Augusta Masters: It is defined without Tiger Woods that he had a bad day and how many dollars the winner will take

The third round of the Masters ended on Saturday and it was decided who was left with no chance of winning and who will fight for the green jacket, one of the most coveted prizes in the world of sports, in addition to getting a juicy check. Before we get into what happened on a cold Saturday in Augusta, I think it’s worth stopping and recounting two other Masters traditions.

One of them speaks the club does not announce the total prize pool until Sunday at noon. The only thing that is known is that it will always be higher than the previous year, which in this case was 11.5 million dollars. To think that it will be around 12 million would be very successful, of which 2.16 will correspond to the winner. The other tradition happens at the awards ceremony when the defending champion places the green jacket on the new winner.

The jacket is a hallmark of club members and in 1937 Bobby Jones suggested that club members wear the jacket during the week to help spectators position themselves on the pitch. In 1949 the tradition was born of giving the green jacket to the champion, who can only use it outside the club during the year that his reign lasts. After that he must return it and can only use it within the club.

The 52 players who made the qualifying cut had a brutal day in Augusta like not since 2007. The radiant morning sun gave way to cold clouds, the temperature never rose above 11 degrees and the wind chill was even lower. To this we had to add the wind with gusts that reached 30 km/h to complete a cocktail that most of the players did not like very much. Only 9 scores under par on the court and an average that was close to 75 strokes, the highest for a round of the Masters since 1983.

It always happens that one of the early starters, who are the worst in the tournament, gets inspired and plays a great round, but when that doesn’t happen the leaders realize that the course is playing hard.

Scottie Scheffler started the day with a 5 advantage and his start could not have been better. Two birdies in the first 3 holes gave him a lot of calm and this lasted until the 12th hole. There the nerves appeared, he hit a couple of shots that made him suffer when the ball was in the air, but luckily for him they all ended in good position. Only on the final hole did he hit a very bad tee shot, but he still managed to lose just one shot and end the day 3 ahead of the Australian Cameron Smith, who with 68 presented the best card of the day and was the only one to break the 70 barrier. The two of them will share the last start on Sunday in Augusta and it is no coincidence. They have been the best two at the beginning of this 2022, with Smith winning the first tournament of the year in Hawaii, and the Players a few weeks ago, while Scheffler comes from winning 3 tournaments in the last two months.

Just as some played well, there were others who suffered on Saturday. One of them was Tiger Woods who curiously hit better off the tee than the first two days, hit more greens, but had his worst enemy on his putter: 4 greens of three putts and one of 4 putts did not allow Tiger to be in shot for Sunday and the 78 is his worst mark in 95 rounds at the Masters. Another who had a bad time was the Chilean Joaquin Niemann that closed on Friday with a double bogey at 18 and that he repeated it again on Saturday for a round of 77 that leaves him without possibilities. The young Niemann continues to accumulate experience in the Masters, a tournament where it is not easy to win without having played it several times. In fact, and if we take out the winner of the first edition, only one player won on his debut and Masters winners have played an average of 9 times before winning it. The record here is held by Sergio Garcia who was only able to put on the green jacket in his nineteenth presentation.

For today, Sunday, the weather is expected to be better, with some wind, yes, but with temperatures that will be around 23 degrees. There are more players with possibilities for Sunday, but everything will depend on what the leader does. If this one plays well I think It will be a fight between him and Smith, but if Scheffler’s start is not good, many more will be able to catch up in the fight and with better weather conditions someone coming from behind can sign 65 and sit back and wait.

To enjoy the Masters Sunday on TV. The highest-rated golfing event of the year in the USA and the one that fans around the world are most anxiously awaiting. If you are not a golfer, I suggest that you even miss a bit of the afternoon and turn on the television because you will see something unique. If you pay attention you will see something surprising: there is not a single cable and the reason for this is that the entire field is cabled below ground. Something else that Augusta pioneered when in 1941 they started underground wiring for the tournament scoring system. Only in August.

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