AUGUSTA, Georgia: Scottie Scheffler was within the lead and seemingly accountable for his recreation Saturday within the Masters till realizing there was no such factor at Augusta Nationwide.
He posed over one other stunning shot on the flag on the tenth gap and was shocked to see it take a tough jump over the inexperienced and roll down into the bushes. He made double bogey and abruptly was one shot behind.
“Make one other bogey at 11 and abruptly I’m most likely going from within the lead to some out of the lead after which,” Scheffler mentioned, “you realize, issues occur fairly quick on the market.”
It was so quick and livid that it was exhausting to maintain up.
Six gamers had no less than a share of the lead at one level. There was a five-way tie for the lead early on the again 9. Nobody was secure. It was like that to the very finish.
Scheffler made an 8-foot birdie putt on the ultimate gap for a 1-under 71 that gave him a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa, the two-time main champion who has largely disappeared from the elite in golf and now could be one spherical away from the third leg of the Grand Slam.
Bryson DeChambeau on the verge of a meltdown when he drove into the bushes proper of the 18th fairway, punched out to the brief grass after which hit wedge from 77 yards that spun again into the cup for a birdie to sum up a wild Saturday.
“Simpler than placing,” DeChambeau, including that he was joking though there was some reality to that. He three-putted 3 times on the again 9.
Max Homa has gone 32 holes and not using a birdie and he was solely two behind after a spherical of 17 pars and one bogey for a 73. Xander Schauffele has gone 25 holes and not using a bogey, and that goes a good distance. He was 5 again after a 70.
Augusta Nationwide didn’t want a ferocious wind to be wildly entertaining. The course was powerful as ever, with a wind that will have felt scary if not for the day earlier than. The greens made gamers really feel as if they have been placing on linoleum flooring.
Scheffler was at 7-under 209 as he goes for a second Masters inexperienced jacket and tries to increase a dominant stretch that features two wins on powerful programs (Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass) and a runner-up end in his final three tournaments.
“It’s good to have that have, however going into tomorrow, that’s actually all that it’s,” he mentioned.
Morikawa made two powerful pars to complete off a 69 — of these was an extended birdie putt that hit the lip and spun 12 toes away. He’s the one participant to interrupt par all three days at this Masters. Not dangerous for a somebody who solely discovered a swing key on Monday, switched putters after the primary spherical and hasn’t had a high 10 for the reason that first week of the yr.
“If you happen to requested me firstly of the week I’d be one again heading into Sunday, I’d have taken that any time,” Morikawa mentioned. “You give your self an opportunity with 18 holes left, that’s all you’ll be able to actually do.”
One other shot again was Homa, whose final birdie was on the fourth gap of the second spherical. He has made 32 pars in his final 36 holes.
Eight gamers have been separated by 5 pictures going into the ultimate spherical, the place the greens are prone to be even sooner, crispier and extra scary.
Tiger Woods was not amongst them. Neither was Rory McIlroy.
Woods, having made his Masters-record twenty fourth consecutive reduce Friday, began the third spherical seven pictures out of the lead and hopeful of no less than making his large following assume there is perhaps extra magic left in that battered 48-year-old physique.
As an alternative, Woods posted his highest spherical in three a long time enjoying the majors. He shot an 82, the third time he has failed to interrupt 80 in a serious, and the primary for the reason that 2015 US Open.
“Simply hit the ball in all of the locations that I do know I shouldn’t hit it,” Woods mentioned.
McIlroy got here to the Masters pondering this is perhaps the yr he lastly acquired the final leg of the profession Grand Slam. All he might muster was a 71 that left him 10 pictures behind with 20 gamers in entrance of him.
There have been no scarcity of challengers.
Ludvig Aberg, the rising Swedish star enjoying in his first main, was amongst those that had a quick share of the lead till lacking a pair of brief par putts on the again 9. He nonetheless managed a 70 and was solely three pictures behind.
One other newcomer to the Masters, Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark, had the result in himself with three straight birdies across the flip. He celebrated that good lucky by working off 5 straight bogeys, placing the ball within the water on each par 5s.
After which there was DeChambeau, who began the third spherical tied with Scheffler and Homa.
DeChambeau stored making sufficient birdies to hold round and was just one shot behind till he determined to go for the inexperienced from the bushes on the par-5 fifteenth. He went effectively proper towards the seventeenth fairway — the second time in as many days he performed a par 5 from two holes — solely this one didn’t work out so effectively.
He chunked his wedge and watched it tumble into the pond. He took a penalty drop, pitched on and two-putted for double bogey. After which he three-putted for bogey on the sixteenth. And proper when it seemed to be falling aside, he made his shock birdie to restrict the injury to 75. He was 4 pictures behind.
Scheffler didn’t escape the craziness. He reached 8 below shortly by chipping in throughout the inexperienced on No. 1 and making a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 3. However all it took was two holes to make it really feel like his head was spinning.
What saved his day was a 7-foot par putt on No. 12 after which a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 thirteenth that dropped on its closing flip and elicited uncommon emotion from Scheffler.
“C’mon, child!” he yelled when the putt dropped.
“Issues acquired a bit dicey within the center,” Scheffler mentioned. “On No. 10, I hit what I believed was a good shot 8 toes from the outlet and it wound up within the bushes. I did an excellent job of staying affected person.”
He’ll want one other dose for Sunday, even with the expertise of successful a Masters. Two years in the past, he had a three-shot lead going into the ultimate spherical and spent the morning in tears as his spouse gave him soothing phrases of confidence.
Now his spouse is dwelling in Dallas anticipating their first youngster on the finish of the month. Scheffler introduced in his greatest buddies from dwelling to stick with him.
“I didn’t need to be in the home all on my own this weekend. Didn’t actually appear that thrilling to me,” Scheffler mentioned.
There’s loads of that contained in the ropes.
