Willett won by three shots over Spieth (73) and countryman Lee Westwood (69) who finished at two-under.
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He is only human after all.
While his playing partner Rory McIlroy wilted with a birdie-free 77, Spieth had a rollercoaster round that included five birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys.
McIlroy played in his Nike Lunar Control 4 golf shoes, featuring dark blue and teal colorways, available on Nike’s website for 0. Or at least long enough for Horschel to almost reach his ball before a gust of wind started it rolling again toward the water.
World No. 1 Jason Day could so easily have been right in the mix, but Lady Luck wasn’t on his side with birdie putts resting in the jaw at 10 and 11, and three-putting from 10 feet at the 16th. The tight fairway was tough to hit with the winds, leading to just as many pars (24) as bogeys.
From the outside it looked like Spieth was playing poorly, but to the man himself he was doing fine.
However, despite going wire-to-wire for the win a year ago, he now holds just a one stroke lead over Rory McIlroy. “So it’s tough to swallow”.
“So it’s mixed feelings right now”.
Despite not having his best game off the tee, it was on the green that Spieth’s game saved him, even though he accumulated two three-putts. But he missed the birdie putt, and when he hit into a bunker and failed to save par on the 17th, it was over. But this Masters is a far more complicated matter than last year’s runaway.
Yet still he reached the turn with a score one shot better than his starting total – while McIlroy stood on the 10th two shots worse off. His response: a drive into the pine needles, while, up ahead, the two young guns were being briefly hunted by Bernhard Langer, whose age, 58, exceeds the combined total of Spieth and McIlroy by 10.
It marked the 13th time the dynamic duo had been paired together at a PGA Tour event but the first occasion over a weekend.
The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open victor began the round 1-over and five shots behind Spieth.
A lead that had grown as large as four shots dwindled to one. Three holes in, Spieth’s lead had stretched from a single shot to three, via a birdie at the second, and a McIlroy bogey at the third.
“(I have to) understand it’s the position I wanted to be in after 54 holes and not think about the finish to this round.’ It’s going to be very hard. “So I just kept on saying to myself, just keep grinding out, just keep trying to get your birdies when you can, minimize mistakes, and just be patient with yourself”.
Spieth and McIlroy will tee off in the last group Saturday – one going for his second green jacket, the other needing one to complete the ultimate collection of golf prizes.
Golf fans will be watching Spieth closely, but will Smylie Kaufman be a household name at the end of the day?
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“He was really good then, just as good as he is now. I’m a late bloomer”. “Great guy and just fun to be around, really”. He, like the rest of the field, struggled a bit on Friday.
