NO TIGER IN THE WILD
Woods shoots 82, Scheffler has 1-shot lead after fast, furious third round
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Scottie Scheffler was in the lead and seemingly in control of his game Saturday in the Masters until realizing there was no such thing at Augusta National.
He posed over another beautiful shot at the flag on the 10th hole and was stunned to see it take a hard hop over the green and roll down into the bushes. He made double bogey and suddenly was one shot behind.
“Make another bogey at 11, and all of a sudden I’m probably going from in the lead to a few out of the lead and then,” Scheffler said, “you know, things happen pretty fast out there.”
It was so fast and furious that it was hard to keep up.
Six players had at least a share of the lead at one point. There was a five-way tie for the lead early on the back nine. No one was safe. It was like that to the end.
Scheffler made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 1-under 71 that gave him a oneshot lead over Collin Morikawa, the two-time major champion who has largely disappeared from the elite in golf and now is one round away from the third leg of the Grand Slam.
Bryson DeChambeau looked to be on the verge of a meltdown when he drove into the trees right of the 18th fairway, punched out to the short grass, then hit wedge from 77 yards that spun back into the cup for a birdie to sum up a wild Saturday.
“Easier than putting,” said DeChambeau, adding that he was joking although there was some truth to that. He three-putted three times on the back nine.
Max Homa has gone 32 holes without a birdie, and he was only two behind after a round of 17 pars and one bogey for a 73. Xander Schauffele has gone 25 holes without a bogey, and that goes a long way. He was five back after a 70.
Augusta National didn’t need a ferocious wind to be wildly entertaining. The course was tough as ever, with a wind that would have felt scary if not for the day before. The greens made players feel as though they were putting on linoleum floors.
Scheffler was at 7-under 209 as he goes for a second Masters green jacket and tries to extend a dominant stretch that includes two wins on tough courses (Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass) and a runner-up finish in his last three tournaments.
Morikawa made two tough pars to finish off a 69 — of those was a long birdie putt that hit the lip and spun 12 feet away. He is the only player to break par all three days at this Masters. Not bad for someone who only found a swing key on Monday, switched putters after the first round and hasn’t had a top 10 since the first week of the year.
“If you told me at the beginning of the week I’d be one back heading into Sunday, I would have taken that anytime,” he said.
Another shot back was Homa, whose last birdie was on the fourth hole of the second round. He has made 32 pars in his last 36 holes.
Eight players were separated by five shots going into the final round, where the greens are likely to be even faster and more frightening. Tiger Woods was not among them.
Woods, having made his Masters-record 24th consecutive cut Friday, started the third round seven shots out of the lead and hopeful of at least making his massive following think there might be more magic left in that battered 48-year-old body. Instead, Woods posted his highest round in three decades playing the majors. He shot an 82.
“Just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it,” Woods said.