Monday Finish: Golf’s least predictable tournament

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The wind roaring through the Georgia pines gave Tiger Woods and so many others all they could handle Friday in the Masters Tournament. RELATED: Leaderboard | Jordan Spieth cut down by Rae’s Creek again, misses weekend at the Masters | Round 2 review: The Masters And then Scottie Scheffler made it feel even tougher. In his debut as the new No. 1 player in the world, Scheffler looked the part. He was bogey-free over the final 15 holes for a 5-under 67, tying the Masters record by building a five-shot lead going into the weekend. Only four other players in Masters history have led by five shots after 36 holes, most recently Jordan Spieth in 2015. All of them went on to win. Scheffler, the 25-year-old Texas Longhorn, has won three of his last five starts on the PGA TOUR and doesn’t appear to be overwhelmed by the stage of Augusta National. He was at 8-under 136, five shots clear of defending champion Hideki Matsuyama (69), former champion Charl Schwartzel (69), former Open champion Shane Lowry (68) and 18-hole leader Sungjae Im (74). Woods was nine shots behind, a daunting task even on two good legs. Despite four bogeys after five holes, Woods patched together a 74 and made it to the weekend in his first 72-hole event since the November 2020 Masters. “Hey, I made the cut. I got a chance going into the weekend,” Woods said. “I think it’s going to be the golf course that Augusta National wants. It’s going to be quicker, drier, faster. It’s going to be a great test.” Former Masters champion Dustin Johnson (73) led a group at 2-under 142, while the bunch another shot behind included two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and former PGA champion Justin Thomas, whose 67 matched Scheffler for low round of the day. Scheffler got his mistakes out of the way early and began to seize control with two birdies right before making the turn. After a tough par save from right of the 11th green, he added two birdies from 12 feet on the par-3 12th and a tough pitch from well right on the par-5 13th. By then, the wind began to subside in the late afternoon and Scheffler began to pull away with two more birdies that made him a clear and difficult target on the weekend. And to think only two months ago he still didn’t have a PGA TOUR victory. Woods made it through another hike along the undulating terrain of Augusta National, his limp more noticeable from a right leg held together with rods and screws from his car crash 14 months ago. “I don’t feel as good as I would like to feel,” Woods said with a smile. “That’s OK. As I said, I’ve got a chance going into the weekend. Hopefully, I’ll have one of those light bulb moments and turn it on in the weekend and get it done.” His putter wasn’t helping any. All the key putts Woods made in the opening round weren’t falling Friday as he piled up four bogeys in his opening five holes, raising questions if his improbable return to the Masters would only last two days. And now he has two more. Coming off consecutive bogeys at the start of Amen Corner, he was headed for more trouble on the par-5 13th except that he missed badly enough to stay on right side of the tributary of Rae’s Creek, setting up a pitch-and-putt for birdie. “It was tough for everybody,” Woods said, and before long came a wry smile. “Obviously, there’s a few people who aren’t struggling out there.” One of those would be Scheffler, who has everyone’s attention. Another was Thomas, with whom Woods played his practice rounds last week and in the days leading up to the Masters. He opened with a 76 and spent the rest of the day sulking at what looked to be a lost opportunity. He capped off his 67 with three straight birdies along the back nine. “I very easily could be going home right now, and not only am I not, but I’m in a really good spot going into this weekend,” Thomas said. He was seven behind, nonetheless, though he wasn’t the least bit surprised Scheffler was able to post such good rounds to build a big lead. “If I played how I should yesterday, I should be right there with him,” Thomas said. “This place, I love it because you can make so many birdies — even in conditions like this, if you plot your way around and know how to get it around, you can make a lot of birdies. It exposes you when it gets this windy if you don’t have control of your ball. “He clearly has control of everything right now based off the last couple of months, so I’m not too surprised,” he added. “But yeah, I would appreciate it if he would stop going too far away.”

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AVONDALE, La. – Branden Grace wanted to make something very clear – he’s actually younger than Justin Harding, his partner this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Evidently, there’s a perception that Grace, who turns 31 next month, is the grizzled veteran compared to the boyish-looking Harding, who turned 33 in February. “I just want to state that,� Grace said. “A lot of people are asking me. He seems too young.� And so is their partnership that’s in prime contention entering Sunday’s final round of Foursomes at TPC Louisiana. A third-round 61 in Four-balls (the low score of the round) moved them to 22 under, just one shot off the lead shared by Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer and Scott Stallings/Trey Mullinax. Although the two South Africans have known each other for many years, having played against each other as juniors, this week is the first time they’ve competed with each other. Grace, of course, has teamed with Louis Oosthuizen as one of the International Team’s most productive duos at the Presidents Cup. Harding, meanwhile, has never made a Presidents Cup team, and is making his first start at the Zurich Classic, as he plays mostly on the European Tour. “This might be the first time we’ve actually played together as a team or as a partnership,� Harding said. “We tend to play against each other more.� Grace and Ooosthuizen were partners at TPC Louisiana in 2017, finishing T-24. They were supposed to play together last year, but Grace withdrew to be his wife as she delivered their first child. Related: Tee times | Rahm/Palmer an unusual partnership that works | Day/Scott team misses cut at TPC Louisiana This year, Oosthuizen played another South African star, Charl Schwartzel, thus leaving Grace with Harding. While Oosthuizen-Schwartzel missed the cut, Grace-Harding have a chance to win with a big showing in Sunday’s Foursomes. “I got fired, so I had to look for a new partner,� Grace joked. “Obviously I made a good pick.� So why has it worked with this first-time duo? Well, obviously the talent is there. So is the South African kinship and camaraderie. “Look, both of our games are similar. We’re a good match,� Harding said. “We like to keep each other quite jovial out there on the golf course, lots of jokes and some banter – which probably shouldn’t be shared – but it’s good fun.� Added Grace: “He’s a better putter than I am. I get streaky but he is definitely better. We have fun out there. We give each other hell, as well, and we take it the right way.� It’s obviously working this week – and it’ll likely give International Team Captain Ernie Els something to think about in December when he decides on his pairings at Royal Melbourne. Of all the partnerships involving players from International Team countries, Grace-Harding have by far been the best. For once, they’re finally on the same side of the battle.

