Hideki Matsuyama’s gold medal quest gets off to slow start

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The roars were as loud as ever at Augusta National on Saturday as Tiger Woods continued to contend for a fifth green jacket. Woods shot a 5-under 67 to put himself in position for another magical Sunday at the Masters. Here’s a hole-by-hole look at his third round. MORE MASTERS Leaderboard | Tee times moved up for Sunday | Tales of Tiger’s equipment Tiger hole-by-hole ROUND 3 STATS: 9 of 14 fairways hit, 16 of 18 greens in regulation, 30 putts (no three-putts) 18 (par 4, 465 yards): Smashes 294-yard drive into the fairway, leaving only 164 yards to the pin at the uphill finishing hole. Slight pull on approach shot, ball winds up 35 feet left of pin. Two putts and he’s got a closing par for a third-round 67. Poulter shoots 68 and has still never shot lower than Woods in the six times they’ve played together on TOUR. Woods is just a shot behind Molinari, who is still back on the course. (Overall: 11 under) 17 (par 4, 440 yards): Finds short grass yet again with 294-yard drive, eighth hit fairway in 13 chances. Has had good control today. With 154 yards remaining, hits one of his few mediocre shots today, his ball winding up 43 feet short of the pin. Has fallen into a tie for second with Molinari getting to 12 behind him, and a two-putt par leaves him one back. (Overall: 11 under)  16 (par 3, 160 yards): Not a very gettable pin placement, four paces from the right edge, but that doesn’t dissuade Woods. His tee shot hits and sticks just inside seven feet from of the hole, giving himself a prime opportunity to roll in another birdie to tie for the lead. He converts to tie Finau and Molinari for the lead. (Overall: 11 under)  15 (par 5, 530 yards): Hits another fairway with 311-yard drive, but down the left side. Will he be blocked out? No, it turns out. With a clear look at the green, slightly overcooks second shot, ball ending up on the apron behind the green. Beautiful touch on his third shot as chip cozies up to two feet from the pin. Another birdie to pull to within just a shot of the lead, tied with Molinari and Schauffele. (Overall: 10 under) 14 (par 4, 440 yards): Woods hits his fifth fairway (of 10 chances) so far today, this time dialing back and settling for a 283-yard tee shot. Approach from 165 yards not a good one, though, coming up 37 feet short. Although he has made birdies here each of the first two days, Woods has little chance of that and two-putts for par. Up ahead of him, Finau has signed for a 64 and finished at 11 under. Woods still two back. (Overall: 9 under) 13 (par 5, 510 yards): Nearly turns easiest hole on the course into a disaster as hooks tee shot into trees, only to get a good break as the ball kicks out and remains playable. Hits a low, 160-yard hook around the trees, then skips his 69-yard third shot to six feet past the pin. Birdie putt catches the left edge. This could have been a bad hole, but it turns into a huge help as he moves back to just two behind Finau. (Overall: 9 under) 12 (par 3, 146 yards): With Finau getting to 11 under ahead of him, Woods is now three behind. Wedge shot flies a bit too far, settling 18 feet behind the pin. Overcast skies have given way to warm sunshine as Woods walks across Hogan Bridge, over Rae’s Creek. He’s been good from this range this week, but leaves birdie try just a few inches short. Easy par. (Overall: 8 under)  11 (par 4, 505 yards): Loses 341-yard tee shot right, but tells ball to go even farther right as it’s in the air. Takes nature walk amid the Georgia pines, temporarily losing sight of caddie Joe LaCava, and discovers he’s gotten his wish: The ball has come to rest in a clearing 156 yards from the pin. Hits a fine approach shot out of the trees to 33 feet behind the hole. Two-putt par. (Overall: 8 under)    10 (par 4, 495 yards): Hits 3-wood off tee and shapes perfectly for downhill, right-to-left fairway. Ball stops 303 yards away, leaving 187-yard approach. With Tony Finau first to reach 10 under well ahead, Woods is two back. Hits approach shot to fat of the green, leaving 23-foot birdie attempt. Birdie try