You can come on out of the storm cellar, boys. A calm is upon Richmond County.
After three days of hand-to-hand combat with the siroccos, the cold, the greens and the pine straw, the Masters should be a comparative lamb Sunday, when the winds are forecast to finally stop after a three-day howling. Maybe then Jordan Spieth can stopped talking to himself.
The 22-year-old Texan takes a one-shot lead into the final round, but only after a bogey-double bogey finish concluded his scrambling 73, ruining in short order what had been a four-shot edge. He often stepped away from his shot during the day to converse on how the wind conspired against him.
But it wasn’t just the wind. As the day before, he needed 30 putts to get around. Four times he drove well into the pines and on No. 4, his tee ball struck the bleachers but bounced back into play.
How to prepare for Sunday?
“Probably go break something real quick, then go grab some dinner,” he said.
Chasing him is a leaderboard borrowed from Ripley’s. Smylie Kaufman, listed as 24 but appearing to be half of that, is a shot back after a 3-under 69. In a round unforeseen in Calcutta drafts world-wide, 58-year-old Bernhard Langer bogeyed No. 18 and still shot 70 to trail by two, along with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who had a run at the lead before bogeying Nos. 16 and 17 for a 72.
Grouped at even-par 216 were Jason Day (71), Dustin Johnson (72) and Danny Willett (72). After 54 holes, only four players remain under par. Spieth’s 213 is 13 shots higher than his record 200 three-round total in his wire-to-wire victory last year.
The ordeal may have been hardest on Rory McIlroy, who opened the day two shots back, turned the front in 2-over 38 and then was slapped by double-bogey 6 into the pond on No. 11 that knocked him a half-dozen shots back. His 5-over 77 ended a streak of eight consecutive sub-par rounds.
But Sunday’s mild forecast changes how Augusta National can be attacked. While the greens are certain to speed up even more, the field gladly will take that over three days of atmospheric abuse. After more 25-mph gusty conditions Saturday, winds for the final round are forecast for 5-9 mph.
“Tomorrow is going to be a day where you can play this golf course and feel like you can put something together,” Justin Rose said.
Not that Spieth won’t be kicking himself anyway. He carded five birdies Saturday, righting his round after a three-putt double-bogey on No. 11 that trimmed his lead to a shot. A birdie-par-birdie-birdie run over the next four holes had him four up again, until a stumbling finish erased almost all of it.
“With very little wind tomorrow, someone gets on a run and shoots 6, 7 under, I know I have to shoot a significant under-par round in order to win this tournament,” he said.
Langer gave the day its biggest jolt, stringing together birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15 to get within one shot of the lead before his closing bogey. It should be remembered that he helped Jack Nicklaus put on the green jacket in 1986, when Nicklaus became the oldest Masters champion at age 46. Langer, a two-time Masters champion, is four months shy of his 59th birthday.
Can a senior possibly win a major championship?
“Well, it would be one for the old guys,” said Langer, who tied for eighth at the Masters just two years ago. “Tom (Watson) almost had it once (at the 2009 British Open), but I know almost doesn’t count. He was extremely unfortunate not to win that tournament, but that’s just how it ended up.
“I said early on, sooner or later, it’s going to happen.”
The third round got dicey right away. When play began, 17 players went off within four shots of the lead. After Spieth had played four holes, that number dropped to three. In all, only five players broke par and only one, Kaufman, broke 70, the only player to do so in two days.
“You just don’t know what to do,” former champion Adam Scott said. “Because you have to be slightly defensive. Because if you miss being aggressive, then you’ll pay a severe price of double (bogey). But if you miss being defensive, it’s hard to scramble for par.”
Given all the unknowns pursuing Spieth, it may avail McIlroy, who was all over the property and still comes into the final day six shots back. Just a year ago, he fired a Sunday 66.
“I’ve got nothing to lose,” he said. “Today was my bad day and hopefully, I can go out there and make up for the lack of birdies (none of Saturday) and make the double the amount tomorrow.”
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