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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Everything you need to know from the third round of the Masters, where Hideki Matsuyama shot a bogey-free 65 to take a four-shot lead. It was the first bogey-free round this week.
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THE LEADER
On the 10-year anniversary of his Masters debut, Hideki Matsuyama will take a solo lead into the final round at Augusta National. He first came here in 2011 after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, shooting a third-round 68 to take low amateur honors. Like Jordan Spieth last week, Matsuyama is trying to end a winless streak that started in 2017. Matsuyama’s last win came in the World Golf Championship at Firestone, where he shot a final-round 61 to win by five. The following week, he was one shot back entering the final round of the PGA Championship before bogeying two of his final three holes to finish three back of Justin Thomas. On Saturday, Matsuyama played his final eight holes in 6 under to grab the lead.
STORYLINES
TRAFFIC JAM: Matsuyama may have a four-shot lead, but four players are tied at 7 under: Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, Justin Rose and Will Zalatoris. Schauffele, who played with Matsuyama on Saturday, will join him in Sunday’s final group after shooting 68 on Saturday. Schauffele, whose mother is part Japanese, conversed with Matsuyama in Japanese during Saturday’s round. Four of the top five on the leaderboard are looking to end victory droughts that have lasted more than a year, while Zalatoris is seeking his first PGA TOUR win. Leishman last won at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open, while Rose’s last win was at that event in 2019. Schauffele’s most recent win was at the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions.
ACES WILD: Corey Conners used a hole-in-one on the sixth hole to get in contention. His 8-iron tee shot went in the hole en route to a 4-under 68. He is alone at 6 under par, five off the lead. Conners is seeking a second consecutive top-10 at Augusta National. He finished T10 here in November. “I’m notoriously a great sleeper, so I don’t think that will be a problem,” Conners said. “Just stick with the same routine that I’ve been doing the last few day. Just try and get ready to have some fun tomorrow.”
SPIETH STILL IN THE HUNT: Jordan Spieth will start the final round six shots back. He chipped in on the 10th hole to reach 5 under and birdied the 15th but bogeyed the next hole before parring in. He has hit 44 of 54 greens this week, four more than anyone else in the field. Spieth shot 72 despite a double-bogey on the seventh hole Saturday. He also had a triple-bogey in the first round.
THOMAS’ TRIPLE: Justin Thomas had just birdied the 12th hole to reach 4 under par heading into the back nine’s par-5s. It seemed he was set to make a move into contention. Disaster struck instead. Thomas tripled the 13th after hitting his third shot into the creek short of the green. He hit his fifth well past the hole before three-putting. “It was two rounds. I was playing great before the delay, and then I didn’t afterwards. I mean, it’s just a shame. I was really playing well,” he said. “I just chunked it.”
NOTABLES
JON RAHM (72—216): The new father shot a third consecutive 72.
PHIL MICKELSON (69-216): The former Masters champion made the cut on the number, but a 69 on Saturday moved him up to 21st place.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU (75-218): A day after a 67 that put him in red figures, he shot 75 despite making four birdies..
WORTH WATCHNG
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Source: PGA tour
