The afternoon promises to be tense and thrilling in Augusta for the outcome of this 87th Masters. The sun is almost back and if Tiger Woods threw in the towel before the resumption of the 3rd round, on the course, the birdies have started to bloom again on the cards of the players.
In front, the match between Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, which will fascinate the crowds all day, always turns in favor of the American. Less imperial than in his first two rounds, the four-time Major winner is still ahead. Often far from the flags, the Smash captain struggled to save pars and even signed three bogeys on this third round. Koepka returns a card of 73 (+1) and keeps his lead over Jon Rahm. At -11 total, the LIV player is two moves ahead of the Spaniard.
For his part, Rahm did not take advantage of his opponent’s slowdown and is content, too, with a card of 73 (+1).
Hovland sonne la charge
Behind, after his 73 (+1) in the second round, Viktor Hovland got angry. Leader after one lap, the Norwegian, however down to -3 after 10 holes, restarted the birdie machine to offer himself 5 birdies in a row between the 11th and 15th. The triple winner on the PGA Tour ends his day with a card of 70 (-2). He is 3rd just 3 strokes off the lead. Already gone with a bang on Saturday, Patrick Cantlay continued his harvest of birdies with despite everything a few bogeys. The American returns a card of 68 (-4).
« It was very cold this morning with much more wind than yesterday, he commented. In these wet conditions, the ball goes much less far. I am well placed but after that it will really depend on what the two leading men are going to do. We are witnessing a real duel between Rahm and Koepka but I will do everything to play as low as possible. »
With a total score of -6, the best amateur of the 2012 Masters (47th) finds himself 4th and will try this Sunday to do better than his 9th place acquired in 2019. Nice load also for Hideki Matsuyama. The 2021 champion, however not at best on Saturday, offered himself 4 birdies on the return for a final card of 70 (-2). The Japanese is 5th.
The 4th round starts from 12:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. French time) in a game of 2 with departures from 1 and 10.
