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“Be lucky!” Tyrrell Hatton shouts after his ball as he sends it towards the tall pines down the left of 17. And he gets a break. There’s a window to shoot through for the green … but he doesn’t take full advantage, his ball toppling off the back-left, with the flag away on the other side. Still, a chance to get up and down to save his par, which he’d have probably taken when he was making that aforementioned plea.
A 67 for Max Homa
Max Homa birdies 18 for a blemish-free round of 67. His finish of -8 will surely earn him an automatic invite back next year. He could sell his back nine of 32 strokes to the leaders for cash money.
The patrons ooh with concern as Cameron Young sends his chip from the bottom of the swale to the right of 8 onto the bank on the other side. But he meant to do it. He uses the tilt to bring his ball back onto the green, stopping five feet short. That’s a work of genius, and it’s worthy of the birdie that follows. Then Rory’s eagle putt. It’s always coming up short. But it’s close enough for birdie. Both players nudge a shot closer to the leader.
-12: Rose (9)
-11: Young (8), McIlroy (8)
-10: Hatton (16), Henley (11)
Rory McIlroy suddenly looks re-energised. He sends his drive at the par-five 8th down the left-hand side of the fairway … then slings a fairway wood around the trees and into the heart of the green, the ball rolling up to 25 feet. He’ll have a great look at eagle! Cameron Young is off the green to the right. Meanwhile it’s four birdies in a row for Tyrrell Hatton, who fires his tee shot at 16 over the flag, before rolling the eight-footer into the cup! He’s -10, and if he can get home safely, he’ll be posting a number!
Rose turns in 32, leading by two
Another birdie for Tyrrell Hatton! He sends his second at 15 over the back, but only just. His putt up onto the green takes a little bobble and skips to the right, but he tidies up from four feet to move to -9. But he’s no closer to the lead, because back on 9, Justin Rose arrows his second into the green to 14 feet, then rattles a confident putt into the centre of the cup for his fourth birdie in five holes! He hits the turn in 32 strokes, with a two-hole lead!
-12: Rose (9)
-10: Henley (10), Young (7), McIlroy (7)
-9: Hatton (15), Scheffler (10)
… then Rory McIlroy, having wedged over the flag to eight feet, tickles in the downhill putt for birdie! A big momentum shifter, a two-shot swing between the members of the final group, and how quickly the picture can change on Sunday afternoon!
-11: Rose (8)
-10: Henley (10), Young (7), McIlroy (7)
-9: Scheffler (9)
A big mistake by Cameron Young from the centre of the 7th fairway. He dunks his approach into a bunker guarding the front of the green. He can’t get up and down, and that’s two shots gone in as many holes. Before that, he’d dropped just one in 31. The pressure of Masters Sunday, patrons. Justin Rose is the sole leader of the Masters!
Justin Rose shares lead
Along with Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley looks like one of the few players to be actually enjoying themselves out there. He creams his second at 10 from 222 yards pin high, to 12 feet. The birthday boy shares a huge smile with his caddie. Justin Rose seems pretty chuffed as well, because he wedges up from the swale front right of the par-five 8th to four feet. In goes the putt, and the gallery hollers with great feeling. They’d be more than happy to see the three-time runner-up finally get over the line. He’s got a chance! He’s tied for the lead with Cameron Young … but not Henley, who misses his birdie effort on 10 on the low side.
-11: Rose (8), Young (6)
-10: Henley (10)
-9: Scheffler (9), McIlroy (6)
-8: Hatton (14), Burns (7)
Back-to-back birdies for Tyrrell Hatton at 13 and 14. He’s -8, and if he can make his way home strongly, could post something that would at least ask a question of the players currently above him.
Rory McIlroy, having sent his tee shot at the par-three 6th over the back, elects to putt up from the swale. He only just gets the ball up on the putting surface. That’s poor, and he’s left with a 15-footer he can’t make. It’s been a miserable weekend for the defending champion so far, and by the defeated look on his face, that doesn’t look like changing any time soon. A man who knows he’s misplaced his mojo and the jig is up? Well, perhaps, but Cameron Young, having lagged up to six feet from 70, lets his par putt slip by on the low side. A slight pull. McIlroy is doing his best to play himself out of this Tournament, and yet he’s not cut adrift just yet.