burns the top edge of the cup and rolls two feet past. Taps in for par. (Overall: 8 under)   FRONT 9 STATS: 4 of 7 fairways hit, 7 of 9 greens in regulation, 15 putts 9 (par 4, 495 yards): First bad shot of the day, a wild right miss off the tee, comes on a hole where he’s historically struggled to hit the fairway. From pine straw hits a bullet that winds up 35 yards short of the green. Gets out of trouble, though, with a pitch to three feet below the hole. Makes it for a par to shoot 2-under 34 on the front nine. Still one back. (Overall: 8 under)   8 (par 5, 570 yards): Splits fairway with a 314-yard beauty, leaving just 265 yards to the back pin location. Second shot, too, is on target, traveling 266 yards and settling just 11 feet from the pin. Primed to make his fourth career eagle on the eighth, Woods, alas, misses and taps in for his third straight birdie. He’s back to just one off the lead, as he was to start the day. The other good news is it’s his first red number on the hole after a par Thursday and bogey Friday. (Overall: 8 under) 7 (par 4, 450 yards): Phil Mickelson, playing up ahead, used a long iron here, but after first birdie of the day Woods swings driver and 309-yard tee shot splits the fairway. Still chomping on that gum (like Phil), still fighting course to a draw on these difficult first seven holes. Hits 147-yard approach shot to mere inches from the pin for a tap-in birdie, his second in a row. Now in red numbers on the day. (Overall: 7 under) 6 (par 3, 180 yards): With many others going low on moving day, Woods seems to be stuck in neutral. His tee shot soars over the pin but too long, leaving himself an 18-footer for birdie. Woods led the field in putting from outside 20 feet the first two days (5/15), and coaxes his left-to-right birdie effort into the cup for his first birdie of the day. He’s back to even on the day. (Overall: 6 under) 5 (par 4, 495 yards): The hardest hole on the course, which he’s bogeyed each of the first two days, Woods gets in trouble immediately, pulling his 293-yard drive into the yawning left bunker. With a huge lip in front of him he has no choice but to lay up with a lofted iron, his ball coming down 87 yards short of the green. Third shot winds up 21 feet short of pin, and he misses par try. Taps in for third bogey here in three days. He’s now four back of Finau. (Overall: 5 under)    4 (par 3, 227 yards): Playing partner Ian Poulter has never beat Woods in the five times they’ve played together on the PGA TOUR. With both having started with three straight pars, both hit solid tee shots, Woods some 15 feet left of the pin. He narrowly misses his slight left-to-right birdie putt on the high side for his fourth straight par. With Tony Finau reaching 9 under ahead of him, Woods has gone from one behind to start the day to three behind. (Overall: 6 under)  3 (par 4, 350 yards): Driver down the right side of the fairway leaves a difficult angle to the left pin, with the green running away from him. Sure enough, pitch shot lands around the pin, but does not stop until it cozies up to the left fringe. Birdie effort breaks hard right and in front of the cup, leaving a tap-in par, his third straight par to begin the round. (Overall: 6 under) 2 (par 5, 575 yards): Woods, who hit just 7/14 fairways yesterday, misses fractionally to the right off the tee. Although he calls for the ball to move just one yard to the left, it bounds into the bunker, ruling out going for the green in two. He takes a mighty lash from 261 yards just to get the ball over the front lip, and leaves himself a 148-yard third shot. A conservative approach to well right of the left pin sets up a routine two-putt par. (Overall: 6 under) 1 (par 4, 445 yards): Woods shows up in a lavender mock T and gray slacks. He has had his issues with the opening hole at Augusta National, but splits the fairway with his drive but leaves his approach shot well short. (A common play amongst his fellow competitors on this hole today.) Putting uphill to the back pin location, he guns his first effort three feet past the pin, but makes the come-backer for a par. (Overall: 6 under) Pre-round notes TIGER’S