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Five things we learned on Day 3 of the 2017 Masters
We’ve all had a refresher course on how The Masters doesn’t truly begin until the back nine on Sunday. That doesn’t mean that Saturday falls from importance. To the contrary, more than a handful of golfers seized the opportunity to separate a bit from the field and insert themselves into the Sunday conversation.
Curious? Let’s see what we learned on Day 3 of the 81st Masters.
Odds are that a fresh Masters champion will emerge
Just barely, though. Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Charl Schwartzel each played their way into contention on Day 3. Winners of three of the past six playings, each of that trio went into the 60s to move within three strokes of the lead. On the other hand, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia occupy the top three spots on the leaderboard. Rose has the most success in events of this stature, with a U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal on his resume. Also in the hunt are Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore. Moore was quite decorated as an amateur but little more than a journeyman pro until his 2016 Ryder Cup heroics. Hoffman had the opportunity to play alongside eventual champion Jordan Spieth in 2015, doubtless gleaning wisdom from the opportunity.
Watch @JordanSpieth make a 44-foot putt for birdie on No. 6 to get to 1-under par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Yh8e68xwne
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 8, 2017
When you don’t know what you don’t know
Your name is Rory McIlroy, or Thomas Pieters, or Jon Rahm. The last two can be forgiven their missteps. They are novice Masters contestants and their urgent rises and falls can be attributed to a scant understanding and appreciation of the vagaries and nuances of the greens, the winds, the patron reactions and other elements of this singular event. Pieters twice reached 4-under par this week, and twice dropped 3-4 strokes on the inward half. Rahm inched to 2-under on multiple occasions, but was never able to sustain that number, much less go deeper. We will find out next year what they’ve learned from Masters 1.0.
McIlroy is a much more perplexing study. With the departure of Dustin Johnson on Thursday, the Ulsterman became the favorite to win in the eyes of many. Rory reached red figures at the third hole on Saturday, but gave two back with a double bogey at the 7th. He fought back to even par, but unless a Sunday 63 sits quietly in his bag, 2017 will pass without a career grand slam for the media-heir apparent to Tiger’s crown.
Masters 2017: Rory McIlroy | 2nd Hole, Round 3 pic.twitter.com/zLOLQyOWHX
— Masters Highlights (@MastersMoments) April 8, 2017
Does Westwood have a career round in him?
No one wants to be the next coming of Monty, a Brit with superior skills but an inability to close out a major title. Westwood has been close in many, and he has also been quite distant (as he was last fall at the Ryder Cup, when his putting was symptomatic of St. Vitus’ dance.) On this third day, Westwood signed for 68 and moved to red figures, five shots behind the lead. It’s almost too much to hope that the European stalwart might summon his best and emerge from a crowded and talented field. It will take a round deep into the 60s to offer any chance at immortality. It has happened before, for lesser golfers, so perhaps it’s finally Lee’s time.
Masters 2017: Lee Westwood | 6th Hole, Round 3 pic.twitter.com/sIYP56CxXh
— Masters Highlights (@MastersMoments) April 8, 2017
There’s much to be said for mellow
Fred Couples has been the master of mellow for his entire career. While it only earned him one major title, he certainly won his share of tour events. For yet another year, the Washington state native played himself into contention. He went for the gusto at “The Locker” (holes Nos. 15 and 16, if you haven’t heard) but the pairing of double bogey with bogey dropped him from 2-under to 1-over and out of contention.
A fellow mellow aspirant is first-time participant William McGirt, who earned his invitation with a win at the 2016 Memorial. He promised to enjoy the walks around the course and to soak up as much of the Masters experience as possible. As late as the 16th hole on Saturday, McGirt stood 2-under, but closing bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18 dropped him back. Still, he’ll have one more walk around the nursery on Sunday, and you can bet he’ll be relaxed.
Watch Fred Couples save par from 35 feet on No. 14 to remain at 2-under par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/w4iRanFrzj
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 8, 2017
Sunday pairings and some closing thoughts
Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia will go off last, preceded immediately by Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth, with Ryan Moore and Charley Hoffman in the antepenultimate duo. Those matches could not set up any better for the six. Rose and Garcia have been European Ryder Cup teammates for over a decade. Fowler and Spieth represent much of the present and future of American golf, and Moore and Hoffman are two guys who should have no real shot at being here, but here is exactly where they are.
So here’s the prediction: one of those pairings will feature a shootout for the ages. It will resemble the Stenson-Mickelson duel of Open Championship 2016… and may even surpass it. Rarely are so many golfers so well matched. Masters Sunday should surpass even these highlights!
Watch highlights from @JDayGolf, @JustinThomas34, @JamesHahnPGA, @MattFitz94, @ahadwingolf, @GrilloEmiliano and @DanielBerger59. #themasters pic.twitter.com/1eEaJBlsV1
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 8, 2017
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Morning 9: Scheffler repeats at Players | Monday PIF meeting | McIlroy takes another shot at Norman
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Tour Rundown: Matching luggage for Scheffler
For those of us from another generation, the disruption of the golf world that we knew well is both exciting and unsettling. The two most potent disruptors are rival golf leagues, not unlike the turmoil seen in the NCAA, and the Anchorman-style gangs of golf reporters. Reconciled to a past era are the dominance of the U.S. PGA Tour and the monthly golf magazines. One element that will not change, at any time in the foreseeable future, however, is the sanctity of the grand slam and golf’s four male major championships. While the LPGA and the PGA Tour Champions have seen a light and added fifth and sixth power titles, the men’s game remains staunchly in the 20th century.
