Course setup appeals to Furyk
It was a Masters third round only Jim Furyk could love.
The proverbial grinder was in his element Saturday. It was windy. The course was hard and fast. Millionaire golfers were whining all around about their inability to control their golf ball.
And even the meticulous Furyk had a few get away from him here and there. He tugged a 6-iron left of the green on 18 and had his pitch run 10 feet past and missed the putt. But from 2 through 14 he posted three birdies and 10 pars and, at the end of the day, there Furyk sat, three strokes out of the lead with a course forecast of more of the same.
“I like it firm and fast,” Furyk confirmed. “I’m not very long, so when it rains a lot on this golf course, and it gets overly long, I don’t like going into these greens with 4‑irons. I want to get 6‑, 7‑, 8‑iron, 9‑iron in my hand. That’s what the firm and fast conditions will allow me to do.”
The book on Furyk has always been that he can’t win at Augusta National. It’s says the course is too long and open and brings too many big bombers into play.
But Furyk hasn’t exactly rolled over on the rolling hills. Of his 17 Masters tournaments coming in, he has finished in the top 25 17 times. He’s finished fourth twice (1998, 2003) and was 11th here two years ago.
“I’ve probably teed off in this event on Sunday five or six times thinking if I shot a good number I would have a chance to win,” Furyk said. “Some of those days went well, some of them didn’t. So you learn from the bad experiences, the bad rounds, a little bit more than you do the good ones. I’m hoping really to just stay patient and not try to get ahead of myself.”
Late slips for Bjorn, Blixt
Thomas Bjorn and Jonas Blixt were in the hunt in the third round until they played the 13th hole.
Blixt, playing in his first Masters, was able to recover and get back to 4 under and into a tie for third. Bjorn, playing in his 11th, couldn’t, signing for a 2 under.
Bjorn was 5 under, a shot behind then-leader Bubba Watson, and Blixt was 4 under as they stood in the fairway on the 510-yard par-5 hole. A good second shot and an eagle — and precious momentum — was a possibility.
It didn’t happen.
Both of their second shots landed in the tributary of Rae’s Creek that fronts the green.
Bjorn, who was 2 under in the round, with two birdies and no bogeys, walked off with a bogey after a poor par putt to drop to 4 under.
Blixt, who was 1 under in the round, with two birdies and a bogey, walked off with a bogey to drop to 3 under.
Bjorn misplayed his second shot on the next par 5, the 530-yard 15th, and was once again in the water. He walked off with a bogey to drop to 3 under. He followed that by bogeying 17 to drop to 2 under.
Blixt birdied 15 and 16 to move to 5 under. He bogeyed 17 to fall back to 4 under.
No player from Denmark or Sweden has ever won the Masters. Bjorn, a Dane, and Blixt, a Swede, will have to play their Sunday best to win.
Endurance test awaits Couples
Apparently Fred Couples has worked on his endurance.
The 54-year-old Masters veteran has become well-known for his age-defying fast starts at Augusta National since joining the over-50 set. But his finishes have tended to let him down.
In his past four Masters appearances, Couples scoring averages for the first two rounds were 69.25 and 70.25, respectively. But that average ballooned to 73.00 when it came to his Saturday rounds, knocking him down the leaderboard.
Couples bucked that trend this year, however. The 1992 Masters champion struggled briefly in the middle of his third round, but rallied with three birdies on the back for a 73 to tie for 10th heading into Sunday’s final round.
“My average went down,” Couples said afterward. “I’m not smart enough to know what (it went down to), but it wasn’t bad. I actually played OK.”
He played well enough to put himself in contention for the green jacket for the fifth consecutive year. He finished sixth in 2010, followed by 15th, 12th, and 13th the past three years.
A win Sunday, and he would unseat Jack Nicklaus as oldest Masters champion ever.
“I’m playing pretty good golf, and I have a shot tomorrow of shooting some silly round to maybe win,” Couples said. “It’s going to take a 65 or 66, but you never know.”
Fowler get comfortable in Augusta
The swing changes that Rickie Fowler made in December are starting to pay off.
Fowler, known for the bright colors he wears and the flat bill of his cap, shot a 5-under 67 in the third round of the Masters on Saturday. He is 3 under for the tournament and in position to win his first major.
Fowler began working with Butch Harmon to improve his takeaway.
“Our main goal is to be here right now ready to contend and have a chance to win the Masters,” he said. “So … so far, so good.”
Fowler has never finished higher than 27th in three appearances at the Masters. But he said he is ready. In addition to the experience he has gained playing Augusta National, he has sought advice from past champ Phil Mickelson. The two played a practice round Tuesday that led to Mickelson raving about how Fowler was playing. He is also good friends with Bubba Watson, the 2012 champ.
“I really comfortable on this golf course now,” he said. “After the first three tournaments and practice rounds here, I feel like I’m able to go around this course with a little bit more feel instead of trying to calculate my way around at times with slopes and how much it plays up or down. Definitely getting more into the feel, which is how I like to play the game.”