-11: Young (6)
-10: Henley (9), Rose (7)
-9: Scheffler (8), McIlroy (6)
-8: Burns (7)
-7: Homa (16), Hatton (13)
Scottie Scheffler takes putter from the fringe at the back of 8. He rolls up with confidence, and it looks like dropping … but this one slingshots out to the right. Scheffler high-kicks in frustration. But that’s a par, one he’d have snatched your hand off for when watching his drive disappear into the pines.
Should Cameron Young close this out today, he’ll tie the Masters record for the biggest comeback after 36 holes. That currently stands at eight, set by Jack Burke in 1956. Should either Scottie Scheffler or Russell Henley make it, they’d obliterate the record by four additional strokes. But there’s an awfully long way to go before we consider any of this seriously, and Young lands on the wrong portion of the 6th green, leaving himself 70 feet away; Henley also leaves himself a long two-putt for par, on 9; and Scheffler, though he’s able to advance his ball from the trees on 8, sends his third over the back of the green. Yep, an awfully long way to go.
Cameron Young sends his ball over the back of 5. His chip back up isn’t all that, but he walks in the 15-footer to save his par. Young and Scottie Scheffler are taking turns to make the big saves that win you tournaments like this.
-12: Young (5)
-10: Henley (8), Rose (7), McIlroy (5)
-9: Scheffler (7)
-8: Burns (6)
-7: Day (6)
-6: Homa (15), Hatton (12), Cantlay (8), Lowry (6)
One of the shots of the week from Justin Rose! He’s in the pines down the right of 7. It doesn’t look as though there’s much on, but he manufactures a low cut under the branches and into the heart of the green, a combination of side-spin and the bowl shape of the putting surface taking his ball to the right and back down to tap-in range. He punches the air knowing that’s just a couple of inches away. He’ll be tapping in for a birdie that will take him to -10.
Scottie puts everything into his drive at the par-five 8th, and loses it way left for the second hole in a row. He drops his driver on the follow-through as his ball disappears into the pines. Danger over there. But up on the green, Russell Henley chips up close from the back and tidies up for birdie. It’s his 37th birthday today, and this could end up being quite the gift. He’s two off the lead at -10!
Scottie Scheffler makes his second outrageous par save in a row! Having sent his drive into the trees down the left of 7, he can only knock his second to the left of the green. His chip trundles 11 feet past, but he strokes the putt coming back into the centre of the cup, and sometimes par saves feel even bigger than birdies. Just ask Rory McIlroy. He remains at -9.
Big bother for Shane Lowry on 5. He sends his drive into the big fairway bunker down the left. Then he catches the top lip of the trap with his second, the ball pinging back and to the left. He does very well to manufacture a low hook from the trees into the front of the green, but he’s left with a putt of over 100 feet, and three more strokes later, it’s a double. At -6, that’s probably his race run.
Rory three-putts from ten feet on 4
“Come on Rory.” One of the patrons, crying in exasperation rather than by way of encouragement, as McIlroy pulls his tee shot at the par-three 4th wide of the left-hand bunker. The defending champ gracefully flips his chip over the sand, nearly holing out. However he can’t save his par from ten feet … then lips out with the one coming back from a couple of feet. A par scramble though for Cameron Young from the front, having come up a club too short. A big swing, and it’s seriously Advantage Young now.
-12: Young (4)
-10: McIlroy (4)
-9: Henley (7), Scheffler (6), Rose (5)
The 2015 and 2016 champion Jordan Spieth is the new clubhouse leader. Birdie at the last, the reward for sending his second pin high to 12 feet, and that’s a 68 for one of the most entertaining players on Tour. He finishes his week at -5, and c’mon Jordan, get it done next month in the PGA at Aronimink, complete that career slam.
Russell Henley could be the surprise package to spring out of the pack. He nearly replicates the fairway heroics of Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton on 7, but his iron from 150 yards stops a couple of turns short. Never mind, it’s a birdie that brings the local hero, who tied for fourth in 2023, right into the mix! And the perennial bridesmaid Justin Rose isn’t going anywhere: he fires his approach at 5 from 238 yards to 30 feet, and rails home the birdie putt! They’re both -9 now, alongside Scottie Scheffler, who makes a 15-foot putt from the fringe at the back of 6 to save his par after a clumsy chip. This Masters is really getting going now.
