Jordan Spieth reacts after a birdie on the 12th green during the third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, April 9, 2016, in Augusta, Ga.
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Both players were one over par for 13 holes of their second round before play was suspended after a fog delay on Friday, but McIlroy finished birdie-eagle on the resumption to card a 70, while Spieth parred the last five holes to shoot 73. “All of a sudden it’s anyone’s game, so it’s tough to swallow”, he said. He was one round away from becoming only the fourth player to win back-to-back in 80 years at the Masters.
He’s close. With the Masters halfway done, McIlroy has moved into second place.
Sitting two off the pace are evergreen German Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters victor who showed he still knows his way around a tricky Augusta layout, carding a two-under 70, and Hideki Matsuyama, playing in his fifth Masters, who had 72.
Day was tied with Dustin Johnson, who had a 72, and Danny Willett (72), the Englishman who didn’t think he was going to be able to play his first Masters until his wife gave birth to their first child.
Even so, it was hard to get past Spieth’s mistakes – a four-putt double bogey on No. 5, a three-putt bogey on No. 16. He also struggled Friday with bogeys at 16 and 17. “But I think it’s going to be fun, a really fun challenge”. “He’s a wonderful young man, and I enjoyed his company”, Langer said.
Spieth hit only 10 greens in regulation and eight fairways. Then came the string of pars he sounded satisfied with, even though they would have cost him a shot at contending Sunday had Spieth not had his own problems on the last two holes.
McIlroy never got into a groove and had trouble at times with his driver and his putting.
The resulting double-bogey dropped him to two over, and he missed a great chance to get one back after knocking his tee shot to six feet at the 12th, and he managed to par his way in to stay within touching distance of Spieth.
“I’m trying to beat guys on this leaderboard that I’ve beaten before, so I need to take confidence from that and know that I’ve been in this position before”. Just a stock wedge shot up on the back tier and I tried to play this punch up the green which is just an unbelievably defensive play.
“Just one of those days”, McIlroy said. You have Jordan as defending champion, Jason (Day) getting to number one off a couple of wins, Adam (Scott) having a couple of wins – I felt I was just part of the narrative instead of just being the narrative and I like that position.
For more on Spieth’s final round, be sure to read Bill Nichols’ story from Augusta. Nicklaus remains the oldest Masters champ, taking his sixth title at 46 30 years ago.
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The 58-year-old, a dominant force on the Champions Tour, belied his age with a stunning performance, highlighted by three birdies in a row to the 15th.
