The Masters Roundup – Day Three

The Masters Roundup - Day Three

Spieth stays out in front

Jordan Spieth will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Masters despite a poor finish to day three dragged him back to three under at Augusta.
Spieth will be paired with Smylie Kaufman after his compatriot shot a three-under 69, the only sub-70 round on a day of tough scoring, to get to two under.
Spieth was six under standing on the 17th tee but went bogey-double bogey to bring a lot more of the field in with a chance.
One of those is Rory McIlroy, who laboured alongside Spieth and finished on two over, after not making a birdie all day in a five-over effort.
McIlroy’s bogey on the 10th took him to +12 on that hole – his worst cumulative score on any hole in the USA for him.
He followed it up with a double bogey on 11 after hitting an ambitious recovery shot into the pond.
Veteran Bernhard Langer is a shot behind Kaufman after a magnificent two-under 70 to be tied with Hideki Matsuyama in a share of third.
Jason Day gave himself hope with a one-under round to be level par, as are Dustin Johnson and Danny Willett.
Lee Westwood and Soren Kjeldsen are one further back and very much in touch if Spieth falters further – and even Justin Rose at one over might have an opportunity if the reigning champion makes modest progress on Sunday.
Spieth enters the final day with the lead at Augusta for a record seventh consecutive round; 18 more solid holes and he defends for the first time since Tiger in 2001 and 2002.

Best of the reaction from Day Three

“Difference is I made a couple of putts today. The highlight was following Jason in with a chip on 14 after he had holed a big putt. On 18 I hit a bad tee shot and it was a good bogey in the end. I’ve been saying that one of the seniors will win a major for a while. I’m not as long as Davis Love, Fred Couples – I was hitting 3-wood to Jason’s 7-iron – but I try to make up for that in different ways.” – Bernhard Langer

“Yeah, a couple of guys on tour are giving me grief about that.” – Smylie Kaufman, confirming he still lives at home.

“That was close to my best golf. To get back to even par is a good score. I just have to see what happens with the other guys still out there for what I can today on Sunday.” – Jason Day

“There are no positives to take from that round but I’ve got to remain positive. I know what this golf course can do to you, so I have a chance.” Rory McIlroy

“The frustrating thing for me is that I have played those last three holes five over the past two days and they aren’t even the most challenging holes out here.” Jordan Spieth

Day Three: Diary notes from Augusta

► Bit of course info
OK, we all know Augusta ‘is a lot hillier than you think it will be’ (that is actually true), and that ‘there isn’t a blade out of place’ (of course there is in reality, there are thousands of patrons pounding around the place), but what is worth pointing out is the scale of the property. It is absolutely enormous. You almost feel there is enough room between the holes to route a totally separate course between the existing fairways. If you know Hankley Common in Surrey, it feels small in comparison. So when you can hear roars, they have to be loud. When there are no crowds, it must be slightly eerie.

► …and a bit more
If you think there are lots of scary holes at Augusta, you’d be correct. For us, the most scariest might surprise you though: the 11th. The drive looks so tight (and we can’t even get back to the very tips) and then you’ve got to feather an approach onto a green edged by water on one side and where anything remotely right will be brutally kicked away, leaving an unappetising chip towards the pond. The approach is elevated, so the wind gets all of it, so there is a reason you see lots of the world’s most highly-skilled players bailing out. We can only ever see a world of trouble if we ever got the chance to tackle it.

► Windy? Kind of
You probably heard a lot about it being blustery at Augusta on Saturday. It was breezy, but for any of us who play links golf on a regular basis, it was hardly a day to remember. The gusts rarely got above 25mph and it was usually around 15mph. But it undoubtedly adds an extra layer of difficulty to AGNC. The speed of the greens and the unforgiving pin positions are more of an issue than a bit of wind for the world’s most talented ball strikers, but the breeze ramps the whole thing up, in the same way it does on the links The Open is held on. So, very diffident types of courses, but just as the Old Course needs wind to protect it, it helps Augusta too.

► Celebrity watch
There are probably some bigger names in the galleries that TG just doesn’t know (or care about) but so far this week we’ve spotted Sir Alex Ferguson, Alan Shearer, Condoleezza Rice and Pat Jennings. Plus that boy band member that Rory is mates with.

► The anonymous coach
Talking of crowd watching, we love how Rory’s coach Michael Bannon blends in so nicely to the masses. Not for him the Sean Foley winkle-picker, ‘Mad Men’ look – few in the gallery knew they were standing next to the Northern Irish superstar’s coach (and Dad) as they followed him round. Imagine the carnage if ‘Butchy’ was out there…?!

[Photos: Getty]