Scottie Scheffler spent all day keeping off the chilly wind on the Masters, slipping on a vest over his layers of clothes after each shot on each gap. One extra spherical and his subsequent wardrobe change is likely to be a inexperienced jacket.
Scheffler seemed oblivious to the tough circumstances Saturday, at one level stretching his result in six pictures. He held on throughout a wild and windy trip alongside the again 9 at Augusta National, escaping with bogey from the timber on the 18th for a 1-under 71 and a three-shot lead over Cameron Smith.
“I was playing some good golf, and outside of a couple holes on the back nine, I could have had a really great round,” Scheffler stated.
“Anything in the red numbers today was going to be solid, and I was fortunate to do so.” Smith had the low spherical at 68, the one participant to interrupt 70, and gave himself one other shot at successful the Masters in his first begin since his victory in The Players Championship. He was a runner-up to Dustin Johnson two years in the past.
Sungjae Im (71), additionally a runner-up in 2020, was the one different participant inside 5 pictures.
Tiger Woods needed to discover a approach to get into pink numbers and wound up along with his worst rating ever on the Masters, a 78 that might be remembered for his first four-putt at Augusta National. He additionally had 4 three-putts and was 16 pictures behind.
“You’d think I’d have figured it out somewhere along the line, but it just didn’t happen,” he stated.
On such a chilly day — the wind chill was within the higher 40s many of the day — maybe this was a warmup for what Scheffler can anticipate on Sunday at Augusta National, sometimes the best theater of the majors, particularly for these in search of their first main .
The final participant who failed to carry a lead of three pictures or extra going into the ultimate spherical was 21-year-old Rory McIlroy in 2011.
Scheffler seemed as thought he would possibly flip this right into a runaway when he made his fourth birdie of the spherical on the par-5 eighth and expanded his result in six pictures.
But then a shot from the entrance bunker on the par-3 twelfth went over the inexperienced. He bounced again with a birdie solely to come back up effectively in need of the monstrous mound guarding the again proper pin on the 14th for bogey, and three-putting the par-5 fifteenth for an additional bogey.
Even after his finest shot of the spherical, an method to 4 toes for birdie on the seventeenth, he bumped into huge issues on the 18th. He yanked his tee shot into a cover of timber and twisted branches, leaving him no selection however to take a penalty drop on the pine straw.
Bold as ever, he smashed his method from 240 yards onto the inexperienced and simply over the again, leaving him two putts to maintain his distance.
“You hate bogeying the last hole, but the way I bogeyed it, it for sure felt like a par,” Scheffler stated.
“Definitely a good finish to the day. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” Scheffler was at 9-under 207.
Sunday would be the first time since a ultimate pairing at a serious featured gamers from the highest 10 on this planet for the reason that 2015 PGA Championship with Jason Day and Jordan Spieth.
Scheffler and Smith is likely to be the 2 hottest gamers in golf, too.
Scheffler has received three of his final 5 tournaments, all towards among the strongest fields of the 12 months, a run that has elevated the 25-year-old from Dallas to No. 1 on this planet.
Smith started the 12 months by taking down the previous No. 1 participant, Jon Rahm, with a file rating to par at Kapalua. His newest feat was to win the following neatest thing to a serious, The Players Championship, final month.
“It just means I can get it done, I guess, when I’m up against the best guys in the world. It’s a good feeling to have. It’s earned. It’s not given to you,” Smith stated.
“So I’m going to must go on the market tomorrow and play actually good golf once more, most likely much like as we speak. Hopefully, all the pieces simply falls into place.”
Woods completed as Scheffler was nonetheless comfortably forward, and the five-time Masters champion feels as if he has seen this earlier than. Players hit peak type on a regular basis, and it is particularly candy when that run is within the spring with the Masters on the calendar.
Woods received back-to-back forward of his Masters victory in 2001. Jordan Spieth received and had a pair of runner-up finishes when he received his inexperienced jacket in 2015. Fred Couples received twice and was runner-up twice forward of his 1992 victory at Augusta.
“We all want we had that two, three-month window once we get scorching, and hopefully majors fall someplace alongside in that window. We care for it in these home windows,” Woods stated.
“Scottie seems to be in that window right now.” Charl Schwartzel, who received the Masters in 2011, was attempting to maintain stride with Smith till he three-putted from about 8 toes for bogey on the sixteenth and dropped one other shot on the seventeenth, slipping to a 73. He was at 2-under 214 together with Shane Lowry (73).
Justin Thomas (72) and Corey Conners (73) had been the one different gamers below par.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
