MASTERS 2015: Spieth holds firm as Masters heavyweights loom

Jordan Spieth will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters, with a host of golf's heavyweights pursuing in the belief they can still win.

BY STEVE KEIPERT AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL GC

The lead began at five strokes, grew to six, dipped to four, swelled to seven and was ultimately trimmed to four shots but Jordan Spieth is still an irresistible force at the 2015 Masters.

After such spellbinding play so far that belied his age and experience, today's third round provided a window into Spieth's temperament and patience. There were errors but the 21-year-old passed this hurdle and remains the player to beat. He leads by four strokes from Justin Rose, with Phil Mickelson a shot further back and Charley Hoffman one more adrift. They are the only players closer than ten shots behind.

Jordan Spieth plays a remarkable pitch shot from wide of the 18th green to set up a close par putt. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Spieth touched 18-under-par after 16 holes and looked likely to break Nick Faldo's 54-hole record to par for all majors (17-under at the 1990 Open Championship) but settled for that record at the Masters, 16-under, after a messy double-bogey at 17.

Critics will point to the bogeys and the careless late double-bogey Spieth made on Saturday; the fact remains he still made seven birdies and lost just one from his overnight margin. His chances tomorrow depend on which perspective you choose to view his third round from.

"[I was] a little nervous, but I actually felt more comfortable than I thought I would," Spieth said. "I was just anxious to get started, but when I got out there and saw a couple of putts go in, I felt really comfortable. And that's good, that gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.

"What I learned about myself is that I saw a lot of putts go in today. That's something on the weekend under pressure that's kind of hurt me a little bit, and recently I've been making a lot of putts. The downside of it was that I had to make a lot of putts today with five dropped shots and I'm not going to be able to have that tomorrow ... I can't rely on the putter that much to save me with two major champions right behind.

Spieth punches the air after saving his par at the last to maintain a for stroke lead heading into the final round. PHOTO: Getty Images.

"I've got to watch my speed and just have enough patience tomorrow."

Ultimately, the most sustained positive momentum among the chasers came from Mickelson and Rose. The latter holes offered the most drama. Mickelson birdied both back-nine par-5s then curled in a breaking 40-foot birdie putt at the 16th to climb to 12-under before bogeying the next. Rose started slowly before storming home with five birdies in the last six holes, highlighted by a holed bunker shot at 16 and capped by a 20-foot slider on the last green to draw within four and book a start alongside Spieth in the last group tomorrow.

"Given the choice, you'd want to be in the last group," Rose said. "You want to be seeing what you're up against; you want to feel the atmosphere. You want to get a look at how the guys play next to you, especially when you get to 12, 13, 14, 15 on the back nine.

"It was nice to stay patient and get rewarded with a hot finish. It's amazing and it put me in with a great opportunity tomorrow now. It's a great lesson, as well, to stay patient because you never know when you're going to get your run."

Phil Mickelson plays a brilliant recovery shot from the sand to help save his par at the par-3 12th hole.
PHOTO: Getty Images.

Earlier, the front nine offered a sprinkle of hope to the chasing pack as a who's who of champion golfers charged early. Tiger Woods birdied four of the first eight holes to reach six-under for the tournament, while Rory McIlroy and Mickelson both toured the front nine in four-under.

Meanwhile Spieth made some errors - three-putting the 4th hole, bogeying the 7th - but he offset those with birdies at the 2nd and 6th, adding another for good measure at the 9th. His golf was not as scintillating as rounds one and two but he showed great control, by far the quality he craved most starting the third round with such a formidable lead. His mistakes were mostly minor in execution rather than egregious in nature. Spieth's oft-commended maturity was serving him well.

Hoffman plodded along with all pars and one birdie, still drafting five strokes behind but not drifting away. He dodged a bogey at the 12th but found the greenside pond on the par-5 15th to sink to ten-under and seven behind his playing partner before a birdie at 18 brought him back within six.

Woods and McIlroy may have eaten the same breakfast this morning, for the two heavyweights compiled near-identical rounds. Both caught fire early with bogey-free 32s on the front nine. Tiger made it to seven-under, Rory to eight, yet both dropped shots late to remain at six-under. McIlroy's scorching front nine gave him a mythical 63 spanning yesterday's inward half and today's outward nine. He cooled late, turning 66 into 68.

Tiger Woods waits to play a shot from the pine needles on the 14th hole. He finished with a 68. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Woods' 68 was electric and eclectic, continuing a progression of lower scores every day. His tournament sharpness has grown with each round - one wonders what he might have been able to produce with a few more competitive rounds logged in the lead-up.

