Live Blog
Masters 2022 live updates: Scottie Scheffler avoids disaster at 18, takes three-shot lead into Sunday
David Cannon
As expected, it's going to be one chilly Moving Day at Augusta National.
But that doesn't mean the action won't HEAT up soon. See what we did there? It wouldn't be a Saturday at the Masters without a bad dad joke.
While we still have a ways to go until the leaders tee off (and until Tiger Woods tees off at 1 p.m. ET), we'll still have you covered on all the important happenings from Georgia.
(Scroll down for the latest updates)
For now, the likes of Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Marc Leishman are all attempting to make an early move. In less than an hour, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will be off and running, too.
Masters 2022 live updates:
7:28 p.m.: After brilliantly using the rules to his advantage, Scheffler makes what will likely go down as the bogey of his career, should he go on to win, that is. He posts a one-under 71, putting him at nine under. Scheffler leads by three over Cam Smith, who he will play alongside on Sunday. Sungjae Im, who is at four under, will play with Shane Lowry, who is at two under. Should be an action-packed Sunday, which we did not expect when Scheffler was seemingly running away with it. Check back tomorrow for our Round 4 live blog, where we'll have you covered on all the important updates.
7:17 p.m.: Wild scene at the 18th. Scheffler takes his unplayable and is apparently allowed to move the pine straw, and then was allowed to place the ball after two drops. He then hit a beauty into the green, though it bounded over. Still, he has a very good chance to get up and down and save what might be the bogey of his life.
7:09 p.m.: Oh dear. Potential disaster at the 18th for Scheffler, who hit a horrific drive way left that is going to force him to take an unplayable. Stay tuned.
7:03 p.m.: There it is. Birdie for Scheffler at the 17th to get him back to 10 under. Up at the 18th green, Sungjae Im makes a clutch par to get in the house at four under. He'll be in the second-to-last group, a similar spot for Im, who tied for second along with Cam Smith at the 2020 Masters.
6:56 p.m.: Scottie just went full Vince Carter.gif at the 17th, stuffing one to three feet. Once that falls, he'll be back at 10 under. Of course, Smith is still very much in it, but my goodness what a shot.
6:49 p.m.: Out of nowhere, Sungjae Im is BACK. He made a bomb of a putt at the 15th, then parred 16 and just made another birdie at No. 17. He's now at four under, which puts him in solo third as Schwartzel just three-putted from 10 feet at the par-3 16th to fall back to three under. Scheffler made his par to remain at nine under.
6:46 p.m.: Wow. An absolutely stunning three-putt from Scheffler at the par-5 15th. That drops him back to nine under, while Smith posts four-under 68 to get in the clubhouse at six under. We're definitely going to have a tournament tomorrow.
6:32 p.m.: Scheffler just keeps doing exactly what's required of him. Fairway at 15, layup, green in regulation. Long look at birdie, but he doesn't need birdies right now. Pars will do.
6:18 p.m.: Scheffler misses the green at the 14th, then skips a chip about 10 feet past the hole. His par putt does not fall, and he drops his second shot in the last three holes. Luckily, there was a birdie sandwiched in between, so he's still 10 under and four clear of Smith.
6:01 p.m.: Scheffler asks his wedge shot to "go go" and it does, just landing on the front of the 13th green, hopping forward, then spinning back to five feet. Instant bounce-back bird to get back to 11 under, extending his lead to four over Smith. Check that, five-stroke lead. Smith just missed his short par putt at the 16th. Every time this thing gets interesting, it doesn't.
5:54 p.m.: Smith makes his birdie to reach seven under, while Scheffler lays up in the fairway back at the 13th. Game on!
5:50 p.m.: Scheffler finally comes back to the pack, bogeying the 12th hole. He's human! Up at 15, Cam Smith has a short look at birdie to pull within three. Things are happening ...
5:42 p.m.: Oh boy. Scheffler might be human. After finding the front bunker with his tee shot at No. 12, his second skids way past the pin and rolls off the back of the green. He's still away, though Schwartzel is off the back of the green as well.
Up at the 18th, Tiger Woods finishes off a 78, the worst round of his career at the Masters. But hey, he's playing tomorrow, too. That's a victory given where he was a year ago.
5:38 p.m.: Schwartzel, predictably, bogeys the 11th after his wayward approach, while Scheffler two-putts for par to remain at 11 under. Smith just misses birdie at No. 14 and is still five back.
5:30 p.m.: Cam Smith joins Schwartzel at six under with a birdie at the 13th. Again, things are getting "semi" interesting, though Schwartzel is in trouble at No. 11 after missing the green way right. Scheffler, meanwhile, goes fairway-green again, and has a very good look at birdie. He's not giving an inch.