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Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the CareerBuilder Challenge that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Cook-ing with Gas Austin Cook will carry the 54-hole lead into Sunday after posting the lowest round of the day with 64 at La Quinta Country Club. He torched the Nicklaus Tournament course in Round 1 with a 63 and survived the Stadium Course with 70 in Round 2. He’s only made two bogeys on the week, the same number of eagles that he’s circled. The 2017 RSM Classic champ will be looking to join Patton Kizzire as the only players with more than one win on TOUR this season. His nearest competitors haven’t won on TOUR but the next four listed on the scoreboard have done the business. The Cut The toughest part of this event for gamers is being patient. There were plenty of big rounds today that moved guys inside the line and will give them at least a chance tomorrow. The first time the Nicklaus Tournament and Stadium Course were in the rotation was 2016. The cut that year was nine-under-par so nobody should be terribly surprised eight was the number this year. When the winds gusted last year, the number fell on five-under so there’s not much room for rounds in the 70’s around these parts. Movers and Shakers Busy day Saturday as making the cut and getting into position were all in play. Of the 22 rounds 67 or lower, 21 were signed for on courses not named the Stadium Course. Going low on Saturday never hurts as 19 of the 21 players to shoot 67 or lower are going to play the weekend. John Huh and Stewart Cink both racked up 65 at La Quinta Country Club and both moved up 41 places to T-11. Course and Weather Management And then there was one. There’s no place to hide your players PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO as the Stadium Course will host the final round Sunday. Where was the wind on Saturday? Sure, it blew a bit but I don’t recall seeing any gusts of 40 mph!  Grayson Murray and Nick Watney opened the week with 65’s on the Stadium Course. Kevin Chappell went one lower in round two as Bronson Burgoon added 66. If you are looking for wagon to hitch up to on Sunday, start here. More choices follow below! Great Scott Scott Piercy’s name could have been added to the section above but after his 66 on the Stadium Course, he gets his own spotlight. I noted his flash last week at Sony as his 65 on moving day caught my eye. This week he has added three more rounds in the 60’s to sit T4 entering Sunday. The Las Vegas resident has plenty of familiarity with desert golf and going low. Long-term investors will be happy to see his shoulder injury behind him as he looks for his first top 10 since the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational last May. Power Ball Seamus Power started on the Stadium Course with 70 so he knew he had work to do over his next two rounds. He’s flying into the weekend after 66 at La Quinta and one better today at Nicklaus Tournament. He’s only made one bogey in his last 41 holes and he’s bashed the par fives to the tune of 10-under for the week. He only had one top 10 last year as a rookie. A big finish this week will help him move up in the reshuffle category where he currently sits 28th. Been There, Done That Adam Hadwin’s is again reinforcing his love for golf in the Coachella Valley. The last two years he’s given it a run but hasn’t broken 70 on Sunday. He’s currently T6 and while he didn’t post a super-low one at La Quinta, scene of his 59 last year, I will point out he was bogey-free at the Stadium Course with an excellent 67 on Friday. He’ll be doing the chasing tomorrow and that might take the edge off. I’d expect another big finish. The Big-Name Game The movers and shakers are noted above but gamers are also pining for answers for those who didn’t fire this week. Zach Johnson, who was noted yesterday after his wonderful 64, reminded us that four rounds are needed this week. His 73 on the Stadium Course dropped him out of the top five to T21. I don’t have to remind you which course they are playing tomorrow. … Brian Gay was also noted yesterday and the former champ had a great chance to capitalize on his 64 from Friday at the Nicklaus Tournament layout. His 73 dropped him 26 spots to T33. … Sleepers Aaron Wise and Beau Hossler couldn’t break par on the Stadium Course Saturday and also dropped out of the top 10. … Patrick Reed and Brandt Snedeker both shot 67 to warm up for next week at Torrey Pines but just like Phil Mickelson, they’ll all get their earlier than expected after MC. Study Hall For the second day in a row an ace was made. Yesterday it was Harold Varner III and today it was Daniel Summerhays. Of the three aces made on TOUR this year, two are Utah natives Summerhays and Tony Finau. … Rory McIlroy had another big day in the desert (65) and is just one shot off the lead of Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters (-17) entering the final round in Abu Dhabi. … Sergio Garcia remains one back at the Singapore Open as they are struggling to complete round three due to weather. … Jonathan Randolph withdrew before round three with a shoulder injury.  

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