Golf

5 who can press Spieth at Masters

April 9, 2016

Jordan Spieth carries a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the Masters at Augusta National.

There are 14 players within six shots of Spieth, who hasn’t looked his best over the final nine holes in his last two rounds. The defending Masters champ shot a 2-over 38 on the second nine on Saturday for the second consecutive round.

Here are five players who can challenge him for the green jacket:

Bernhard Langer, 1 under: The 58-year-old is a two-time Masters champ who is making few mistakes this week. He won't be intimated by the crowd's roars or the conditions because he has played close to 200 round on the course.

Jason Day, par: The world's No. 1-ranked player knows how to win a major after finishing 20 under at last year's PGA Championship. He is the seventh this week in driving distance (285.2 yards) and tied for sixth in greens in regulation (37 of 54).

Dustin Johnson, par: He is No. 1 in driving distance (300.1 yards), so even if it's windy he should still have an advantage. He also has the memories of losing last year's U.S. Open to Spieth as motivation. Johnson 3-putted the final hole from 12 feet, handing Spieth the victory.

Lee Westwood, 1 over: He has lived with the dreaded title of "Best player to never win a major" for so long that, despite having still not won one, others players are carrying that burden. The key for him will be hitting fairways. He's tied for 53rd in that category, having hit 25 of 42. It's hard to score if your angles of approach are poor.

Rory McIlroy, 2 over: Spieth's double bogey on 18 brought McIlroy back into play. Paired with Spieth on Saturday, McIlroy shot 3 over on the second nine to post a 5-over 77. Though he has some awful memories of Augusta National's second nine, he also has shown he can throw up red numbers with several rounds in the low 30s on each nine from which to draw.

About the Author

Doug Roberson covers the Atlanta United and Major League Soccer.

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