-12: Young (3), McIlroy (3)
-9: Henley (7), Scheffler (6), Rose (5)
-8: Burns (4), Lowry (4)
-7: Matsuyama (16), Day (5)
Rory rolls his birdie putt in on 3! That up and down from that bunker way down the bank should pick him up. He re-joins Cameron Young, who takes a careful two putts for par, in the lead. Meanwhile on the long par-four 4th, Sam Burns stops the rot by getting up and down from the front of the green … but Shane Lowry three-putts to drop back and join him at -8.
-12: Young (3), McIlroy (3)
-9: Scheffler (5), Lowry (3)
-8: Henley (6), Day (4), Rose (4), Burns (4)
-7: Cantlay (5)
Yes, this could be Cameron Young’s year all right. He carves a wild drive into the trees down the right of 3 … but the ball clanks off a tree trunk and back out into the fairway! He wedges on in two. The golfing gods continue to smile down on him. Unless they’re storing up one heck of a sucker punch on the back nine. Meanwhile Rory finds the Scheffler-Burns bunker, and whips one of those hard-yet-somehow-soft splashes up and over the ten-foot face, to ten feet.
Sam Burns drives into the bunker front-left of 3. Scottie got up and down from it; Burns leaves his ball in. He gets out with his second attempt, but can’t make the six-footer he’s got for par. That fast start didn’t last long. He’s -8. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rory hit the fairway on 2,” writes Simon Farnaby, perhaps stretching a point for comic effect, then following with some words which Family Website Editor tells me I’m not allowed to publish.
Cameron Young, having been slightly fortunate to see his ball squirting over the bunker, rolls in the left-to-right putt. He had a couple of big breaks from the trees yesterday, at 13 and 17; perhaps this is destined to be his year. Then it’s Rory McIlroy’s turn … and he gives his putt a little bit too much on the left. Cameron Young leads the Masters by himself!
-12: Young (2)
-11: McIlroy (2)
-9: Scheffler (4), Burns (2), Lowry (2)
-8: Henley (5), Li (4), Day (3), Rose (3)
-7: Cantlay (5)
Rory takes his medicine from the fairway bunker at 2. He’s got no option really. He wedges out to the centre of the fairway, then sends his third into the green to 15 feet. He’ll have a chance for birdie. As will Cameron Young, who only just gets his chip over the bunker guarding front right, but gets away with it, and will have a similar putt to Rory.
Bounce-back birdie for Shane Lowry at 2! The reward for a lovely wedge bundled into the front of the green, the camber taking his ball round to four feet. He’s back where he started at -9. But his partner Sam Burns ends up running up a double, little short of a disaster on one of the few gimme-birdie holes around this grand old place. And a backwards step for Justin Rose, who fails to lob a chip up from the bottom of the bank at the par-four 3rd. That’s cost him a shot.
-11: Young (1), McIlroy (1)
-9: Scheffler (4), Burns (2), Lowry (2)
-8: Henley (5), Li (4), Day (3), Rose (3)
-7: Hatton (9), Cantlay (5)
-6: Matsuyama (14), Åberg (10), Knapp (7)
Trouble for the joint leader Sam Burns on 2. He finds the trees down the right. He’s forced into a penalty drop, then a hack out … and then he flies the green with a wedge. Straight into the gallery sitting behind. Meanwhile back on the tee, Rory McIlroy’s driving travails continue apace, as he sends his ball into the fairway bunker on the right. He won’t be able to take a shy for the green from there.
Rory McIlroy is left with a pretty straight birdie putt on 1, certainly by the standards of Augusta National. But he doesn’t hit it at all. An early disappointment, though nothing on last year. Par for Cameron Young as well. Up on 3, Scottie Scheffler responds to his failure to birdie 2 with an up-and-down from greenside sand on 3. His playing partner Haotong Li makes birdie too.
-11: Burns (1), Young (1), McIlroy (1)
-9: Scheffler (3), Rose (2)
-8: Henley (4), Li (3), Day (2), Lowry (1)
-7: Hatton (8), Cantlay (4)
Some admin / recognition of notable final rounds. Keegan Bradley is in with a 66, equalling Gary Woodland’s best-of-day; he’s -3 overall. A 69 for the 2020 champ Dustin Johnson; he ends the week at level par. Maverick McNealy joins Viktor Hovland in the clubhouse lead at -4 after equalling his 67.
The leaders are out
The final group takes to the tee … and both Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy take 3-woods for safety. The way Rory has been driving all week, this could be a tactic we’ll see more than once. Time will tell. It’s not as though he’s giving up too much distance, and he’s just wedging in from 155 yards. He very nearly slam-dunks it, too, a couple of feet to the left. He’ll have a good look at birdie from 11 feet. That’ll hopefully put him on an even keel: remember he bogeyed Tea Olive yesterday, and infamously doubled it on Sunday last year. That, it is fair to say, is a marked improvement. Young, having found the fairway bunker on the right, finds the heart of the green and will have a putt from 20 feet or so.
An opening birdie for Sam Burns in the penultimate group. A lovely downhill putt from 30 feet, and he joins the leaders at -11. His playing partner Shane Lowry however takes a heavy-handed chip from the front of 1, and bogey takes him the other way. No birdie for Scheffler on 2, meanwhile, but Tyrrell Hatton follows up his spectacular eagle on 7 with birdie at 8.
-11: Burns (1), Young, McIlroy
-9: Rose (1)
-8: Scheffler (2), Day (1), Lowry (1)
-7: Hatton (8), Cantlay (3), Henley (3), Li (2)
Scottie takes putter from the back of 2. He only just gets his putt through the fringe, though the margins are small, and it still dribbles down to six feet. But he’s not 100 percent happy with that. A thin-lipped smile as he considers his birdie putt. Meanwhile a bogey for Viktor Hovland on 18, and he ends the week with a 67 at -4. That round promised more. He’s the new clubhouse leader, though.
Justin Rose isn’t wasting time either! He chips in from the swale to the right of Tea Olive, and the three-time runner-up moves to within a couple of the lead at -9. The gallery, who wouldn’t say no to the genial Rose getting his flowers at last, erupt in delight. Meanwhile over on 2, Scottie Scheffler fires his second into the green, but over the back. Still a decent opportunity to get up and down from close-ish range, though. A sense that this Masters is about to catch fire, and the leaders aren’t even out yet. Fingers crossed for an all-time classic. Another all-time classic. Two in two years too much to ask?
You’ll have noticed Tyrrell Hatton popping up at the bottom of that updated Leader Board at -6. That’s because he’s just holed out for eagle on 7 from 131 yards, landing his ball 15 feet over the flag and spinning it back into the cup! Earlier on today, Aaron Rai did the exact same thing, from 137 yards, so it’s been a good day on Pampas for the English. Rai ended his week at +5 after a round of 70.
Scottie Scheffler isn’t wasting time. A high cut around the branches from the pine straw down the left of 1 into the heart of the green. A mirror-image version of the wedge Bubba Watson played from the trees at 10 to win the play-off in 2012. He’s seven feet away. In goes the birdie putt, and if the leaders weren’t already worried†, they are now††. Bogey for his playing-partner Haotong Li, though, the cost of leaving his approach short.
-11: Young, McIlroy
-10: Burns
-9: Lowry
-8: Scheffler (1), Day, Rose
-7: Knapp (4), Henley (1)
-6: Åberg (7), Hatton (7), Schauffele (5), Reed (2), Cantlay (1), Li (1)
†: They were
††: They already were
Jake Knapp doesn’t have much of a record in the majors. A tie for 55th at the 2024 Masters, a couple of missed cuts at the PGA, another missed cut at the US Open. But the 31-year-old Californian did tie for 12th at the Players last year, and is poised to build on that here. An opening round of 73 followed by a pair of 69s, and with birdies at 1 and 3 he’s moved up the standings to -7.
