Justin Rose knows there are a lot of compelling story lines at the Masters.
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The first and only Australian to win the Masters, Scott finds himself three shots back of co-leaders Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia going into Sunday’s final round at Augusta National. It was an emotional win for Garcia, coming on what would have been the 60th birthday of former Spanish legendary golfer – and two-time Masters champion – Seve Ballesteros.
Rose and Garcia are tied for the lead at 6-under-par 210, while Fowler is a shot back at 5 under, and Spieth is in a group with Ryan Moore and Charley Hoffman, who led after the first two rounds, at 4 under. Jordan Spieth got his name high on those famous white leaderboards, the only spot he has ever occupied on the weekend at the Masters. He’s going to be searching for his first major championship. Sergio’s going to have a great opportunity. “Today I began to feel very comfortable on the greens”. The former US Open victor, and Olympic gold medallist recorded birdies on his final two holes, in a back-nine of -5, to book his spot in Sunday’s final group.
Rose had the round of the day with a 5-under-par 67. And if I don’t, then so be it. That’s all you want.
“But I’m going out there with no pressure tomorrow, playing really well tee to green, feeling good on the greens”.
Both players drilled their shots to within 10 feet on the final hole, but Rose missed his, leaving Garcia with a putt for the title.
Even at four under, Spieth has the talent to make up the difference with a strong final day. Right ahead of them will be Fowler and Spieth, who are also good friends.
“This is by far the best I’ve felt in a major”, said Fowler, who did win the 2015 Players Championship.
The world number 52 made a bad error on the par-three 16th hole, pulling a seven-iron into water and making a double-bogey. Spieth’s in the middle of his fourth straight Masters in which he played Sunday in one of the final two groups, and his cumulative score over that stretch is more than a dozen shots lower than anyone else in the field – despite the quadruple-bogey on Thursday this year and his quad meltdown on the 12th on Sunday last year. Phil Mickelson, 46, started the day four shots off the lead but shot 74 and is now eight back.
“I haven’t hit it my best this week, but I know we can pull out our best stuff tomorrow”, said Fowler, whose birdies on Saturday came on the four par-5s. “I still have a bunch of good years in me and feel this is one I can still knock off”. “I have nothing to lose, so probably go a little bit more aggressive and see if it happens”. I already knew I had a chance and we did what we needed to do today. Could that be the case with Garcia’s second shot Saturday at No. 13 than hung on a steep bank rather than bounce into the creek?
“I had José send me, obviously Seve couldn’t do it, but José sent me a lovely message on Wednesday night and you know, he has a good touch when it comes down to those things”. Good shots were rewarded, but if you got sloppy you could get on the wrong side.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to myself”, Garcia said.
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Garcia and Fowler shared the second-round lead with Charley Hoffman and Thomas Pieters of Belgium, but they fell back in the third round.
