SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Nancy Armour and Steve DiMeglio discuss the story lines heading into the weekend at Augusta National. USA TODAY Sports
After a disappointing 3-over 75 on Friday, Tiger Woods didn't come close to the leaders on moving day at the Masters. His even-par 72 left him about where he started as the leaders teed off in the afternoon.
Playing alongside Ian Poulter, Woods bogeyed the first two holes but settled down after that. This was his best round this week but not enough to make the climb he wanted.
Woods was 4-over after three rounds, while Poulter and Phil Mickelson both shot 74 and were 7-over for the tournament.
At 42 and coming off spinal fusion, Woods was "horrible" with his irons Friday and missed some putts that would have been automatic for the Tiger of old.
The four-time Masters champ found himself 13 shots behind 36-hole leader Patrick Reed at the start of Saturday's action. Reed carded nine birdies en route to a 66 in the second round. It was Reed's first sub-70 round at Augusta National and he's now two shots ahead of Australia's Marc Leishman.
Henrik Stenson is four back, and Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas are bunched at the top of the leaderboard.
It's expected to rain throughout the day, which could mean some long delays.
Story lines we're following:
Will Spieth get off to a better start and bounce back from a 74?
Can McIlroy make a charge and get himself closer to the career Grand Slam?
Will a confident Reed keep his composure when leading a major for the first time in his career?
Tiger on No. 18: Par
His tee shot of 280 yards gets him in the middle of the fairway. Tiger hits it over the back of the green and after a short chip settles for par. He ends the day at even-par 72 and +4 for the tournament.
Tiger on No. 17: Par
Woods' tee shot ends up in the trees and his approach gets him to within 40 fee. He two-putts for par. Tiger is +4 with one to go.
Tiger on No. 16: Back on track
Tiger recovers with a stellar tee shot that leaves him 4 feet from the hole. BIRDIE on the par-3 to get even for the day, +4 for the tournament.
Tiger on No. 15: Bogey
Woods' tee shot lands just inside the ropes, and his second gets him on to the fairway of the par-5. His approach flies over the green and he leaves his putt short for bogey. He's +5.
Tiger on No. 14: Holding steady
After his tee shot finds the second cut, Tiger watches as the ball keeps rolling, leaving him 73 feet from the hole. He follows up with a beautiful lag putt to get within two feet for par. And he's +4.
Tiger on No. 13: Par again
His tee shot finds the pine straw, but Tiger goes for it with his second shot, trying to make something happen on a par-5. A poor chip shot has the ball sloping off the green. He settles for par, leaving Amen Corner no worse for the wear. He's +4 with 5 left.
Tiger on No. 12: Missed opportunity
He loved his shot off the tee, raising his hands when it finds the green (instead of the water as it did in the first two rounds) and giving a fist bump to Joe Lacava, his caddie. But Tiger misses his birdie putt from 11 feet and settles for another par. He remains +4.
Tiger on No. 11: Par train continues
Tiger tallied his third straight par when he tapped in for a 4 on No. 11. His birdie putt fell just short, so he heads to the infamous No. 12 still at +4.
Mickelson finds Rae's creek on No. 13
Phil Mickelson hit his second shot on No. 13 into the famous Rae's creek that guards the front of the 13th green. He couldn't get up-and-down for par so he settles for bogey to slide back to +7 for the tournament.
Tiger on No. 10: Par
Fairway? Check. Green in regulation? Check. Then two putts for par. With Amen Corner coming up, Woods still sits at +4 overall. He's currently in a tie for 39th.
Tiger on No. 9: Par
Tiger makes the turn even on the day after being unable to convert a 33-foot birdie putt on the ninth green. With the weather expected to get worse later in the day, it's still *possible* that Tiger could make a back-nine run today to get back in the mix. No, really.
Tiger on No. 8: BIRDIE
That's two birdies in three holes for Woods, who is now back to even on the day. Woods hit his third shot on No. 8 to 7 feet and buried the sliding putt for the bird. He's now +4 overall, even on the day.
Phil closes front nine with a birdie
Mickelson struggled to a triple-bogey 7 on the ninth hole on Friday. But on Saturday, he hit a great second shot from the pine straw to just off the back of the green but then sank a 14-foot putt from off the edge or a birdie. That's an eagle-birdie run to close the front nine for Phil, who now sits at +6 overall, +1 on the day.
Tiger at No. 7: Par
Tiger left himself with a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 7 that he left 8 feet from the hole. But he buried the par putt from that distance to avoid a three-putt and tally another par. He's at +5 overall.
