Putter failure for both Spieth, Johnson

Dustin Johnson lines up his putt on seven during the third round of the Masters Tournament Saturday, April 7, 2018, at Augusta National Golf Club. PHOTO / JASON GETZ

Credit: Jason Getz

Credit: Jason Getz

Dustin Johnson lines up his putt on seven during the third round of the Masters Tournament Saturday, April 7, 2018, at Augusta National Golf Club. PHOTO / JASON GETZ

You won't find them on the leaderboard, and both Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth were still trying to figure out why Saturday evening.

Both sounded satisfied for how they played the third round of the 82nd Masters, except for coaxing the ball into the hole. Both shot 1-under 71s but were lost in the birdie barrage by the leaders. Johnson enters Sunday 10 shots back and Spieth trails by nine.

"I thought I hit it beautifully today," said Johnson, who opened Saturday in sixth place six shots back. "Just hit a lot of good putts, just nothing went in the hole. I mean, every hole, it seemed like I had a really good look at it but couldn't get anything to go."

He recorded a three-birdie round but was undone by a double-bogey 7 on No. 11, where he drove into the deep brush to the left and had trouble recovering.

"That was really kind of my only bad hole all day," he said. "I had good looks on every hole, it felt like. Just, I don't know, burned the edges all day long."

Spieth prides himself for the tactical side of his game, which should have come into play in such soggy conditions. But he played the first 12 holes at 1-over par before birdies on the last two par-5s left him in the red for the day.

"I did a lot of things really well today," the 2015 Masters said. "There was just a lid on the hole. I might have had five-plus lip-outs and I didn't adjust to the speed dropping down a couple feet on the Stimpmeter. But all in all, I felt like I played a 4- or 5-under round, something to stay in the tournament."