The Loop
Track all the action from Day 3 at the 2015 Masters
Justin Rose secures spot in final pairing with Jordan Spieth, who's stumbling to the finish__
__7-under through his last 12 holes? Wow. J-Rose found himself nine back at one point on Saturday. But iconic moments -- a holed bunker shot at 16 and a birdie at 18 -- gives the 2013 U.S. Open champion a real chance of taking down Spieth in the final pairing tomorrow.
Here's video of his bunker shot at 16.
Watch @JustinRose99 hole his bunker shot on No. 16 for his fourth straight birdie. #movingday #themasters https://t.co/BEhTpEcx50
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 11, 2015 __
Phil doing his best to grab second place before Saturday finishes
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Here comes Phil. pic.twitter.com/MvchhB7JbG
— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) April 11, 2015
What an unbelievable putt from Phil on 16. He was 41 feet away and it rolled perfectly in the hole. And Verne Lundquist's call "Oh my gosh" put the proper exclamation point on Phil claiming second place.
Phil's played remarkably all day. Started off 3-under through 4 and hasn't let up. Who wouldn't love Phil -- at age 43 -- playing in the final group with Spieth, the 21-year-old?__
The wonder-kid keeps dazzling
__There have been fireworks all Saturday at Augusta National. Tiger. Rory. Phil. They've all made their runs. But all that being said, Jordan Spieth has extended his lead to six strokes now.
Spieth just birdied the 13th hole to get to 17-under. That was his 20th birdie of the week. He's one ahead of the 54-hole scoring record pace at the Masters.
Electric golf from this youngster playing well beyond his years.
The only thing Jordan Spieth is leaking at the moment is gold.
— Dan Jenkins (@danjenkinsgd) April 11, 2015
Key for Jordan Spieth now: don't take a call from Greg Norman.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) April 11, 2015
The scary thing is that it doesn't even seem like Spieth is playing all that well.
— Luke Kerr-Dineen (@LukeKerrDineen) April 11, 2015 __
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20 birdies in 50 holes. For a 21-year-old at Augusta National. We are watching something we'll be talking about for years. #Masters2015
— Stephen Hennessey (@S_HennesseyGD) April 11, 2015 __
Six birdies, two bogeys: Tiger Woods in with a 68
Tiger's performances just keep getting better this week.
This was a day that said a ton about Tiger's game. If anyone said he might not ever get back in the winner's circle, well, you couldn't make that argument on the front nine. Tiger looked sensational in his four-birdie 32.
But two blemishes coming in on Nos. 14 ("A stupidly bad bogey," he told Bill McAtee after) and 18 gave Tiger a 68, matching Rory McIlroy's score.
Amazing stat: This was the first time Tiger carded two straight rounds in the 60s since 2005. Wow.
Tiger looked happy as he walked off the 18th green, slapping a couple fans' hands on his way into sign his scorecard.
"This is one of the hardest holes to come back on. Every shot is on an uneven lie. It's hard to replicate that, especially in Florida.
"I'm gonna have to post something low tomorrow. ... At least give myself a chance going into the back nine. It's in Jordan's hands right now."
"You never know, that's the thing about this golf course."__
Tiger with the most insane 13th hole imaginable
__First, Tiger hits his worst tee shot all week. On the worst hole to hit it on. A duck hook of all duck hooks. Look at this Shot Tracker!
Don't look if you're allergic to duck hooks. http://t.co/maHTu3G98C pic.twitter.com/5SZKLwnApl
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 11, 2015
Then Tiger somehow managed to get his third shot onto the green to 10 feet. Miraculous.
Standard green in regulation. #masters2015 pic.twitter.com/7TTM2DEmQh
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 11, 2015
And he somehow made the putt! One of the craziest birdies ever made at Augusta for Tiger, for sure. His fist-pump after the putt dropped felt like vintage Tiger.
.@TigerWoods reacts after making his 15-foot birdie putt on No. 15, to move into a tie for fifth. #themasters pic.twitter.com/D2rS1HdZ2l
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 11, 2015
Fist pump city. https://t.co/EPPEZILy9k
— BarstoolTrent (@BarstoolTrent) April 11, 2015
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Cringe-worthy: Webb Simpson shanking shots again
__You might remember the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah where Webb Simpson shanked a shot on Sunday against Ian Poulter in his singles match. That wasn't good.
This wasn't good either.
Ian Poulter doesn't know what he shot
17 out of 18 greens isn't too shabby, though.
The only place @IanJamesPoulter shot "an relatively simple 65" was in his mind. pic.twitter.com/7elwykGFIE
— Luke Kerr-Dineen (@LukeKerrDineen) April 11, 2015 At least he had a sense of humor about it.
It felt like 65..... Hahaha I meant 67.... I can't count as well as spell, great combo that.
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) April 11, 2015 What's going to happen on Moving Day?
If you enjoy Moving Day predictions and laughing at them in retrospect, check out this video courtesy of our own Mark Crossfield:
Rory! He's at T-5 and a definite factor, along with Nike counterpart Tiger, in this tournament.__
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McIlroy turns in 32 to be -6, 8 behind Spieth. This is going to be interesting afternoon. I'm fascinated to see what Spieth will show us.
— Ron Sirak (@ronsirak) April 11, 2015
About now, with McIlroy and Woods on birdie rolls, Spieth just wants to get out there and make one.#HurryTime
— Dave Kindred (@DaveKindred) April 11, 2015 __
__Tiger makes three straight birdies
TIGER WOODS SIGNTING! WE REPEAT: TIGER WOODS SIGHTING! After an opening par he birdied the second, third and fourth holea to jump inside the top ten and get to five under for the tournament. Turns out, all Tiger needed to rectify his game was a pairing with Sergio.
Tiger starts par-birdie-birdie-birdie. Apparently all of his struggles the past two years could've been rectified by a pairing with Sergio.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) April 11, 2015
Tiger's birdie putt distances so far today. 20', 6', 2', 10in. What's next, a hole out?
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) April 11, 2015
can't wait for this season of True Detective pic.twitter.com/Rx9pEuf85d
— Eric Kay (@ekaycbs) April 11, 2015
Watch @TigerWoods hit his tee shot on No. 4 to 10 inches for his third birdie of the day. #movingday #themasters https://t.co/9V80naiKpd
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 11, 2015 Rickie is in an early groove
All signs early on Saturday suggest that posting a good score is a distinct possibility. Rickie Fowler's involvement on the top end of the leader board has been minimal so far, but he's surging into relevance after playing his opening 11 holes five under.
__Spieth's Masters dream
Jordan Spieth has dreamt of winning the Masters since he was 14 years old, which was way back in 2008 (!!!). Listen to the television interview he gave at the time where he talks about his ultimate goal:
__Stay on your sofa
It's Saturday at the Masters! And if you're feeling jealous about not being at Augusta National, don't, because there are a few articles floating around describing how 'challenging' the on-ground viewing experience is. The first is from the Wall Street Journal:
If you, for whatever reason, couldn't snag a badge for this year's Masters, don't eat your heart out. Golfwise, you're better off. I say that as someone who has covered the Masters in person for years but is sitting this one out at home. In terms of following the golf, I never had it so good.
And the second is from Jimmy Walker's wife, Erin, who's spending the week writing for GolfDigest.com:
It was really, really difficult to see anything in the first two rounds. I probably saw every third shot. It's great for him to be playing with Tiger, but for spectators, it's a little rough...It'll be nice to have him play with someone more normal, less prestigious over the weekend.