Driver off the deck pays off for Mickelson
Phil Mickelson scored an eagle on No. 8 thanks to a stellar second shot that set it up.
Phil rolled in the putt to get back to +7 overall on the tournament.
Tiger at No. 6: BIRDIE
Tiger's tee shot at No. 6 nestled nicely to inside 10 feet. He nailed the putt for his first birdie of the day and just his sixth of the week. He's now +5 overall.
Tiger at No. 5: Par
Woods had struggled with the fifth hole in the first two rounds -- going +3 over the first two days on the hole. But on Saturday he hit a good drive in the fairway, a solid second shot to the green. He missed the 22-foot birdie putt but tapped in for par.
Still at +6 overall.
Tiger at No. 4: Par
Tiger hit a nice tee shot on the par-3 fourth hole, giving himself a 14-foot putt for birdie. The right-to-left breaking putt came up just short for Woods and he tapped in for par. Still +6 overall through four holes in the third round.
Tiger has just five birdies so far in the 2018 Masters.
ESPN reaps benefit of Tiger in the field
It's no secret more people watch golf when Tiger is involved. So this shouldn't be too much of a surprise:
Tiger on No. 3: Another bunker, but a par
Tiger hit his drive on No. 3 into the right rough and had to punch his second shot under some tree branches. It bounded toward the green and finished in the green-side bunker. A spectacular bunker shot left him with three feet for par. He hits it to remain at +6 overall.
Tiger on No. 2: Another bogey
Tiger found two bunkers on No. 2, one off his drive and one on his third shot. He missed a 6-foot par putt and was forced to settle for another bogey.
Woods is now +6 overall, +2 on the day.
Mickelson settles in
After a very tough start, Phil Mickelson tallied pars on the third and fourth holes. He's at +9 overall.
Tiger on No. 1: Bogey
Tiger bombed his drive on No. 1 just like he did on Friday. And just like Friday, he couldn't capitalize. His second shot found a green-side bunker and he couldn't get up and down for par. And so he cards a bogey 5 on No. 1 and now sits at +5 overall.
How will the rain affect the greens?
USA TODAY Sports' Nancy Armour checks in from Augusta:
The rain will soften the greens. Part of what makes the Masters so tough is that the greens are lightning fast but if there's steady rain, they'll soften them up and balls will hold better.
You won't see many balls go diving off the greens so guys can either a) be more aggressive or b) not be penalized as much for a mistake.
We'll see who is able to take advantage of the soft conditions.
Phil's rough start at No. 1
Phil Mickelson started the day with an errant drive into the trees on No. 1. He hit a provisional drive but was able to find his first drive among the trees and in a bad spot. Six shots later he was in the cup for a triple bogey 7 that dropped him to +8 overall.
Mickelson also appeared to be flexing his hand after hitting a shot among the trees.
Saturday's tee times:
TV: 3-7 p.m. CBS. Streaming video available on Masters.com
10 a.m. – Paul Casey
10:10 a.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
10:20 a.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, Phil Mickelson
10:30 a.m. – Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele
10:40 a.m. – Tiger Woods, Ian Poulter
10:50 a.m. – Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau
11 a.m. – a-Doug Ghim, Bernhard Langer
11:10 a.m. – Martin Kaymer, Si Woo Kim
11:20 a.m. – Brian Harman, Daniel Berger
11:30 a.m. – Chez Reavie, Kevin Kisner
11:40 a.m. – Branden Grace, Jason Day
11:50 a.m. – Francesco Molinari, Kyle Stanley
12 p.m. – Ryan Moore, Jhonattan Vegas
12:10 p.m. – Satoshi Kodaira, Fred Couples
12:30 p.m. – Rafael Cabrera Bello, Vijay Singh
12:40 p.m. – Haotong Li, Russell Henley
12:50 p.m. – Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Hadwin
1 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Zach Johnson
1:10 p.m. – Bernd Wiesberger, Jimmy Walker
1:20 p.m. – Matt Kuchar, Jon Rahm
1:30 p.m. – Charley Hoffman, Cameron Smith
1:40 p.m. – Justin Rose, Bubba Watson
1:50 p.m. – Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen
2 p.m. – Justin Thomas, Tony Finau
2:10 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson
2:20 p.m. – Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy
2:30 p.m. – Patrick Reed, Marc Leishman
Read Again Brow https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/masters/2018/04/07/masters-tracker-following-tiger-woods-patrick-reed-and-field-third-round-augusta/495786002/
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Masters live tracker: Tiger Woods fails to make up ground in third round"
Post a Comment