5:15 p.m.: Scheffler did, of course, get up and down for par. But things definitely got slightly more interesting with that Charl hole out. Crazy things have happened on this second nine at Augusta National, so we've heard.
5:11 p.m.: Hold the phone! Charl Schwartzel holes out for eagle at the par-4 10th with a wedge, vaulting into solo second at six under. Do we have a ball game? Possibly, as Scheffler missed the green left, though he has gotten up and down from everywhere so he likely will here, too.
5:05 p.m.: A perfect rope draw off the 10th tee from Scheffler. At this point, all he has to do is not completely implode on the back nine and he should lea by, at minimum, 3-to-4 shots at day's end. No one's getting close and he's not coming back.
5 p.m.: With the wind absolutely gusting, Scheffler leaves his birdie putt well short but still saves par. He'll sign for nine more of those in a heartbeat. Schwartzel saves par as well, which keeps him within seven. Cam Smith pars the 12th to remain six back.
4:54 p.m.: Another fairway and another green for Scheffler at the ninth. It's a clinic.
4:40 p.m.: Scottie continues to keep his foot down and sticks his third shot at the par-5 eighth to five feet for another birdie look. That would be a six-shot lead once again. The World No. 1 is absolutely incredible. He's got the potential to run away with this if he keeps this play up on the back nine ...
There it is—Scottie cards the bird and gets to 11-under. Legend.
4:31 p.m.: Here comes Cam Smith! The Players champion just made a rare birdie at 10 to get to 5-under and tied with Shane Lowry for second. He had such a good first round and he's righting the ship here on Day 3.
4:15 p.m.: OK, Tiger has a little momentum here in on the back nine. That's two straight birdies at 12 and 13 to get it to 3-over (+2 on the day). He just had a nice up and down at 14, too ...
We realize this is a bit of a Tiger show in this space, but this is a historic week. Also, this is the coverage we've being fed ... so don't @ us (@CPowers14, folks).
4:09 p.m.: OK maybe we'll declare this over once again. Scottie is really the king of the bounceback—anytime he's looked like he might be in trouble this week, he's recovered right away. He just birdied the par-3 sixth hole to get it back to double digits. The guy is incredible.
3:50 p.m.: What a moment at the 12th hole...Tiger Woods sticks his tee shot to 14 feet and curls in the downhill left-and-righter for a birdie to get back to 4-over. After his thunderous reception from the patrons walking up to Amen Corner, like he's received all week, that was a memorable moment on a historic week for Tiger.
3:48 p.m.: All it took was one intimation in the paragraph below that this tourney was over for us to jinx Scottie? Maybe this is not, in fact, over—Scottie just missed a five-footer above the hole at the par-3 fourth hole to drop back to 9-under. His tee shot went deep and that ended up costing him.
3:35 p.m.: This might be a wrap, folks. Scottie Scheffler is untouchable at the moment—he just rolled in an eight-footer at the third hole—his second birdie in a row—to get to double digits (10-under) and open up a six-shot lead over Shane Lowry. The World No. 1 looks real, real good.
3:20 p.m.: The lead is back to five strokes for Scottie Scheffler with a birdie at the par-5 second hole. The guy is truly incredible—after being in a bit of trouble at the first, he nearly chipped in. Then at No. 2 he was just short in two and chipped up and made the 4-footer for birdie.
3:04 p.m.: After a birdie putt that didn't have enough on it and a par attempt just to the left, Tiger will bogey No. 9 and hit the turn at 3-over for the day. He's 12 back of Scheffler now who is even through one hole.
2:55 p.m.: Zalatoris will tap in for par on the fifth hole, but Morikawa can't do the same. After a birdie on No. 3, Morikawa will drop a shot on No. 4 and get back to 1-under for the event.
2:50 p.m.: That's about as close as you can get to not sinking a birdie. Tiger Woods will miss out on a chance to lower his score but will par No. 8. As Tiger and Kisner get close to the turn, the leader will tee off. Scottie Scheffler and Charl Schwartzel get their weekend started with the final tee time of the day.
2:43 p.m.: You can't see his face behind the "mask" but Collin Morikawa can find the bottom of the hole. The two-time major winner hit an eight-yard putt from the very edge of the green to birdie No. 3 and do a bit more climbing of the leader board after such a nice day on Friday.
2:40 p.m.: Viktor Hovland will finish his day at 1-under, an impressive showing considering the weather and his score of 76 on Friday. He finished his day with three pars in a row and it was his stretch of three birdies out of four holes (No. 10-13) that really helped his case.
2:30 p.m.: Tiger needed that one. That open wedge even got a mini smile from Woods. He'll escape with another par.
