Jordan Spieth still in the lead but Masters wide open now
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Masters Metronome faltered down the stretch, and the final day of the 2016 tournament suddenly shapes up like a classic.
Jordan Spieth, the defending champion, bogeyed No. 17 and double-bogeyed No. 18 to come back to the field late in the day Saturday. The 22-year-old Texan is 3-under overall, one shot ahead of the field.
“It was a really tough finish to go from holding a four‑shot lead and being in a very similar position to last year to where all of the sudden now it's anyone's game, so it's tough to swallow that,” said Spieth, the only man ever to hold the outright lead for seven consecutive Masters rounds.
And what a field it is Spieth is leading.
A grown man named Smylie, 24-year-old LSU alum Smylie Kaufman, had the best round of the day, a 3-under 69 that put him at 2-under overall and in the final pairing with Spieth today.
Bernhard Langer, the 58-year-old German who won here in 1985 and 1993, is two shots back at 1-under, as is 24-year-old Hideki Matsuyama, who is seeking to become the first Asian to capture a green jacket.
Columbia’s Dustin Johnson is tied with world No. 1 Jason Day and Danny Willett for fifth at even par overall.
With stronger finishes the last two days, Spieth might already have left all of them far in his rearview mirror. He is a combined 5-over par on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 the last two days, a fact that did not escape his notice Saturday night as he sat at the interview podium.
“That's what's tough for me is those three holes, you should be able to hit the three greens in regulation, and if you play them 1‑over, you play them 1‑over, but they are not the hard holes out here,” he said. “If I'm at 5‑, 6‑under, that certainly brings anyone who is over par almost out of the tournament. And now with very little wind tomorrow, someone gets on a run and shoots 6‑, 7‑under, I know I have to shoot a significant under-par round tomorrow in order to win this tournament, when I could have played a different style of golf like I did on Sunday last year.”
Spieth, who finished second in his first Masters appearance two years ago, shot a 73 Saturday to go along with Friday’s 74 and Thursday’s 66. He joked Saturday night that he planned to go break something and later added on a more serious note that he hoped he’d be able to shrug off his poor finish by the time he tees off Sunday.
“I think it will be tough personally. I mean honestly, I think it will be tough to put it behind,” he said. “I think I will, but that wasn't a fun last couple holes to play from the position I was in. I'm not going to dodge the question by any means. It's not going to be fun tonight for a little while, and hopefully I just sleep it off and it's fine tomorrow. I imagine that will be the case.”
Five players broke par Saturday, another windy at Augusta National. Only four managed an under-par round Friday. Rory McIlroy played in the final pairing with Spieth Saturday but shot a 77 to fall to 11th place.
Spieth “is sitting on top of the leader board where he has been for basically the last three years here, so he's going out there tomorrow and it's his to lose,” McIlroy said.. “There's a few guys that have a chance, and I feel like if I can get off to a good start, you never know. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. But I'm just, as I said, I'm feeling a little better standing here five behind than I was on the 17th tee. So I have to take some heart from that and regroup and come back and be positive tomorrow.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Jordan Spieth still in the lead but Masters wide open now."