s never simple with Rory, that’s why we love him (or at least this writer…).
Leaves his 213 to the pin. He has to think about birdie here.
Rory McIlroy with a 380-yard drive 😲😳 pic.twitter.com/gFaTNKOGwE
He’s opened his third round with four straight pars. He’s not moving backwards but…he has a good look at birdie at the par-three fourth but the six footer is short – criminal… The defending champion stays at five-over.
His drive is a mammoth one, he definitely has to be thinking about getting back to four-over on this hole now.
Rory’s missed the three-footer at the first and he now has a longer putt for bogey. He drains this but not the start he wanted. He’s at five-over.
Lovely chip to within three feet, pop that in for par and that would be the sort of up-and-down to boost confidence ahead of the scorable par-five second.
Wind is in and off the right, the ball is below his feet and he does OK to get the ball to just off the front of the green from the fairway bunker. Not the easiest up and down to secure par.
The one he found when in the last group in 2018…not a great omen. He has 163 to the pin.
He needs a big day to get into contention.
Came back from six in the final round at Riviera this year, he eventually won by three, so that will be in the back of his mind today. If you do well at Riviera you tend to do well at Augusta…
The popular Japanese has just walked off the sixth green with a par, two under for his round and at four-over, 10 shots back. He’ll know he’ll need to keep chipping away at that deficit.
Best shots at The Masters so far 🏌️ pic.twitter.com/jPseFUYNYE
He’s opened up with a par at the tricky opening hole, aka Tea Olive. The Spaniard stays at five-over.
Is Matsuyama, the 2021 champion is two-under for his round through four. That’s moved him to four-over, still way back but moving in the right direction.
The American bogeyed the the first to fall to seven-over, but has followed that up with two birdies at the par-five second and the par-four third. He’s back at five-over.
The wind should not as severe today and the course should be playing a little easier. However, the greenjackets traditionally like to keep it tight with tough pin positions on Saturday, before being generous on Sunday. Should be another fascinating day.
It was nearly blowing a gale on Friday. It’s not going to be that bad today BUT the wind is getting up and will later likely be from 20mph-25mph. Not the 25mph-40mph of yesterday, but still serious winds.
The pins are tucked away today, it will be tough to find birdies – and the best of the conditions are for the early starters, good news for Rory McIlroy who is off at 3.55.
“Incredible how tough this course is playing” says Wayne Riley on Sky Sports.
Can’t see the score getting to double digits today, so can an early starter post a score to get into the mix? Rory will likely have to shoot a 66 to be part of the conversation tomorrow. Not beyond the realms of possibility, but…
It’s been a long time since Augusta has played this tough – probably since Zach Johnson won in 2007, when he triumphed on one-over. That won’t be the winning score this time but it’s not easy out there.
His playing partner Matsuyma has 163 yards in and fires his approach to 32 feet from the back-pin position. Fowler hits his approach long and left, his chip then leaves him a 10-footer that he misses. Matsuyama misses his birdie putt to stay at six-over, Fowler falls back to seven-over.
Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama, both on six-over, have hit their drives. The American finds the rough on the right, while the 2021 champion finds the short stuff on the shelf to the left of the fairway bunkers.
It’s like something out of a Stepford Wives film – not a blade of grass out of place. You even suspect that all the fans, sorry, patrons, have also been vetted to make sure their hair has been combed properly…
Anyway, for all it’s pristine beauty it has bite and can be brutal, just asked anyone who played the 11th yesterday (see post below…) and Jordan Spieth. The 2015 champion suffered a Masters meltdown on the 15th as he walked off the green with a quadruple-bogey nine…his legion of fans will doubtless say: “that’s just Jordan being Jordan”.
Justin Ray, the arch statistician from the Twenty First Group, reported that he is the only player in the last 20 years to post multiple scores of nine or worse on a hole at Augusta.
READ: Jordan Spieth suffers Masters meltdown with quadruple-bogey nine on 15th
Fear not, here’s James Corrigan’s report on a very long, very windy Friday at Augusta.
READ: Tiger Woods makes Masters history but Scottie Scheffler stays on course at blustery Augusta
And here’s more on the Big Beast (Tiger, obvs…) yet again illustrating he has a competitive thirst that is unmatched and will never be quenched. A record 24th successive cut, remarkable…
READ: Tiger Woods’ record cuts at Augusta is testament to his never back down mentality
Many moons ago I interviewed the head of sponsorship at a well-known international company. He told me that he went to the Masters every year and it was his favourite event partly because it was so perfect and ‘there was no advertising’…There are many points of difference between this major and other well-known sporting events – the lack of advertisers elbowing their way into your living room being one welcome one. Another is the lack of mobile phones…
Here’s Oliver Brown on the lack of that thing that Augusta proves you can actually live without (at least for a few hours…).
READ: Augusta’s phone ban is the best thing about the Masters
The 11th, aka White Dogwood, was the toughest hole on the course yesterday. It’s never easy, and in the blustery conditions, with the pin right at the back, the world’s best struggled. McIlroy hit a brilliant drive and was left with 194 to the pin, but possibly trying to bite off more than he could chew, his approach ended up in the drink, blown there by the cross wind. He ended up with a double bogey six.
There was only one birdie there all day with 42 scores of bogey or worse, with a scoring average of 4.6. Every golfer will take par if offered it today.
2.35pm: Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 3.25pm: Jon Rahm (Spain), Grayson Murray3.55pm: Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Camillo Villegas (Columbia) 4.25pm: Sahith Theegala, Phil Mickelson 5.05pm: Akshay Bhatia, Shane Lowry (Ireland) 5.45pm: Tiger Woods, Tyrrell Hatton (England) 6.15pm: Sepp Straka (Austria), Matt Fitzpatrick (England) 6.45pm: Byeong Hun An (South Korea), Cameron Smith (Australia) 6.55pm: Danny Willett (England), Ryan Fox (New Zealand)
7.05pm: Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood (England) 7.15pm: Ludvig Åberg (Sweden), Matthieu Pavon (France) 7.25pm: Cam Davis (Australia), Collin Morikawa 7.35pm: Scottie Scheffler, Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark) 7.45pm: Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau
Tiger Woods is not known for being modest, whenever he turns up at a tournament he always insists he’s only there to win and because he thinks he can. During his halcyon days that was clearly the most obvious thing to say – more often than not he went on to decimate the field and add yet another ‘W’ to his huge collection. But since he nearly lost his leg in a car crash, his body patched up and “aching every day”, such a statement has seemed fanciful.
Despite that he turned up at Augusta this week confident as ever, and has backed that up by making the cut in only his second event since last year’s Masters. And, not one to change tack at this stage in his career, the Big Beast has once again insisted he can add a sixth Green Jacket to his wardrobe.
”[Making the cut] means I have a chance to win the golf tournament. Anyone who makes the weekend has a chance,” Woods said.
“I’m right there.”
Yesterday, over 23 holes, the American battled blustery, and sometime brutal, conditions to head into the weekend on one-over, seven back of the lead shared by Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler. Proof, if any were needed, that one should never right Woods off, especially around Augusta National. If there’s any course he knows how to plot himself around, whatever the conditions, it is the fabled course in Georgia.
Woods is joint 22nd and will know history is against him – just one one of the past 28 Masters champions has been outside the top 10 at the halfway stage (Charl Schwartzel in 2011). But after two fine rounds he knows he’ll have to put something together as brilliant as anything he’s achieved in his storied career if he is to win come Sunday evening.
That same goes for Rory McIlroy who further back of the lead, on four-over. Once again the Northern Irishman never really got going at Augusta and the odd mistake – the approach on 11 being the standout one – has hampered him over the first two days.
Rory gets his Saturday under way at 3.55 our time, Woods tees it up at 5.45 with the leading five groups on the first tee from 7.05 going off in 10-minute intervals.
Stay here for all the action on moving day.
English