A volatile moving day at The Masters means the tournament is finely poised heading into Sunday. Three Americans make up the top three with red-hot Scheffler honing a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa.
Max Homa, the joint leader after 36 holes, is two back at 5-under. Saturday had it all with several leaderboard changes throughout the day, but Scottie battled late on to take a slender lead.
Scheffler showed signs of a blip
The out-and-out favourite entering the week Scottie Scheffler demonstrated why he is the best golfer on the planet right now. He made a double bogey on the 10th before bogeying the 11th to drop back to four-under-par.
But he bounced back superbly with an eagle putt on the par-five 13th holing from just outside 30 feet. He also finished with a birdie, taking on the challenging pin position back right on 18. It was ostensibly Scottie’s worst round of the week, and he still shot under par.
Despite only shooting level on Friday, the torrid windy conditions meant it was still three shots better than the field average. He is the man to beat, and it will take something special for either Homa or Morikawa to surpass him on Sunday. Although he did exert glimpses of weakness on the greens with a couple of short-missed putts, you expect him to step up to the plate when it matters most.
Tough conditions have elicited high numbers
Conditions have been exceptionally arduous this week at Augusta, with just 12 players under par following the third round. Friday was by far the toughest of the days with a scoring average of 75.08. The wind was up, and the course firmed up, making accurate shots a necessity. However, only a select few were able to execute and it left high scores well in the realm of possibility. Justin Thomas, a man returning to form, was level par for the tournament through 14 holes on Friday.
He played the final four in seven over to miss the cut by one. That was quintessential of the second round for many as doubles were seemingly more common than birdies. The wind subsided somewhat Friday night but still remained present enough to keep the players’ attention on Saturday. Sunday is expected to be slightly calmer, and with hot weather and the traditional Sunday pin locations, low scores could be on the cards.
Woods makes history in a good and bad way
Tiger Woods became the first player ever to make 24 consecutive cuts at The Masters, a truly astonishing feat. However, after having to play 23 holes on Friday with little to no recovery time, his body was visibly struggling. This meant that Woods limped to an 82 on moving day, his worst-ever round in a major championship.
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Woods won’t mind too much, his goal this week would have been to just make the cut. In fact, it probably says more for the players who got beat by Woods in tough conditions over 36 holes. The ageing 48-year-old has withstood many injuries and setbacks to still compete at the top level. The 82 was a sorry sight but fans are still delighted to see Woods out on the course, no matter what he shoots.
Who will make a charge?
Can either Homa or Morikawa take Scheffler the distance on Sunday and produce a compelling climax to a thoroughly entertaining tournament? Home is without a bridie in 26 holes after making 17 pars in his Saturday round. He battled hard but was unable to get much to drop for him despite his sublime iron play.
He will be thinking that he is due for some birds in the final round but can he keep his composure? It is the first time in his career that he has been in contention in a major. Sunday will provide some nervy moments, but the Californian will hope to rise to the top of his game in the high-pressure moments.
Morikawa has performed sub-par so far this year which begs us to question where this sudden form has come from. The two-time major champion has had these outlier weeks where everything clicks. Not only that, but they have come in one of the four biggest weeks of the year. His last major came in 2021 at St. Georges where he went out and won it. So we have seen Collin do this before.
So, who is to say he can’t do it again? A win would mean that Morikawa would head to Pinehurst in a couple of months with a chance to complete the career grand slam. But he has to get the work done on Sunday, against a man nearly impossible to get down in Scheffler first.
Sunday promises to be another exciting Masters Sunday. The atmosphere will be palpable, and the roars will be heard around the property. No matter who wins, let’s hope it comes down to the wire.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos