Scottie Scheffler leads from Colin Morikawa, Tiger Woods has collapsed. On the third day of the 88th Masters, the lead kept changing on the Augusta National Golf Club course. But in the end, the professional who went into the first major of the year as the favorite was at the top again. Although the wind had died down significantly and the temperatures had risen to 25 degrees with bright sunshine, the difficult flag positions on the extremely undulating greens caused a lot of drama and exciting entertainment.
The so-called “Moving Day”, the third day of a golf tournament in which professionals get into position for the final day, offered the around 50,000 fans a lot of drama, unexpected collapses, but also a spectacular comeback. After the 11th hole, Scheffler was three strokes behind the leader. But with an eagle on the 13th hole and birdies on holes 15 and 18, he moved into the best starting position on Saturday with a total of 209 strokes (66, 72 and 71 – 7 under par). As with his first Masters victory in 2022, the 27-year-old professional from Dallas goes into 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 is only one shot ahead – and that in front of a competitor who has already demonstrated twice that he can win the season’s highlights. His compatriot Colin Morikawa, who was the same age and who won the PGA Championship in 2020 and the British Open in 2021 right at the start of his professional career, demonstrated with a total of 210 strokes and rounds of 71, 70 and 69 that you can improve every day, even under extremely difficult conditions can.
“It was a frustrating day”
On Sunday at 2:35 p.m. local time (8:35 p.m. CEST) the two will go into the final round together as the last. But even if the winner came from the final duo 28 times out of the last 33 Masters champions, more than one duel also seems possible. The 33-year-old world number eleven Max Homa is only two strokes behind Scheffler with 211 strokes (67, 71 and 73). The 24-year-old Swedish debutant Ludvig Åberg (212 strokes), the Americans Bryson DeChambeau (213) and Xander Schauffele (214) are also still within reach.
“The greens were ridiculously hard and fast. It was a frustrating day,” complained Scheffler despite being in the lead. For the first time, the leader of this sport has to do without his wife Meredith at an important tournament. Just two years ago, she had strengthened her husband mentally in the morning before the final round. This time, Scheffler invited a close circle of friends to the rented house in Augusta so that he could at least receive some support. “The course certainly won’t be any easier to play tomorrow either,” said the leader. He emphasized once again that if his heavily pregnant wife went into labor prematurely, he would immediately withdraw from the tournament.
Wolfgang Scheffler, Augusta Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Wolfgang Scheffler, Augusta Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Wolfgang Scheffler, Augusta Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1
“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 on this course.” Tiger Woods can only confirm this. In his 99th round of the Masters tournament, the 48-year-old superstar played the worst round on this course with 82 strokes. He fell from 22nd to tied for 52nd with a total of 227 strokes (11 over par). He explained that he felt bad during the warm-up and was probably exhausted from his good par 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.
