Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Watson, Spieth tops at 5 under
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Experience is worth a couple of strokes at Augusta National Golf Club.
Everybody says so, and sure enough, the top-10 leaderboard after 54 holes of the Masters includes two players past their 50th birthdays, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Fred Couples, as well as the 2012 champion, Bubba Watson.
Jimenez, 50, who is scheduled to make his Champions Tour debut later this week, produced the lowest round of the week Saturday, a 6-under-par 66, to move into fifth
at 3-under 213. Couples, 54, who won here in 1992, was tied for 10th after a 73.
The two Masters rookies, Jordan Spieth and Jonas Blixt, have insinuated themselves into the green jacket conversation as well.
Spieth, who earned his first PGA Tour victory two weeks before turning 20, posted his second consecutive 70 to move into a tie for first with the 36hole leader, Watson, who carded a 74 and was at 5-under 211.
Blixt recorded his second consecutive 71 to move into a tie for third, one stroke out of the lead, with Matt Kuchar. Blixt and Spieth are the fifth and sixth players to open their Masters careers with three consecutive subpar rounds. Among the other four is Fuzzy Zoeller, who won in 1979.
The diabolically difficult greens are supposed to favor those who wave their putters like wands. But Brandt Snedeker, whom his competitor Lee Westwood described as the best putter on the tour, five-putted from 6 feet on his way to an 80, and Rickie Fowler, who is ranked 110th on the tour in total putting, was tied for first in total putts this week.
Fowler, averaging 27 putts a round, was tied with Jimenez at 213 after a third-round 67.
This year’s tournament was billed as an ensemble production because of the absence, and back surgery, of the world No. 1, Tiger Woods, who has finished lower than sixth just once in his last nine starts at Augusta National.
Yet by the end of a wild and woolly but not too windy third round, Spieth, 20, had reached a milestone faster than Woods, who was 21 in 1997 when he led after the second and third rounds at Augusta National en route to his first major victory.
“Pretty amazing” is how Kuchar, who himself had a fine round (68), described Spieth’s play.
In Kuchar’s first Masters, as an amateur in 1998, he was in 14th after three rounds, and he tied for 21st.
“You see the likes of Fred Couples do well, and you kind of chalk it up to a guy with a lot of experience playing this course,” Kuchar, who is making his eighth appearance at Augusta, said. “It definitely helps. So even more amazing to see what a guy like Jordan Spieth is doing in his first tournament, and to be right in contention to have a shot to win tomorrow.”
Kuchar is in the thick of the battle, too, but he will head to the first tee today with considerably more scar tissue than Spieth. This is the third consecutive year that Kuchar, 35, has been in the top six after three rounds. He finished tied for third in 2012 after closing with a 69 and tied for eighth last year after a 73. In Kuchar’s last four starts, he has averaged 69.0 strokes in the third round and 73.8 in the fourth.
“Nothing,” Kuchar said when asked what he needed to do to score better today. “Nothing. I’m very excited to have another crack at it.”
What better place than Augusta National for Kuchar, a Georgia Tech graduate, to atone for lost final-day leads the previous two weeks, in Houston and San Antonio?
“I’m so happy that the last couple weeks I’ve been around with a chance to win,” Kuchar said, adding, “I’ll take a lot more from the last two weeks than I will from a year ago.”
Gary Woodland, who played his first two rounds in 3 over, was 6 under for the day after nine holes and 7 under after 10. His 30 strokes on the front tied a tournament record.
Woodland cooled off on the back side and settled for a 3-under 69, good for a 54-hole total of 216. Speaking of his fast start, Woodland said, “It was a zone that you want to be in, and hopefully I get back in that zone tomorrow.”
Watson is familiar with that zone. He made five consecutive birdies on his back nine Friday to take a three-stroke lead, at 7 under. Despite keeping his head down to block out all distractions, Watson found plenty of trouble Saturday and felt fortunate to escape with a share of the lead.
“You’re going to struggle probably one day,” he said. “So if this is my worst day, I’m still tied for the lead — I have a great shot for tomorrow.”
He will be paired today with Spieth.
“It will be interesting, but it will be fun,” Watson said. “Me trying to win, him trying to win, but we’re pretty good friends. So hopefully one of us wins.”