Jordan Spieth’s finish on Saturday at the Masters wasn’t pretty, in fact, it was downright ugly but he is still the tournament leader after 54 holes, making him the leader for seven straight rounds in this major.
Spieth and the rest of the field battled strong winds again during the third round at Augusta National and Spieth was looking really good as he walked off the 15th green. He just made birdie to go two-under par for the day and six under for the tournament, four shots better than anyone close to him.
Hit hit a loose eight-iron into the par three 16th but scrambled nicely for par but another wayward drive at 17 caught up to him and he made bogey there. Things got worse at the 18th when he hit a wild drive, way right but managed to get his second just short of the green. But a sub-standard pitch then a three-putt gave him a closing double-bogey and a finish to forget.
Spieth’s 73 left him at three-under par, a shot ahead of Masters rookie Smylie Kaufman and two better than Hideki Matsuyama and 58-year-old, two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer.
Lurking at even par, three back are Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Danny Willett.
The day was supposed to be a showdown between Spieth and playing partner Rory McIlroy. But McIlroy fell flat on his face. He went without a birdie and shot 77 and fell all the way back to two-over par after starting the third round a shot behind Spieth.
“Just one of those days. You gotta forget about it and move on,” lamented McIlroy afterward.
Spieth wasn’t feeling very good about his bogey, double-bogey finish. “It wasn’t ideal,” he said in a major understatement. Spieth turned five-under par but gave it back with a double-bogey at 15 that came as the result of a three-putt. He fought back with birdies at 12, 14 and 15 to get to six-under before the terrible finish. “I really got wayward with the ball after 15. I should have hit a three-wood off 17. Now I’ve got to not think about the finish to today’s round. I’ve got to go out tomorrow like everyone’s tied and shoot the best round.”
The day’s best round Saturday was the 69 turned in by Kaufman, the first sub-70 round since Thursday. Kaufman, who played junior golf with Spieth, will be paired with him on Sunday in the final group.
Langer is the most unlikely contender at his age but he was all smiles after shooting 70, one better than his playing partner, Jason Day. “We had fun out there. I finally made some putts. I’m going to give it my best tomorrow,” said the man who won the Master in 1985 and 1993.
Matsuyama was three-under through 15 and appeared headed for the final pairing with Speith until he bogeyed 16 and 17. “I’ve got to go low tomorrow. I’ve got to make some putts,” Matsuyama insisted.
The real threats to Spieth could come from the three players at even par. Jason Day is the world’s No. 1, Dustin Johnson has the game to go low and Willett was the second best player in Europe behind McIlroy last year.
The good news for the Green Jacket hopefuls is that the strong winds should be gone and lower scores should be back in the equation.