PUTTING: Through the first two rounds, Tiger has been great from long range … and horrible from short range. From outside 20 feet, Tiger ranks first in the field, making 5 of 15 attempts for a rate of 33.33%. No other player in the field has made more than three putts from that distance. From inside 5 feet, however, Tiger has missed three of his 29 putts, leaving his conversion rate at 89.66%. Among the 65 players who made that cut, the only player with a worse percentage is amateur Alvaro Ortiz at 89.29%. From 5-10 feet, though, Ortiz leads the field, making all eight of his attempts. Woods has missed four of his eight attempts (50%). Just 12 players have lower percentage rates than Tiger from that distance. FAMILIAR PAIRING: Tiger is paired with Englishman Ian Poulter for the third round at the Masters for the second consecutive year. Both were well off the pace when they played together a year ago, with Tiger shooting an even-par 72 to end the round tied for 40th, while Poulter shot a 74 to drop into a tie for 50th at that point. Saturday will be the sixth round that Woods and Poulter have been in the same group at a PGA TOUR event. The first time was at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2010 when they were in the same threesome for the first two rounds. The last time was at THE NORTHERN TRUST during last season’s FedExCup Playoffs. Four times, Woods has shot the better score, and the other time they recorded the same score. RECENT SATURDAYS AT AUGUSTA: When Tiger won his last green jacket in 2005, he shot a 7-under 65 that moved him from six shots behind to three strokes ahead. That 65 tied for his lowest round in his Masters career – in fact, both of his 65s at Augusta National have happened in the third round. In his 10 starts since 2005, Tiger has shot in the 60s just twice in the third round, a 68 in 2008 and another 68 in 2015.

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Tiger Woods’ revolutionary state-of-the-art entertainment complex PopStroke is set to reveal its first location outside of Florida next week with the 82-time PGA TOUR winner taking to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm the new Houston, Texas location will open on December 16. The complex is a modern take on miniature golf that features two 18-hole putting courses designed by Woods’ TGR Design team along with a restaurant, full-service bar and family-friendly amenities. The Houston PopStroke location will be the fifth fully operational venue, with the first opening in Port St. Lucie, Florida earlier this year and others already running in Fort Meyers, Sarasota and Orlando. Future plans have locations opening in Glendale and Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as Tampa and Delray, Florida, both scheduled for 2023. “Putting is a universal part of golf that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels,” Woods stated in a press release last year. “It has been rewarding to see the broad and diverse group of guests enjoying their experience at PopStroke, and I look forward to seeing players make those long putts in locations throughout the South and Southwest. Each new location will have a different course design and layout giving players unique putting challenges as they travel across the country.” Gone are the windmills and animatronics of old, replaced by brutal bunkers, swerving undulation, and hole locations fitting the tastes of the 15-time major winner himself. While playing a full-length Tiger Woods’ designed course might break the bank of the average golfer, a full day of play at PopStroke will run around $25 for adults, with discounted rates for children. “Some of my happiest memories are spending time with my pops on the golf course having putting contests,” Woods says via the PopStroke website. “I’m looking forward to others enjoying time with their kids at PopStroke.” Woods will take to the course with his own son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship later this month. The duo will look to win this year after coming in second to John Daly and his son in last year’s event in one of the most popular events of the fall season.

