Sunday at Augusta

Posted on by

The 2021 Masters have brought upon unexpected and unprojectable twists and turns over the first three days of play. Heading into Saturday’s action, the leaderboard had been rock-solid with Englishman Justin Rose sitting at the top, but after another absolutely wild moving day at Augusta National, we are in for an uber-intriguing final day of the tournament.

We saw the things that make this event and golf course so amazing and unpredictable, from hole-in-ones to wipeouts on the mushy footing, the golf has been a spectacle in itself so far.

After the cuts were made before Saturday’s round, notable names such as defending champ Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Rory Mcilroy all had their bid for a green jacket come to an abrupt end.

This increased the chances of seeing someone unheralded take the win this year. With the likes of Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith still in the hunt, it was someone’s for the taking on day three. With these big-name players and many others jousting for a position on a cold, wet day at Augusta, it was a surprising man that we saw scale the ranks and submit the most superb scorecard of all.

29-year-old Hideki Matsuyama, a Japanese golf sensation and past contender at the Masters, came into the third round three strokes back of the standing leader Justin Rose. Many hours and a rain delay later, he walked off the 18th green as the active leader at eleven-under par.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1381019876274343937?s=20

Four birdies, an eagle and some outstanding par saves powered Matsuyama to a 7-under par, bogey-free round (65) and a hard night’s sleep as the current favorite for the green jacket. Should Hideki hold on through what is expected to be a crazy Sunday at Augusta, he will become the very first Japanese-born player to ever win a major championship on the PGA Tour.

As I mentioned, day three was rudely interrupted by mother nature when an hour-long rain delay halted the players in the middle of their rounds and forced them to return when the skies cleared.

Clearly, this made some and broke some. To many surprises, it was the usual steady-as-ever Justin Thomas that seemed to falter after the delay, putting up four bogeys and a double-bogey once play resumed to close out an ugly round with eh putter.

As for the leader, Matsuyama seemed to be even more locked in after the delay, which he said he just sat in his car for, using his cell phone to pass the time.

As for the Canadian Corey Connors, his day was up and down. The up was as high as it could possibly get when he followed up a bogey on the fifth with an ace (hole-in-one) on the sixth. Connors put up a steady -4 on the round thanks to the big ace and sits at -6 on the tournament, just 5 strokes behind Matsuyama.

In the Mix:

Looking at the other sharks in the water, surrounding Matsuyama and his 4 shot lead are some players you would think could make a push, and others you may have not heard of at all.

World number 6 ranked Xander Schauffle sits tied for second at -7, and Jordan Spieth one behind him at -6. Newcomers to the top of the major leaderboard are 24 years old Will Zalatoris and tour veteran from Australia Marc Leishman.

The trusty Tony Finau enters Sunday 8 back of the lead but is a popular pick to make a push just because of the fact Tom Brady called him during the delay on Saturday, which may feel like a win regardless of the rough +1 round.

Something to keep in mind is how much pressure is applied in these situations. Not only for the leader, but the ones chasing him. It is never smart to rule out the big comeback, so players like Justin Thomas or Patrick Reed should always be on the radar no matter what their scores look like entering the day.

There have been a few meltdowns before on this golf course, and it’s never over until the jacket is being put on the winner.

Expect Sunday’s pressure to be a little bit more ramped up for those at the top. With the return of patrons to this year’s tournament and a beautiful day of sun in Augusta, Georgia, it will be a very different setting for a major closing day that any of the players have seen in quite some time.

Sunday at The Masters

Speaking of the weather, we shouldn’t expect any rain delays today, in fact, it should be quite the opposite.

27 degrees celsius and mostly clear skies, perfect weather for the golf course and its sustainability after a few soggy days. Players in the featured groups who are teeing off between 10:30 am and 1:45 pm PST will see the majority of the sun as their round progresses, and the winner’s presentation should be as beautiful as ever.

The tee times and groups are set and it looks quite different than many would’ve projected.

11:10 am – Jordan Spieth (-5), Brian Harman (-4)
11:20 am – Will Zalatoris (-7), Corey Conners (-6)
11:30 am – Marc Leishman (-7), Justin Rose (-7)
11:40 am – Hideki Matsuyama (Leader, (-11), Xander Schauffele (-7)

Sunday will go one of two ways, Hideki Matsuyama will run away with a green jacket or he will blow this lead away and do so very quickly. Matsuyama will need to establish a good stroke in the front nine and set himself up for the back. Allowing himself to make a few mistakes while not getting too into his head will dictate where this major goes.

Excitement will not be hard to come by this Sunday, one of the biggest dates on the sports calendar.

Evan Power, Evolution 107.9

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *