Masters leaders, top storylines, TV time, Round 4 tee times for Sunday
Moving Day, the time to set the stage for the final round, unfolded on a perfect Saturday at the 88th Masters and ... imperfect golf became the order of the day.
The three who started at the top — Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau — blew hot and cold. The chasing posse caught up; a couple others even took the lead.
By day’s end, order had been restored. The leaderboard that once featured five players tied for the lead found a familiar name — Scheffler — alone at the top at 7-under-par 209.
Collin Morikawa posted one of the best rounds of the day, a 69, to move into second place one stroke back with Homa two shots off the pace.
Ludvig Aberg, playing in his first Masters, lost four shots over holes 10-13, but he birdied the 14th to steady the ship and is three strokes behind. DeChambeau’s improbable birdie on 18 — wayward drive into the trees, punch out, hole out from fairway — brought him within striking distance, four shots back.
Who is leading?
Scottie Scheffler (-7)
Collin Morikawa (-6)
Max Homa (-5)
Ludvig Aberg (-4)
Bryson DeChambeau (-3)
Xander Schauffele (-2)
Cameron Davis (-2)
Nicolai Hojgaard (-2)
Byeong Hun An (-1)
Cameron Smith (-1)
Cameron Young (-1)
Tommy Fleetwood (-1)
When is Masters on TV today?
Fourth round, Sunday, April 14 ... 3-7 p.m. (CBS)
You can stream the tournament daily at Masters.com, starting with the honorary starters at 7:40 a.m. Thursday and continuing through the day and through the weekend. The Masters website includes streaming views of featured groups, Amen Corner and more. The Masters will also be available for streaming on ESPN+ as well as Paramount Plus.
TIGER WOODS HOPES DASHED
The feel-good story out the week would be to see Tiger Woods in contention at the Masters, but the chances disappeared in a four-hole stretch Saturday.
Still at 1-over-par for the tournament after a birdie on the tough fifth hole, he went bogey, double bogey, double bogey, bogey. His 6-over 42 sent his score spiraling to 7-over for the tournament. He would finish the day at 10-over 81, his worst round at Augusta National — and is 11-over for the tournament.
At 48 years old with multiple physical challenges, playing 23 holes on Friday took its toll, he said. But he seemed more concerned about his inability to take advantage of opportunities.
His biggest challenge? “The fact that I was not hitting it very good or putting well,” he said. “I didn’t have a very good warmup session, and I kept it going all day today. Just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it.”
Plus, he said: “I missed a lot of putts. Easy, makeable putts. I missed a lot of them.”
The culprit in his defining stretch on the front nine was a balky driver. He put his tee ball into the trees on the right on No. 7, had to pitch out from the left on No. 8 and went right again on No. 9.
“It’s just that I haven’t competed and played much,” he said. “When I had chances to get it flipped around and when I made that putt at 5, I promptly three-putted 6 and flubbed a chip at 7. Just got it going the wrong way, and when I had an opportunities to flip it, I didn’t.”
Ever the competitor, he promised to be ready for Sunday’s final round.
“My team will get me ready,” Woods said. “The club has been awesome. It will be a long night and a long warmup session, but we’ll be ready.”
Rory McIlroy still searching
His quest to secure golf’s Grand Slam squashed again, Rory McIlroy’s search for answers began on the practice range Saturday morning with extensive work in the chipping area.
Another pedestrian round — 1-under-par 71 — suggests he did not find the correct answers.
After falling to 4-over-par 148 after a second-round 77, he talked hopefully of shooting “a low one (Saturday), get back in red numbers and have half a chance going into Sunday.”
But he made the turn in even par — bogeys on 1 and 6, birdies on the par-5s — and finished with a three-day total of 3-over 219.
“It’s hard to get the ball close to the hole, and then you sort of just have to take your chances from 20, 25 feet,” McIlroy said. “But I definitely hit the ball better today, gave myself a lot of looks. Missed a few, but shooting something under par was a decent effort.”
But whatever is wrong with McIlroy’s ability to score, he cannot blame his driver. He leads the tournament in driving distances, and even his misses go seemingly forever.
Case in point: On No. 9 Saturday, he swung and playing partner Camilo Villegas immediately signaled “left.” McIlroy and his caddie trooped down the hill and into the tree on the dogleg only to be directed to his ball — at the edge of the crosswalk at the bottom of the hill.
His drive, in fact, had missed the trees, rolled up the slope toward the green before coming back a few yards.
He put his second shot on the par-4, 460-yard hole to within perhaps 5 feet — and missed the birdie putt.
“I hit it way further left than I thought I was going to,” he said. “I thought I was going to catch these trees over here. It was so far downwind that I covered there. I certainly didn’t expect the ball to be down there whenever I was looking somewhere in the left pine straw. Just sort of shows the strength of the wind.”
