Yescottie Scheffler leads ahead of Colin Morikawa, tiger forest has broken in On the third day of the 88th Masters, the lead continued to change on the Augusta National Golf Club course. But in the end, the professional who came to the first major of the year as a favorite was back on top. Although the wind had died down considerably and temperatures had risen to 25 degrees with bright sunshine, the difficult pin positions on the extremely undulating greens made for plenty of drama and exciting entertainment.
The so-called “Moving Day”, the third day of a golf tournament, in which the professionals prepare for the final day, offered the around 50,000 fans a lot of drama, unexpected falls, but also a spectacular comeback. After the 11th hole, Scheffler was three shots behind the leader. But with an eagle on the 13th hole and birdies on the 15th and 18th holes, he was in the best starting position on Saturday with a total of 209 strokes (66, 72 and 71 – 7 under par). As in his first victory in a Masters in 2022, the 27-year-old professional from Dallas enters the last 18 holes as the sole leader.
But while two years ago he started the final day with a three-shot lead, this time he's only one shot ahead, and that's against a competitor who has already proven twice that he can win the season's highlights. His compatriot Colin Morikawa, of the same age and who won the PGA Championship in 2020 and the British Open in 2021 as soon as he started his professional career, demonstrated with a total of 210 strokes and rounds of 71, 70 and 69 that we can improve every day , even in extremely difficult conditions.
“It was a frustrating day”
On Sunday at 2:35 p.m. local time (8:35 p.m. CEST) the two will advance together to the final round as last. But even if the winner emerged from the final duo 28 times of the last 33 Masters champions, more than one matchup also seems possible. Max Homa, world number eleven, 33 years old, is only two strokes behind Scheffler with 211 strokes (67, 71 and 73). The 24-year-old Swedish debutant Ludvig Åberg (212 hits), the Americans Bryson DeChambeau (213) and Xander Schauffele (214) are also within reach.
“The greens were ridiculously hard and fast. It was a frustrating day,” Scheffler complained despite being in the lead. For the first time, the leader of this sport has to do without his wife Meredith in an important tournament. Just two years ago, she had mentally strengthened her husband the morning before the final round. This time Scheffler has a close circle of friends in the rented house. Augusta invited so that he could at least receive some support. “Tomorrow it won't be easier to play the field either,” said the leader. He once again emphasized that if his heavily pregnant wife went into labor prematurely, she would immediately withdraw from the tournament.
“Scottie has proven over the last two years that he is the best golfer in the world,” said Morikawa, No. 20 in the industry rankings, “but you never know what to expect at this course.” Tiger Woods can only confirm it. In his 99th round of the Masters tournament, the 48-year-old superstar played the worst round on this course with an 82 shots. She fell from 22nd place to 52nd place with a total of 227 strokes (11 over par). She explained that he felt sick during the warm-up and was probably exhausted from his good round the day before. “I always hit the ball where it shouldn't land. “I missed a lot of putts,” said the crowd favorite, who nevertheless promised to compete again on the final day.