Thomas Bjorn and Jonas Blixt were in the hunt in the third round of the Masters on Saturday 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 1under 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 their work cut out on Sunday.
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