Viktor Hovland responds magnificently to that double-bogey blow on 15. The pin on the famous par-three 16th is in its traditional Sunday position, front left, very accessible thanks to the downward camber of the green. Hovland finds the sweet spot that gathers his ball to six feet, then tidies up for birdie. He’s back to -5, and that’s the eighth birdie at 16 this afternoon already, with only 14 players having gone through so far.
Scottie Scheffler isn’t the only player looming large in the leaders’ rear-view mirrors. But you can bet your last shiny cent that Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy will consider him the most dangerous one. A world number-one ranking and two Green Jackets kind of add to the aura. Starting the day four behind at -7, it’ll take some effort from Scheffler, but if anyone can, Scottie’s the man. So having teed him up thus, he sends his opening drive wide of the bunker on the right-hand side of the fairway. He might have to punch under some branches from there. We’ll see. He’s going around today with Haotong Li, who he played with on the final day of last year’s Open at Portrush. A good omen for the big man? We’ll see about that as well. Li launches long down the left-hand side of the track.
Turns out Viktor Hovland’s momentum-saving efforts on 14 were all for nought. Hitting his second into 15, he air-mails the green, sending an absurdly overhit iron onto the bank behind and into the pond near the 16th. He can’t find the green with his chip back up, and that’s a double-bogey seven. Again, he isn’t the first, he won’t be the last, and it’s a reminder that the carpet can be whipped from underneath your feet at Augusta National in an instant. He’s -4.
Marco Penge was making a good fist of his Masters debut. Especially as the 27-year-old from Crawley, the reigning Spanish Open champion, took a triple-bogey eight at the 2nd on Thursday. Not the most auspicious start to his Augusta National career, but he limited the first-round damage to 76, then shot 69 and 71. Sadly his final round isn’t going so well, and he’s just dumped two balls in the water at the iconic par-three 12th, the first spinning back off the bank, the second from the dropzone not even getting over to dry land before dunking into the drink. A quadruple-bogey seven. He isn’t the first, he won’t be the last, and things could have gotten a whole lot worse, just ask the Towering Inferno …
Bogey at the last for Jon Rahm. A diminuendo end to a fine round of 68. You have to wonder how much buyer’s remorse Rahmbo has for joining the LIV tour: the 2021 US Open champion and 2023 Masters winner has never been the same player since. Still, his recovery this week from an opening round of 78 will give him a little succour. He ends his week at +1, one shy of the current clubhouse leader Gary Woodland.
We’re in that little major-championship sweet spot, the brief period of calm before the whipping up of a Sunday storm. So while we’re waiting for the leading players to take to the course, there’s time to indulge in a wee spot of Masters nostalgia. This episode of This Golfing Life, a wonderful new golf podcast hosted by the award-winning journalist and author Dan Davies, dives deep into the career of the 1980 and 1983 champion, the legendary Seve Ballesteros, and comes much recommended. (Fans of Paddington and Maurice Flitcroft may enjoy this episode too.) Get on it!
… so it’s probably time to update the Leader Board for the first time today. This is where we’re at for the moment. Meanwhile Viktor Hovland whips his second at 14 over the trees and into the heart of the green, and despite knocking his 25-foot birdie putt six past, tidies up to maintain his upward momentum. Quite a few of these lads, The Hov included, will be rueing their slow starts this week.
-11: Young, McIlroy
-10: Burns
-9: Lowry
-8: Day, Rose
-7: Scheffler, Li
-6: Hovland (14), Åberg (4), Knapp (1), Cantlay, Henley, Reed
Gary Woodland shoots 66
The chasing pack will be very much buoyed by the work of the early starters. Because is there a score out there? Oh yes, there’s a score out there. With the huge caveat that the fairways and greens will dry out and harden up as the afternoon sun beats down - Augusta National getting fast, fast, fast – the signs are very promising. Consider:
-
Ludvig Åberg has started out with three straight birdies; he’s -6 overall
-
Jon Rahm, who started the week with a LIV-shaming 78, is five under for his round today through 17; he’s level par
-
Gary Woodland has just got back to the clubhouse with a 66; he’s the early clubhouse leader at level par
-
Viktor Hovland is seven under through 13, though he’s just Roryed his drive into the trees at 14; he’s -6 for the Tournament
Is a low score on? Oh, it’s on. It’s already been on.
