What Happened
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It was a tale of two days on this Masters Saturday as conditions changed drastically after the weather delay. The players in the early wave struggled for birdies, after the delay the greens softened and the winds died leading to better scoring. In the early wave the best rounds were two 69’s (nice) by Phil Mickelson and Francesco Molinari. We saw three players, Hideki Matsuyama (65), and Xander Schauffele and Corey Conners (68), best that score in the afternoon wave.
The new leader heading into the final round is Hideki Matsuyama. He fired an imperious bogey free 65 to surge into a four shot lead. He got especially hot with an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch from 15-17. He’s looking to become the first Japanese man to win a major championship.
Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, Marc Leishman, and Will Zalatoris are tied for second, 4 shots back. Schauffele fired a 68 playing with Hideki to move up to second. He’ll be playing in the final group and will be looking to improve on his T-2 from 2019. Rose is trailing after a round for the first time all week. He really had to grind for his 72 today as his short game kept him in it. He is a two time runner up here, so he’ll be very familiar with the final round pressure. Leishman and Zalatoris both played very solid rounds and could make moves if Hideki slips.
Corey Conners made a hole in one on the 6th hole on his way to a 68. The Canadian is an excellent ball striker and will be hoping for a hot putter on Sunday. Jordan Spieth flattered to deceive in a third round 72 that leaves him six back. He’s going to need something special tomorrow and we know he’s capable of that. Justin Thomas was the surprise of the day as he completely collapsed over his last ten holes and shot a 75 to fall out of contention.
Who’s Gonna Win
With a four shot lead I see no reason to doubt Hideki. If he can shoot anything under par tomorrow he’s going to be really tough to catch. The most obvious candidate to catch him is Schauffele. He’s got all the game in the world and is a proven major championship contender. Ultimately I see him as the only player who can catch an on form Hideki.
If Hideki struggles, that opens it up to a whole host of players, including Jordan Spieth. Conditions should be perfect tomorrow so I do expect we will see scoring more in line with the second round, especially if they use the expected pin placements.
All of that being said I still expect Hideki to win, although I do believe it will be much closer than his current four shot edge. As an weeb I will be rooting for him.