2:24 p.m.: Still at even once hitting the turn, Tony Finau isn't pleased with his day thus far. He's had three bogeys which has him at 2-over for the day. Perhaps this is controversial, but this particular writer likes the eclectic Nike sweater, so he's got that going for him.
2:13 p.m.: "We have an unhappy Tiger Woods right now." After a double bogey, Woods finds the very edge of the bunker, losing out on a good chance for a birdie at No. 6. With the eruption of the crowd on first contact, you would've thought an ace was coming. Sometimes you have to look up when you're typing, I guess.
Will Zalatoris, who's never not finished in the top two at Augusta, will birdie the first hole and get to two-under overall. He and JT are both in the T-6 position right now. Also, Tiger will escape with a par despite the bunker to start the sixth off. A magnificent bunker shot that nearly holes in will keep him stagnant.
2:07 p.m.: Ohh. That's four putts from Tiger Woods on No. 5 and a double bogey. He is less than thrilled about that as he'll drop to 3-over for the week now.
2:05 p.m.: Tommy Fleetwood with a near eagle putt on the par-5 13 and he'll easily sink that ball in for a birdie to get to 2-over for the Masters. He's 1-under for the day though.
1:59 p.m.: Woods and Kisner will have plenty of work to do on the par-4 fifth hole, which has been a monster all week. Both are front and right on the green, quite a bit away from the hole.
And now, joining the day's activities with a 2 p.m. start, Collin Morikawa and Will Zalatoris will tee off from the first. Both have begun the day at 1-under with two rounds in the low-70s for each. Morikawa is coming off of a 70 day and we'll see soon if the momentum has carried into the weekend.
1:49 p.m.: There's Tiger again, with a fantastic chip giving himself a good chance to par the fourth. That would be a BIG save considering his last shot was left of the green and bunker.
Update: He saved par. Woods is T-20, even for the day and 1-over for the tournament.
1:45 p.m.: A par on No. 3 for Tiger Woods and a bogey from Kisner on the same hole will separate the two a bit on the leader board. Kisner will at least follow that up with a strong shot on the fourth to have a chance for birdie. Hovland still leading the scores for the day at 2-under. He's thru 14.
1:35 p.m.: Just wanted to add the following photo into this live blog (from Tiger's opening third-round tee shot) because it's perfect.
Jamie Squire
1:33 p.m.: Now at 2-under for the day, Viktor Hovland has been looking strong since a bogey on No. 9. After the turn, he's had three birdies and a stellar par save on No. 12. An eight-foot birdie on the succeeding hole kept the good times rolling.
1:27 p.m.: Tiger shows off some wizardry, nearly holeing his bunker shot for eagle at the second. He goes on to make the birdie putt to get back the stroke he dropped at No. 1. Like it never even happened.
1:22 p.m.: Tiger fails to take advantage of his 363-yard nuke by coming up short on his approach. His third will be played from the front greenside bunker. Kisner, meanwhile, stripes one that scares the hole and sets him up with a great look at eagle.
1:16 p.m.: Tiger absolutely PUMMELS a draw at No. 2 and should have a great chance to get on in two. Guy can still move it. What a sight.
1:12 p.m.: Tiger finds the first green but his ball comes to rest about a mile from the back hole location. Three-putt bogey to start, dropping him to two over. Not ideal, but a birdie opportunity coming up at the second. Woods' partner, Kevin Kisner, also makes bogey.
1:03 p.m.: Tiger Woods' third round has begun and it's off to an excellent start. The 15-time major winner pounds a fade right down the middle of the first fairway. Lot of golf to play, but that's a positive sign.
12:47 p.m.: Judging by the early scores, there doesn't appear to be any 65s or 66s out there today. Then again, no one (in striking distance) has reached the back nine yet, where players have tended to heat up, historically. Still, it feels like a 71 or a 72 is all Scottie Scheffler might need this afternoon and he still could be leading by multiple shots.
12:22 p.m.: The only true early "charge" is being made by Si Woo Kim, thanks to an eagle at the par-5 second. Si WOO jumps from two over to even par with that. Quite the comeback after opening with a 76 on Thursday.
12:07 p.m.: Tony Finau bounces back with a birdie at the par-5 second, but all anybody can focus on is what he's wearing:
It's ... something. It's definitely something.
11:41 a.m.: No one's going too crazy just yet, but Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge are both one under through two holes, two over for the tournament. They are the two closest to the lead among players on the course. Back at No. 1 green, Tony Finau had a chance to jump up to one over, leaving himself with just seven feet for birdie. Then, he three-putted. Ouch.
Today's hole locations :
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