AUGUSTA, Ga. — Patrick Reed may be hearing footsteps; there’s no question that Rory McIlroy is.
Jordan Spieth moved to 11-under, three strokes back of Reed, with a birdie at No. 12. Jon Rahm and Rickie Fowler are sitting at 10 under, tied with McIlroy, who dropped a stroke with a bogey at No. 8. They’re all still chasing Reed, who is at 14 under through eight holes.
With a birdie on the ninth hole, Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, sent a signal with a move to 10 under that put one stroke back of McIlroy and three back of Reed after both men scored bogeys on No. 6.
Reed took back a stroke, going to 14 under with a birdie at 7; Spieth is 5 under for the day through 10 holes.
McIlroy, who entered Sunday three strokes behind Reed in his quest to complete a career Grand Slam, started poorly, hitting his first shot of the final round far, far right.
McIlroy drew a break, though, when the ball ended up in the pine needles with a clear view of the fairway. Reed fared little better, with his first shot finding the trees.
Both men ended up in the bunker and McIlroy wound up with even-par on the par-4 hole. Reed bogeyed the hole, with his lead shrinking to two strokes. The lead shrank to one stroke on the second hold when Reed emerged with even par on the hole and McIlroy birdied it, just missing a short putt that would have tied the score.
The tension of the first two holes was erased for Reed at No. 3. He birdied the hole while McIlroy bogeyed it, meaning Reed’s lead is back to three strokes (14-under vs. 11-under) as it was at the beginning of the day. McIlroy cut the lead back to two strokes at the fourth hole, but it went back to three when McIlroy bogeyed No. 5.
The men had spent much of Saturday evening trying to convince the masses assembled at Augusta National Golf Club that the final round of the Masters isn’t simply a match between the two 20-something stars.
But what if it is?
Reed, the 27-year-old hero of the latest American Ryder Cup team, used two back-nine eagles to build a scorching 67 in Saturday’s third round, getting him to 14-under par. That’s enough for a three-shot lead over McIlroy, the 28-year-old Northern Irishman who already owns four major championships — but not yet a Masters.
There are other attractive names on the leaderboard: American Rickie Fowler, Spanish up-and-comer Jon Rahm, Swedish machine Henrik Stenson, two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson and three-time major winner Jordan Spieth. But none of those characters are better than five shots back of Reed’s lead.
That leaves the final round with the distinct feeling that it’ll be a redux of the emotional and insane singles match between Reed and McIlroy at the 2016 Ryder Cup.
“It will be calmer,” Reed said. “There’s a lot of stuff you can do at a Ryder Cup that you can’t do at Augusta National.”
Which is not to say it will be calm. The Masters normally reaches its highest gear after the leaders make the turn on Sunday. By that point, we’ll know whether Fowler (9 under), Rahm (8 under), Stenson (7 under) or any of the others have provided enough to push the final pairing.
Tiger and Phil
Tiger Woods was in his signature Sunday red shirt, but, like Phil Mickelson, he was way back in the pack. There were moments for Woods, though, and one of then came at 15, where he had his first eagle (on the par-5 hole) of the four days. Mickelson had a stretch Sunday of three consecutive birdies and his second eagle of the tournament.
Woods ended up with a 69, his best round of the week and he was tied for 31st. He finished one-over for the tournament, one stroke better than Mickelson, who shot a 67 Sunday.
Golf’s version of trash talk
McIlroy was getting a little chippy about Reed’s lead Saturday. “I feel like all the pressure is on him,” McIlroy said. “He’s got to go out and protect that, and he’s got a few guys chasing him that are pretty big-time players. He’s got that to deal with and sleep on tonight.”
Reed wasn’t having it, or at least that’s what he said. “I am leading,” he said. “I guess so. But at the same time, he’s trying to go for the career Grand Slam. So you can put it either way.”
How to watch (all times Eastern):
- CBS will broadcast the final round from 2 to 7 p.m. (or the conclusion of play) Sunday. Its online coverage can be found at CBS AllAccess. The network will have a preview show (“On the Range”) 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sunday on CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com.
- CBSSports.com will also have live streams of featured groups, as well as coverage from Amen Corner (holes 11, 12, 13) and holes 15 and 16. Featured group coverage starts at roughly 11 a.m. Sunday; Amen Corner coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. and holes 15 and 16 coverage begins at 1:30. Consult the full live stream schedule here.
- The Golf Channel has “Morning Drive” on TV and online from 7 to 9 a.m. Sunday, and “Live from the Masters” on TV and online beginning at 9 a.m.
- AT&T/DIRECTV has coverage of featured groups, Amen Corner and the 15th and 16th holes starting at 3 p.m. each day (at 2 p.m. Sunday) on Channels 703, 704 and 705. There’s a 4K package from Amen Corner on Channel 105 and the 15th and 16th holes on Channel 106 starting at noon Sunday for Amen Corner and 12:30 for the 15th and 16th holes. You also can stream the coverage.
- Masters.com offers much of the same live coverage, too.
Weather and pin placement
The skies will clear a bit, though it will be cool with highs in the mid-60s.
Favorites
The Post’s Neil Greenberg gives Reed a 77 percent chance of winning.
More Masters coverage from The Post:
In his Masters return, Tiger Woods earns a weekend stay at Augusta
Boswell: Tony Finau is on the Masters leader board on essentially one foot — and it gets better
For 10 bucks, you can eat like a king at the Masters
Augusta National to host a women’s amateur event in 2019
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