Jordan Spieth, however, knows what it feels like to do both.
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The two veterans seeking to become the oldest Masters champions slid down the leaderboard Saturday.
He is tied with Sergio Garcia, his European Ryder Cup teammate who is seeking to end an 0-for-73 drought in major tournaments, at 6-under 210 after three rounds. “And when I was out of it, I was his biggest cheerleader, just being really good friends with Rickie”. A pair of terrible wedge shots led to a nine on the par-5 15th hole, a score that sent him plummeting off the leaderboard.
For Garcia, it was not always straightforward, with the Spaniard unable to convert several birdie opportunities. But it was Garcia who flirted with the lead only to falter. Rose has one major title to his name, that being the 2013 U.S. Open. And when he surveyed the landscape, he’s not sure any of that matters.
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Spieth has 3/1 odds, despite starting the the day two shots behind Garcia and Rose.
While the 54-hole lead is shared by Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia at 6-under par 204, Spieth surged into the storyline with a third-round 68 that left him two shots off the lead and with a chance to win for the second time in three years. Fowler also has never felt better about his game or his chances.
“I went to bed with my heart pumping faster last night because of (Friday’s) round than I probably will tonight, because I already knew I had a chance”, he said.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was 8 over after a 75.
Spieth said, though he has made birdies on 13 by laying up, he had good memories of the favourite shot of his career, a second shot to the green on the 13th on Sunday on the way to his 2015 Masters win, and tried to repeat it on Saturday. A couple of old-timers are still very much in the hunt – 57-year-old Fred Couples is tied for sixth at 1 under after firing six birdies on Friday, while 46-year-old Phil Mickelson is tied for 10th at even par. By then, he already was squarely back in the mix with a few good bounces and his frightening touch on the greens. Spieth could be heard asking his caddie Michael Greller, who suggested a lay up, “What would Arnie do?”.
Garcia made a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole to earn a spot in the final pairing with Rose, at 2:45 p.m. He almost holed a wedge from the fairway on the 15th for another birdie and wound up with a 68. “It’s win or go home”. He had two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, but on the back nine, he had two birdies and seven pars. “Having a chance of winning a major and winning here at Augusta, it’s extra exciting”.
Spieth is tied for fourth with Ryan Moore and Charley Hoffman, who led much of Saturday before he double-bogeyed the 16th. He finished second to Spieth two years ago and has finished in the top 11 here four times.
Only 10 players remained under par, all of them separated by five shots.
Last year, he shot 81 in the third round, his ninth Saturday with a score of 75 or higher. “It just didn’t quite happen”. – Jason Day, who played with Augusta National member Jeff Knox because he was the first player off Saturday morning and is not allowed to play alone.
Four-times major victor Ernie Els playing in his 23rd Masters, took what could have been his final bow at Augusta National, signing off with six-over 78 leaving the South African rock bottom of leaderboard on 20-over.
“I gave a decent account for myself and will come back next year and try again”.
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“I’m glad to get that scoring average down a little”, he said.