Garcia given code of conduct warning
Today’s weather bulletin: clear, dry and the hottest it’s been all week, with temperatures climbing into the mid-80s. Wind picking up a little during the day, but not in any intrusive manner. Meanwhile in other temperature-related news, the 2017 champion Sergio Garcia has been getting very hot under the collar, reacting to an errant drive on 2 by battering his driver into the ground a couple of times, before whacking it across a nearby cooler, snapping it in two. He’s been given an official code of conduct warning by Augusta National officials, while the tanty registers C++ on the Guardian’s Official Masters Meltdown-o-Meter™, which older and more jaded readers may remember from hole-by-hole reports passim.
Welcome, patrons, it’s time to clamber aboard the rollercoaster. Now then, if the wild and wonderful scenes of Moving Day are anything to go by, many things are possible today. The most likely is that either Rory McIlroy or Cameron Young will win: that’s because the last nine winners have come from the final pairing on Sunday. But there is precedent of a win from as far as eight shots back after 54 holes: Jack Burke Jr. pulled off that particular trick in 1956. Admittedly he only had three players ahead of him on the Leader Board, and it was blowing a field-scattering hoolie, but an eight-stroke comeback is an eight-stroke comeback, whichever way you spin it. Therefore anyone starting the day as low as -3 is technically in with a chance. At least according to the historical data. Even if they have 17 more players ahead of them than Burke did. And today’s conditions are benign. So let’s be realistic. But those are the facts, flat on the page.
Preamble
Exactly 30 years ago, give or take two days, this happened …
… so the loss of a six-shot lead at the Masters isn’t exactly a new thing. And hey, unlike the poor old Great White Shark, at least Rory has 18 more holes still to play, and with them an opportunity to do something about it.
Here’s how the top of the Leader Board looked when dawn broke in Georgia …
-11: Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy
-10: Sam Burns
-9: Shane Lowry
-8: Jason Day, Justin Rose
-7: Scottie Scheffler, Haotong Li
-6: Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley, Patrick Reed
-5: Collin Morikawa, Jake Knapp, Ben Griffin
-4: Ryan Gerard, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Wyndham Clark, Tyrrell Hatton, Tonny Fleetwood
-3: Ludvig Åberg, Brian Campbell, Nick Taylor, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Michael Brennan, Max Homa, Chris Gotterup, Kristoffer Reitan
… and here are today’s tee times (USA unless stated, all times BST).
1406 Aaron Rai (Eng), Charl Schwartzel (SA)
1417 Gary Woodland, Kurt Kitayama
1428 Jon Rahm (Spa), Sergio Garcia (Spa)
1439 Si Woo Kim (Kor), Rasmus Hojgaard (Den)
1450 Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson
1501 Matt McCarty, Corey Connors (Can)
1512 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Justin Thomas
1523 Alex Noren (Swe), Maverick McNealy
1545 Adam Scott (Aus), Marco Penge (Eng)
1556 Harris English, Samuel Stevens
1607 Brian Harman, Jordan Spieth
1618 Im Sung-jae (Kor), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
1629 Sepp Straka (Aut), Jacob Bridgeman
1640 Chris Gotterup, Kristoffer Reitan (Nor)
1651 Michael Brennan, Max Homa
1713 Nick Taylor (Can), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)
1724 Ludvig Aberg (Swe), Brian Campbell
1735 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)
1746 Brooks Koepka, Wyndham Clark
1757 Ryan Gerard, Xander Schauffele
1808 Jake Knapp, Ben Griffin
1830 Patrick Reed, Collin Morikawa
1841 Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley
1852 Scottie Scheffler, Li Haotong (Chn)
1903 Jason Day (Aus), Justin Rose (Eng)
1914 Sam Burns, Shane Lowry (Ire)
1925 Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy (NI)
This report will get going at 6pm BST. In the meantime, catch up with the dramatic action from round three by reading Ewan Murray’s report …
… here’s how Rory McIlroy felt after letting his six-shot lead slip …
… and here’s Andy Bull on how sensational Scottie Scheffler put himself in the mix for the Green Jacket.
It’s on!