Along the way Tiger authored one of the most bizarre birdies in Masters history. His tee shot at 13 hooked so quickly and so badly it appeared it would finish halfway to Atlanta. It struck a hidden toilet block and travelled only 176 yards to finish on pinestraw near where the tributary of Rae's Creek begins its windy journey along the hole. He managed to punch out to the corner of the dogleg, rifled an 8-iron onto the green and made a 15-foot putt to birdie the par-5.

Adam Scott and Jason Day had a day of mixed fortunes and will rue some missed opportunities. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Jason Day and Adam Scott joined each other in an all-Queensland pairing that inspired memories of their final round union here in 2011. Alas, this time neither man could spark the other. Day battled a cool putter in shooting a 71 that didn't reflect the high calibre of his ball-striking. Scott was uncharacteristically erratic, carding three sixes in a 74. Both are far too far back to contend. There will be no green jacket Down Under this year.

"I missed a lot of putts," Day said. "I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdies and I didn't capitalise on them.

"I played well. I hit a lot of good quality shots into the greens but I need to go work on the range and try to find something on the greens."

Geoff Ogilvy bogeyed the first two and last two holes in a 73 that tied him with John Senden at one-over for the tournament. Senden made two twos on par-3s plus an eagle at the par-5 13th in a 72 that also contained seven fives.

There may be a temptation to compare Jordan Spieth to Greg Norman in 1996 or, more accurately, McIlroy in 2011 when he too led by four at age 21. The Northern Irishman built a four-stroke advantage through 54 holes that year before imploding with a closing 80. Even with players the likes of Rose and Mickelson lurking, it seems unfathomable to think Spieth is in danger of self-destructing in Normanesque or McIlroy-like fashion this year. It's possible he could lose to a hot final round tomorrow but the poise under pressure and clarity of thinking he's displayed to date all point to a Spieth victory and a watershed moment in world golf.

TODAY AT AUGUSTA

Pretty in pink: Phil Mickelson's tribute to Arnold Palmer was to wear a pink shirt for the third round.
PHOTO: Getty Images.

* The Masters media centre's cumulative scoring board charts every 54-hole total from Thongchai Jaidee's 225 down to the leader. Whether a prediction, expectation or otherwise, the orientation of numbers posted at the beginning of the round allows for every tally down to 198, 18-under. Spieth briefly touched 18-under – the only player other than Tiger Woods in 1997 to do so – after birdieing the 16th hole before he double-bogeyed the 17th to post an even 200.

* Phil being Phil: Mickelson wore a pink shirt today as a nod to Arnold Palmer but revealed he'd wear a black shirt for tomorrow's final round. Why? His three Masters victories have come wearing black and he claims black helps sporting teams – and him – be more aggressive. "Studies have shown, like NFL teams, when they wear black they have more penalties," he opined, surely hoping penalties aren't part of his Masters Sunday.

* Greg Norman's name has surfaced several times this week. Jordan Spieth is the first golfer since the Shark in 1996 to lead outright after each of the first three rounds at the Masters. Depending on how tomorrow's final round pans out, Norman may be mentioned more frequently, although next year's 20th anniversary of his most famous collapse here is sure to reignite more autopsies of that dark day.

* It is Masters respectfulness at its highest: the chairs people leave scattered across the course while they follow the action on foot are never moved unless the owner wants them moved. Masters-branded chairs cost US$29 apiece.

* Everyone knows that you can't appreciate the contours of Augusta National until you're on site. I'd go a step further and argue that the richness of the colours here is also not done justice by television. I love the way the colours both blend and contrast – the verdant green playing surfaces against the brilliant white sand dotted by various shades of pink among the flowers and the 18 bright yellow flagsticks. It is golf's most beautiful palette.

LEADERBOARD

1. Jordan Spieth (US) 64-66-70–200

2. Justin Rose (Eng) 67-70-67–204

3. Phil Mickelson (US) 70-68-67–205

4. Charley Hoffman (US) 67-68-71–206

T5. Rory McIlroy (N.Ire) 71-71-68–210

T5. Tiger Woods (US) 73-69-68–210

T5. Kevin Streelman (US) 70-70-70–210

T5. Kevin Na (US) 74-66-70–210

T5. Dustin Johnson (US) 70-67-73–210

Also:

T12. Jason Day (Qld) 67-74-71–212