Rose, Garcia lead heading into finale
If you are into sentiment, or even karma, then Garcia, the native of Borriol, Spain, is your man. Today is the 60th anniversary of the birth of Seve Ballesteros, the most famous golfer ever from Spain and a two-time Masters winner. He died in 2011 at age 54.
“Him and [Jose Maria] Olazabal, they were both my big idols growing up,” said Garcia, considered perhaps the best player never to have won a golf major. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself , but I don’t even know how much it would mean to be able to join both my idols as a Masters winner. It would be nice to have a chance and hopefully do it.”
If you are into the alleged Renaissance of English golfers, then Rose is your man. Last year, the Masters was won by Briton Danny Willett. He didn’t make the cut this year.
“There’s wonderful storylines” heading into the last round, Rose said. “Obviously I’m a major champion [U.S. Open, 2013], but I’m looking for more and I’m certainly looking for my first Masters and my first green jacket. This is a place I dearly love to be part of history here.
“Everybody has a storyline and I’m not even touching upon past champions who are right there, as well.”
Rose’s best Masters finish was second in 2015.
Saturday’s round was like a high-level chess match. It was never quite clear who had the real advantage.
The day started with Hoffman, Garcia, Fowler and Belgian-born Thomas Pieters at 4 under.
Pieters was the first to leave the rarefied air at the top of the leaderboard. He bogeyed the first hole, though he got the shot back with a birdie on the second.
But it was the 11th hole that removed him from the list of viable contenders — he threeputted from 5 feet for a double bogey. He finished with a 75 and is five shots back at 1 under.
Fowler floundered early and was 1 over through 10 holes. But birdies on the two par 5s on the back nine allowed him to shoot a 71, leaving him at 5 under.
“You have to be patient,” Fowler said. “You can’t really try and get too much out of this golf course. But with that being said, even when you’re playing conservative lines, you still have to execute. You know, you can put yourself in bad positions even trying to play the safe spot.”
Rose did all his work on the back nine, birdieing five of the last seven holes. While all eyes were on the struggling Hoffman and scrambling Garcia, Rose really wasn’t noticed until he birdied 17 and 18 to finish off a 67.
“I took advantage of the par 5s — 8, 13, 15 — and stole a couple more,” Rose said. “It was a very solid round and then obviously finishing birdie-birdie just kind of put a cherry on top of what was a good day.”
Garcia’s 70 was a major triumph for him. Before Saturday, his third-round average at Augusta was 75. And for those counting, he’s played 74 majors without a win.
His back nine was filled with pars except on the two par 5s.
On 13, Garcia thought he put his second shot into the water that guards the green. But for the grace of a mower set high, his ball defied gravity and stayed on the incline from the water to the fringe.
He then chipped to a foot and made the birdie putt. On 15, he made a 4-footer for birdie.
“I’ve definitely had some good breaks throughout three rounds,” Garcia said. “Thirteen obviously was one of them. I didn’t feel like I hit a bad shot. I was hitting plenty of club [4-iron], but it was one of those things that the ball just came out really soft.
“Fortunately for me, that bank seems to be a tiny bit longer this year, which is nice.”
Still, with all that talent at the top, the real favorite might be Spieth. If he’d merely taken a bogey instead of that quadruplebogey 9 at No. 15 on Thursday, he would be leading by one stroke.
His Masters finishes are second, first and second. His 68 was the second-lowest round of the day, behind Rose’s.
Garcia and Rose will play in the final group, Fowler and Spieth in the penultimate group.
Forty times in the 80 years of the Masters, the third-round leader or co-leader has won the tournament.
So, call today’s final round a coin flip. 10:05 a.m. Ernie Els 10:15 Marc Leishman Larry Mize 10:25 Andy Sullivan Bernd Wiesberger 10:35 a-Curtis Luck James Hahn 10:45 Adam Hadwin Louis Oosthuizen 10:55 Ross Fisher Daniel Summerhays 11:05 Kevin Kisner Byeong Hun An 11:15 Brendan Steele J.B. Holmes 11:25 Matthew Fitzpatrick Emiliano Grillo 11:45 a-Stewart Hagestad Daniel Berger 11:55 Francesco Molinari Brian Stuard 12:05 p.m. Martin Kaymer Branden Grace 12:15 Steve Stricker Hideki Matsuyama 2016: Danny Willett 2015: Jordan Spieth 2014: Bubba Watson 2013: Adam Scott 2012: Bubba Watson 2011: Charl Schwartzel 2010: Phil Mickelson 2009: Angel Cabrera 2008: Trevor Immelman 2007: Zach Johnson 2006: Phil Mickelson 2005: Tiger Woods 2004: Phil Mickelson 2003: Mike Weir 2002: Tiger Woods 2001: Tiger Woods 2000: Vijay Singh 1999: Jose Maria Olazabal 1998: Mark O’Meara 1997: Tiger Woods 1996: Nick Faldo 1995: Ben Crenshaw 1994: Jose Maria Olazabal 1993: Bernhard Langer 1992: Fred Couples 1991: Ian Woosnam 1990: Nick Faldo 1989: Nick Faldo 1988: Sandy Lyle 1987: Larry Mize 1986: Jack Nicklaus 1985: Bernhard Langer 1984: Ben Crenshaw 1983: Seve Ballesteros 1982: Craig Stadler 1981: Tom Watson