After starting the day with only a one-shot lead, Spieth pushed his edge to three strokes with a nifty par save at the par-3 fourth hole.
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As for her improved Korean-language skills, Ko – who was born in Korea but raised in New Zealand – said, “My Korean vocabulary has increased significantly because I spend so much time watching Korean dramas and other programs”. But Day did not let it get him down.
Danny Willett could barely contain his excitement whilst waiting in the clubhouse with a promising lead in the Masters.
Langer also bogeyed the first hole and is 3 over for the day, leaving him a daunting six shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.
The 28-year-old Aussie shared second in his 2011 Masters debut and was third two years later, just missing the playoff in which Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters.
Two golfers with impressive pedigrees – Rory McIlroy, a three-time major champion just shy of 27, and Bryson DeChambeau, who won both the U.S. Amateur and NCAA titles previous year – are closing in on first-round leader and defending champion Jordan Spieth. The five that finished in the top 10 combined shot -20 under par on Sunday.
How tough are conditions at Augusta National?
Spieth, who is ranked second the world, then played steady golf as the wind picked up on the back nine, making another birdie at No. 13 and holing a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole.
However, as it got windier on the back nine, he made a triple-bogey 8 on the 13th hole and a double-bogey 6 on the 16th while playing the back nine in 44.
Danny Lee and Shane Lowry, two shots behind, played early Friday. In addition to Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, and Louis Oosthuizen – the only player whose round is finished – are in the red. On the 18th hole Friday, he hooked his drive off an ice machine in the concession stands left of the fairway, took a drop near the eighth tee box and saved par. Els then chipped to the top of the mound on the first green, but the ball rolled backward, and his par putt came from about 50 feet.
The wind has calmed, giving the players a chance to put up better scores than they did the past two days.
Ko was invited to The Masters to collect an award from the Golf Writers Association of America along with Spieth.
Kjeldsen, four strokes off the place overnight, sparked loud roars among the Georgian pines when he drained a 30-foot birdie putt at the par-four third before raising his putter in celebration. So it was left to Nicklaus and Player to hit the shots that traditionally begin the first major championship of the year.
But after defying the testing conditions caused by winds gusting up to 30mph to card a third round of 71, the South African was into a tie for 22nd as the final group of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy got under way. Not known as a long hitter, the American has taken advantage of some stellar play on the par-fives, where he is four under par thus far.
Rickie Fowler, another one of the pre-tournament favorites, started with a double-bogey 6 on the first hole but seemingly righted the ship with birdies on three of the next four holes.
Heading into Thursday’s first round, we had Snedeker listed as our dark horse to win the 2016 Masters.
Leader Jordan Spieth and rookie Smylie Kaufman, who’s one stroke back at 2 under, tee off at 2:45 p.m.
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“I climbed back nicely to get two under on the day and I thought even par was a fantastic score in those winds when we were warming up”, said Spieth, who still became the first player to hold the outright lead for seven straight rounds. Mize is joined by 58-year-old Bernhard Langer and 51-year-old Larry Mize.