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POSTON NOTCHES WIRE-TO-WIRE VICTORY AT JOHN DEERE CLASSIC J.T. Poston was nervous and who could blame him. After all, he had held the lead after all three rounds entering Sunday at the John Deere Classic and expectations were high for him to win. But when his competitors began charging in the final round, he channeled the nervousness into a lazer-sharp focus. Poston, 29, shot a 2-under 69 for a three-shot victory at TPC Deere Run and became the first player to record a wire-to-wire win at the John Deere Classic since David Frost in 1992. “Wire to wire, having the lead for that long, it’s hard not to think about it and think about that finish line all week,” Poston said. “We got off to a great start and then I kind of started to give some back. But I hit a lot of great shots down the stretch.” It marked Poston’s second win on TOUR after having won the Wyndham Championship during the 2018-19 season. He also opened the week with a 9-under 62 after shooting 62 in Round 1 of last week’s Travelers Championship. Poston became the first player on record (since 1983) to open consecutive TOUR events with a 62 or better. “I was just trying to breathe,” Poston said. “There were a lot of nerves, a lot more than the first few days. I was just trying to battle through them. I think after this week, I feel like I know I can play with those nerves and still win and still score.” With the win, Poston is now fully exempt on TOUR through 2024 and he earned spots in this year’s The Open Championship and the 2023 PLAYERS Championship, Masters and PGA Championship. His 500 FedExCup points also moved him from No. 66 to No. 22 in the standings. DP WORLD TOUR, PGA TOUR EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN ALLIANCE The DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR have moved to significantly strengthen not only their existing alliance but also help develop players to compete at the pinnacle of men’s professional golf by unveiling a ground-breaking new 13-year operational joint venture partnership. As part of the new joint venture, the PGA TOUR will increase its existing stake in European Tour Productions from 15% to 40%, while utilizing the DP World Tour’s recognised international credentials and global footprint to continue to coordinate a worldwide schedule. From 2023, the leading 10 players on the end of season DP World Tour Rankings (in addition to those already exempt) will earn PGA TOUR cards for the following season. Other development news included that next year an unprecedented 30 PGA TOUR cards will be awarded to the top players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List at season’s end and Q-School would award PGA TOUR cards to the top five finishers and ties. It will mark the first time in a decade that Q-School will offer PGA TOUR status. THE SCOTTISH OPEN MAKES ITS TOUR DEBUT The Genesis Scottish Open makes its debut as a co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR with a field consisting of members from both organizations. Scottie Scheffler, who sits atop both the FedExCup standings and Official World Golf Ranking, leads the field, while 14 of the top 15 in the world are set to tee it up. There will be 75 golfers from the PGA TOUR in the field, 75 from the DP World Tour, three from the KPGA, and three unrestricted sponsor exemptions. By field strength, the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open is set to be the strongest non-major DP World Tour tournament in history. Plenty of notables are teeing it up in Scotland including last season’s FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, recent Travelers winner and reigning Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele, PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and former world No.1 Jon Rahm. Matt Fitzpatrick, who lost in a playoff at the Scottish Open a year ago, will tee it up for the first time since his U.S. Open triumph. Robert MacIntyre is the highest-ranked Scotsman who is teeing it up, while Padraig Harrington is in the field fresh off his win at the U.S. Senior Open. The Renaissance Club hosts this year’s event, marking the fourth edition of the Scottish Open to be contested at the Tom Doak design. Here’s what you Need to Know about the venue. WORLDS COLLIDE AT THE BARBASOL CHAMPIONSHIP The Barbasol Championship returns this weekend, also making its debut as a co-sanctioned event with the DP World Tour. Past Barbasol champions Jim Herman, Grayson Murray and Aaron Baddeley are teeing it up at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Keene Trace is laid out through the rolling hills of central Kentucky with a dramatic par-4 finisher that’s built around the edge of a lake. Local legend and Kentucky native Josh Teater is in the field on a sponsor exemption, joining two past FedExCup champions in Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas. DP World Tour representatives include Lucas Bjerregaard (who famously upset Tiger Woods in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play), Oliver Wilson (European Team member from the 2008 Ryder Cup in Kentucky) and Julian Suri (a Floridian who played at Duke before winning on both the European Challenge Tour and DP World Tour). The winner of the Barbasol Championship, if he is not already qualified, will earn the final spot in The Open Championship and 300 FedExCup points. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “I want to thank you for your consideration and assure you that if I were fortunate enough to receive an exemption, I would make you and the tournament proud” – An excerpt from Christopher Gotterup’s letter to tournament director Clair Peterson asking for a sponsor’s exemption into the John Deere Classic. Gotterup would finish T4. BY THE NUMBERS 5 – Players to keep an eye on this week as the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship gets underway at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. 67 – Final-round score for Zecheng Dou who won by one shot at The Ascendant presented by Blue on the Korn Ferry Tour. 2 – Players who have won in wire-to-wire fashion this season. Poston became the second to do so after Joaquin Niemann accomplished the feat at The Genesis Invitational. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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