Shows the strength of McIlroy, too.
Alas, after putting his short-iron second shot to within six feet of the flag, he missed the putt.
SO FAR, SO GOOD FOR LUCAS GLOVER
Lucas Glover, the Greenville native who earned All-American honors at Clemson, moved into position Saturday for his best Masters finish in 10 attempts.
He fired an even-par 72 that included four birdies and four bogeys and is tied for 13th at even-par 216 after three rounds. He opened with a one-under 71 and posted a one-over 73 in Friday’s windy conditions.
“I hit some good shots that turned out bad and some bad shots that turned out OK,” said Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion whose best Masters finish is a tie for 20th in 2007. “The shots were kind of what you expect on a gusty day.
“You’d almost rather have it just constant out of the same direction than kind of picking around a little bit. I do feel like I left a couple of shots out there, but even par is not too bad.”
Like always, there are shots players would like to have again.
“The 17th (hole) tee shot,” Glover said. “They had the tees way up for the front pin, and driving could get you too close with the help (of wind), even for me. I don’t hit it that far anymore.
“I had this 3-wood and it got hit by the wind. (The wind) switched into our face and left me way back, a lot further than we expected. That’s the nature of the beast when it’s gusty. I still hit the green; I just didn’t have a putt. I was on the wrong side of the hole. There are places on greens where you can’t get it close from 20 feet.”
Even with that bogey, he will have a late tee time Sunday.
“If you don’t enjoy the challenge, you’re playing the wrong sport,” he said. “The conditions make the day, right? Styles make the fight, as they say. The style here is firm and fast, and when it’s like that, it’s a challenge. ... It’s a major. That’s the way it should be.”
MONEY, PURSE FOR WINNING MASTERS
The player who dons the green jacket Sunday will earn $3.6 million from the total purse of $20 million. That’s an increase from the $3.24 million Jon Rahm received for his triumph in the 2023 Masters.
To illustrate the changing times, Horton Smith earned $1,500 for his win in the inaugural Masters, then called the Augusta National Invitational, in 1934.
That first tournament paid only the top 12 finishers with Mortie Dutra and Al Watrous sharing 11th and pocketing $100 each. The player who places 12th Sunday collects $460,000.
QUICK HITS
▪ “I gave myself plenty of chances; I just didn’t make (putts). I had a few really good chances on 3,4 and 5, 8 and a couple of others. . . . None of them wanted to go in.” Defending champion Jon Rahm, after his even-par 72.
▪ Rickie Fowler called conditions “a lot of enjoyable today” after playing in Friday’s strong winds. “But it’s still a heck of a test.” He shot 1-under 71 and is at 221 for three rounds.
▪ “It was a weird (round),” Xander Schauffele said after his 2-under 70 left him tied for sixth at 214. “I had a couple of shots — on 8 and 9 — I would really want back, but making par of 18 from the middle of nowhere kind of makes up for it. All in all, to go bogey-free was pretty special.”
Final round featured groups
9:35 a.m. Neal Shipley, Tiger Woods
11:45 a.m. Jon Rahm, Tony Finau
12:45 p.m. Rory McIlroy, Joaquin Niemann
2:15 p.m. Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele
Round 4 pairings, tee times Sunday
9:15 AM Adam Hadwin, Vijay Singh
9:25 AM Jake Knapp, Grayson Murray
9:35 AM Neal Shipley (amateur), Tiger Woods
9:45 AM Tom Kim, Denny McCarthy
9:55 AM Kurt Kitayama Thorbjorn Olesen
10:05 AM Erik van Rooyen, Eric Cole
10:15 AM Jose Maria Olazabal, Camilo Villegas
10:25 AM Russell Henley, Jason Day
10:35 AM Keegan Bradley, Min Woo Lee
10:45 AM Si Woo Kim, J.T. Poston
11:05 AM Corey Conners, Brooks Koepka
11:15 AM Phil Mickelson, Shane Lowry
11:25 AM Taylor Moore, Sahith Theegala
11:35 AM Akshay Bhatia, Harris English
11:45 AM Jon Rahm, Tony Finau
11:55 AM Hideki Matsuyama, Luke List
12:05 PM Ryan Fox, Rickie Fowler
12:25 PM Danny Willett, Adam Scott
12:35 PM Will Zalatoris, Tyrrell Hatton
12:45 PM Rory McIlroy, Joaquin Niemann
12:55 PM Matthieu Pavon, Sepp Straka
1:05 PM Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Reed
1:15 PM Adam Schenk, Chris Kirk
1:25 PM Patrick Cantlay, Lucas Glover
1:45 PM Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood
1:55 PM Byeong Hun An, Cameron Smith
2:05 PM Cameron Davis, Nicolai Hojgaard
2:15 PM Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele
2:25 PM Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg
2:35 PM Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa
