Tiger and Tony in the chasing pack two behind

On another gloriously sunny day at Augusta, Francesco Molinari and Tiger Woods stole the show on Saturday’s ‘moving day’ at the Masters, with the Italian taking the outright lead on 13-under par, two ahead of the chasing pack.  But all that could change today.  With storms forecast for Sunday afternoon, play has been brought forward and players will tee-off in threes from both the first and tenth tees.

 

Up until now, it had been a walk in the park at Augusta National GC this week (11-14 April).  The elite 87 golfers in the 83rd edition of the Masters had not only been enjoying Augusta’s picture-postcard and perfectly-prepared course adorned with fuchsia pink and mauve azaleas, but they had also been playing in sunshine for most of the week with only a hint of a breeze, except for a short precautionary weather delay on Friday.  Indeed, the generally calm weather combined with softer than normal greens due to some heavy rainfall in Atlanta at the beginning of the week had created the ideal scoring conditions.

 

Strong Saturday finish for cool, calm Molinari

 

Open Champion Molinari showed great tenacity on Saturday, striking the ball and holing out superbly all day.  He very nearly aced the par 3, 12th.  His tee-shot flying within inches of the cup.  That tap-in birdie was followed by further birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th.  He then went on to hold his nerve at the final hole where a weak second shot found the bunker short of the green on the left.  After splashing out brilliantly, he stroked in a short putt to save par and so card a splendid round of a 66.  His steely play no doubt sending out a strong psychological message to those in the chase just a few shots behind.  Something like: ‘Hands off, this Green Jacket is for me!’ But the cool, calm 36-year old from Turin is not the only one with an eye on the sacred cloth.

 

Tiger is back with guts and flair!

 

Woods is back.  And Tiger is hungry.  On Saturday, he played with the same guts and flair that have earned him 14 Major titles in his career.  Yes, this week at Augusta he has a certain inner calm that we have long missed in our hero.  Although he has won the Masters four times already in his illustrious career, many thought that with all his trials and tribulations, both on and off the golf course in recent years, that Tiger would never be in contention again in a Major.  They were wrong.  He is right up there in the mix.  Indeed, he was even co-leader for a while.  And his dream has come true – he will be in the final group on Sunday.  And that’s the place to be.  The history books show that the Masters Champion has come from that group in something like 18 out of the last 20 tournaments.

 

 

There was a 5-way lead on 7-under par after 36 holes:  Aussies Adam Scott and Jason Day together with Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Francesco Molinari and Brooks Koepka (USA).  America’s Tony Finau then turned his game around on Saturday to take the lead on the front nine at 9-under.  But he was not the only American in blistering form on day three.  Patrick Cantlay played a sublime round shooting a bogey-free 64.  His 8-under par round is the best so far this week and is one off the course record at Augusta.  Later in the day, Finau also shot a 64 to get himself into a share of second place with Tiger Woods on 11-under par.  Webb Simpson, playing with defending champion, Patrick Reed (1 over after 54 holes) became the third player to shoot 64 on Saturday.

 

Poulter reignites his passion at Augusta

 

An Englishman making a big impression at Augusta this week is Ian Poulter.  Known for his passionate play in the Ryder Cup, he delighted his fans by getting himself into contention on day three.  Poulter was playing with Tiger when he carded a 68.  He now lies in 5th place with Webb Simpson on 9-under par.

 

There is a whole bunch of players one stroke further behind among them Americans Matt Kuchar, who also shot a 68 in the third round, and a seriously on-form Xander Schauffele.  Brooks Koepka had to be content with fourth spot on his own at 10-under after 54 holes after suffering a few near misses on the putting green over the closing holes.

 

So how are things shaping-up for Sunday at the Masters?  Well, Tiger said that he was planning to get up at 3.45 on Sunday morning in order to prepare himself for the final group’s brought forward tee-time!  Molinari and Finau probably have another schedule in mind.

 

An interesting final thought before play begins today.  Francesco Molinari won the 2018 Open Championship by two strokes to stride into the history books as the first Italian player ever to win a Major.  He now lies two ahead of Tiger Woods and Tony Finau as he prepares to tee-off in the final round of the Masters where he is looking to become the first Italian to win a Green Jacket.  The weather forecast is not good for Sunday afternoon, so maybe lightning will strike twice.

 

Enjoy all the excitement and drama at Augusta today!

 

Wendy Hoad

 

 

CHECK OUT all the latest SCORES AND MORE on the Official Masters Site HERE

 

 

Nice to know …

History in the making:  This is the first time in the long history of the Championship that an Italian has ever lead or co-lead in any round of the Masters.

 

 

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH:  Francesco Molinari lines-up his final putt on the 18th green to close with a 66 on day three.  MINIS (l-r): Jason Day, Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau and Tiger Woods.