This last topic surges in pertinence each March, just before the playing of The Players Championship. Two camps stake tents and run banners up the poll. One cries out for elevation of the PC to major status, while the other digs a trench around its impregnable quadrilateral. My personal take is this: Every four years since 2016, golf is played at the Olympics. Is Olympic Gold the equivalent of a major title? Yes, it is. It comes around every 1,500 days and brings elite golfers together in competition at the most important athletic event and venue. In my mind, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele earned major titles in Brazil and Japan, as did Inbee Park and Nelly Korda. As for the Players Championship, why not? The field is stronger by ranking than any major event, and the golf course demands every shot that golfers can create.
The Players Championship is so important to the U.S. PGA Tour that all other tours under its umbrella take the week off. No Korn Ferry, no Tour Champions. The LPGA and the DP World Tour follow suit, which shrinks the amount of watchable golf to two events. On that sour note, let’s run down this week’s play, beginning with the Players Championship and ending with the Asian Tour in Macau.
PGA Tour @ Players Championship: matching luggage for Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler is making a bid to be the player of his generation. From the previous one, a fair number have taken leave from traditional competition. The Johnsons, Koepkas, and Reeds from the 1980s no longer play the events that stand the test of time. The born-in-the-90s generation had its first great champion in Jordan Spieth until he took leave of the senses that brought him to golf’s pinnacle. Spieth’s descent ran opposite Scheffler’s rise.
Scottie Scheffler had won nothing on the PGA Tour until February 13th of 2022. He won on that day in Phoenix, then won three more times by the middle of April. One of those wins was the API at Bay Hill. Last week, Scheffler won for a second time at the Orlando course. Last March, Scheffler won his first Players Championship, by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton. On Sunday, Scheffler dived headfirst into a cauldron of fierce competition. Facing challenges from Olympic champion Schauffele, Open champion Brian Harmon, and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Scheffler breathed. As the only man to reach 20 under par, he earned a second consecutive title at Sawgrass and reminded us that it has been two years since he won the Masters and that he is on a tear.
It all began at the fourth on Sunday for Scheffler. After pars at the opening three holes, Scheffler’s driving wedge from 92 yards landed 20 feet shy of the hole, took one large bounce, then spun left, trickling into the hole for eagle. He followed that incantation with another birdie, then two pars. The stretch from 8 to 12 was where the champion made a statement. His quartet of birdies over that run, brought him to 19-under par and let the pursuing pack know that even lower than the winning 17 under in 2023 would be necessary.
And the trio was game. Harman and Clark both dipped below 70, to reach 19 under at the final pole. Schauffele could not find a similar gear and closed with 70 — 69 would have earned him a playoff with Scheffler. It was the extra gear, the ability to go low when all things mattered, that eleveated the now two-time champion to the top of the podium. In five of his eight tour wins, Scheffler has posted a sub-70 round on day four, and four of those have been 67 or lower.
With elegant precision, Scheffler applied the final thrust at the par-5 16th. He played safely away from Pete’s Pond on the right, into the left greenside bunker at the back of the putting surface. His bunker shot was thing of exquisite accuracy, trickling to a planned stop about 20 inches from the hole. The birdie concluded matters and rang the sort of bell that Dye courses tend to display.
The greenside bunker is not a problem for the defending champ.
Scottie Scheffler’s birdie at 16 moves him back into a share of the lead @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/aEi7onLZPE
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2024
Asian Tour @ International Series Macau: Catlin earns playoff victory
There are two sorts of golfers that compete on the Asian Tour, which makes no secret of its alliance with the LIV. The first are the AT stalwarts, the ones who play as golfers have always played, with little guarantee and much pride. The others are the ones who compete on the LIV, eschewing both risk and pride for the guaranteed payday. Their deal costs them world ranking points, so they play in AT events, hoping to qualify for golf’s major events.
This week in Macau, one of those LIV golfers shot 60 on Sunday and did not win the tournament. Hard to believe, you say? Aye, but when another golfer shoots 59 in the third round, follows it up with a 65 on day four, then makes overtime birdie twice at the par-five closer, the razor’s edge of great golf is sharpened. Thus did it happen with American John Catlin and Spaniard David Puig.
It was Catlin who signed for 59, and it took a twisting, eagle putt at the last to enshrine the first-ever, sub-60 on the Asian Tour. It was Puig who closed the gap on Sunday with a 60 of his own, which featured a bogey at the lengthy fifth hole, but was followed by seven birdies and an eagle over the next 13 holes. Catlin had a six-feet putt for the regulation win, but missed. In extra time, Puig nearly holed for eagle at 18, then tapped in for birdie. Catlin’s second danced along the OOB perimeter, before ending on an access road. His drop and pitch left him another six feet to remain alive, and this time, he converted.
At the second go-round of the par-5 finisher, Puig found the green in two, but took three putts from nearly 50 feet. Catlin confronted another challenging pitch for his third, and once again, his wedge game won the day. He tapped in for birdie and the win.
5??9?? ? @JohnCatlin59 eagles the 18th to shoot the first 59 on the Asian Tour ?? #whereitsAT #ThisISEverything #InternationalSeries @intseriesgolf pic.twitter.com/RV9gYy1SIp
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 16, 2024
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ooffa
Apr 9, 2017 at 2:33 pm
They need to change the venue. Tired of watching it at the same course every year.
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 5:46 pm
8 days late. Save it for next year.
Prime21
Apr 9, 2017 at 7:31 am
How is any pairing going to “resemble” Stenson/Mickelson? Considering it was arguably the greatest Sunday ever played by a pairing in major championship history, don’t you feel like your reaching just a tad? Just curious why media members in general always want to compare/contrast instead of just letting it be judged on its own merit? But, I know if it is going to be mentioned in the same breath as Stenson/Mickelson, it’s going to be a birdie fest & nobody will take their eyes off of the tv today. Happy Masters Sunday to all!
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 11:23 am
Prime21,
Excellent question and kudos for following up with solid support. Here’s my rejoinder: we’re at the water cooler and I’m on a bit of a brag. I’m not an investigative reporter, and the world’s security will never depend on the words I write. You fire back at me “Dude, no way. And why you all about making comparisons and contrasts?” And I respond with:
Not all media members do this, just some of us;
If I’m correct, you will hold me in higher regard as a soothsayer (or a lucky SOB, one or the other);
I have a hunch, and it’s a big one, that rarely do you get two pairing, let alone three, where the golfers are supremely comfortable together. I even forgot the UNLV connection with Moore-Hoffman.
And that’s the way it is. I’m Walter Cronkite.
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 6:26 am
Other than that, Mr. Montgomerie, how did you like the play?
St.
Apr 9, 2017 at 3:44 am
The course set up doesn’t have enough rough, and the bunkers are too perfect and all are getting out far too easily with pretty shots. Trees and pine straw, yes, but not enough rough to catch everybody off guard and cut their distances. Too easy to hit out of the pine straw and too easy to hit out of the rough and sand. There was no need to really ruin the course by changing some of the holes’ shapes by adding odd trees and jut-out pine straw areas – why don’t they just grow the rough 2 more inches in all areas and force the players to hack it out? That’ll put so much more premium on driving accuracy, they will all think twice about bombing and gouging it, hoping the ball would run out into the pine straw (and on so many occasions, the rough doesn’t catch it because it’s non-existant). Instead of just lengthening some holes, they could just as easily have tightened the holes by bringing the rough in. It’s such a strange tournament now, seeing some of them hit driver & 5/6 iron on holes like 15.
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 6:21 am
And make it like every other wretched, punitive, monotonous, hack-out course that used to host a US Open? Put more premium on driving accuracy, like Winged Foot in 1974 and 2006? Yay. You need a trip to the great links courses stat. Augusta has more in common with them than American rough houses, despite the waterworks of RTJ Senior.
BB
Apr 9, 2017 at 6:29 am
There are only 10 guys under par. Doesn’t sound like the course is a pushover.
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 7:58 am
BB,
You nailed it. Not a pushover, very walkable for the patrons, given the hills. The Masters is equal parts tournament, patron event, viewer event. Big-picture thinking is required here. I used to love years when eagles landed on all the par fives, but I’m quite happy with this year’s event, too.
S Hitter
Apr 9, 2017 at 10:20 am
Errrr, i think the weather from the first two days has something to do with the scores? And it’s a big putting contest, and the greens are playing especially tricky as well, with the weather affecting the ball, as we saw on the first two days where some of the balls were seen to be oscillating and in danger of rolling away.
But, to be fair, seeing the ball bounce from the fairway through the “rough” into the pine straw on more than enough occasions makes you wonder why they even have any short rough at all
ND Hickman
Apr 9, 2017 at 3:33 am
Monty. British – yes. English – no.
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 6:22 am
Unbelievable. How did I make that mistake? As if I could forget the repeated references to his upbringing along the hardscrabble alleys of Royal Troon! Thanks for the catch. We will amend it.
S Hitter
Apr 9, 2017 at 10:16 am
You represent ugly Yanks very well though
AussieAussieAussie
Apr 9, 2017 at 2:51 am
Month as English and Patrick Reed is Canadian!!! Jeez guys!
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 6:23 am
See above. This one is on me. I lost my head once again.
Daniel
Apr 9, 2017 at 1:44 am
If you ever meet monty, please tell him he is an “englishman” and watch his reaction ????. Those scotts don’t take too kindly to this kind of “insult”
Ronald Montesano
Apr 9, 2017 at 6:24 am
I feel like I’ve read this somewhere else. I don’t think that commenters read other comments before commenting. For the thriceth time, I shall ameliorate this antebellum despication.