This resembled a western movie. On a manic afternoon, Jordan Spieth’s enemies took it in turns to be wounded by the heavily armed Augusta National. By close of play, Spieth again stood tall; his grip on the Masters of 2016 by a shot, at three under par, with 18 holes to play. Only an 18th hole Spieth double bogey skewed the narrative; even then, he is maybe just messing with us.
Spieth’s round played out in the company of a man who would rather forget all about what transpired in front of crowds that triggered memories of Tiger Woods in his imperious, must-see prime. Rory McIlroy’s birdie-free 77 means he requires something special in order to complete the grand slam of majors that would elevate him to sporting superhero status. This is not beyond McIlroy but represents a seriously tall order.
It would only be natural for McIlroy’s angst to be intensified by a close-up view of the relentless Spieth. For long spells on Saturday, the Texan did not even play well. It is not how, rather how many; Spieth’s 73 moved him to four under par. He is only the second defending champion in Masters history to hold an outright 54-hole lead.
It does not take a genius to decipher where McIlroy’s Augusta troubles commonly resonate. Throughout his career, he has now played holes 10 through 12 in an aggregate of 26 over par. For the remainder of the course, the Northern Irishman is minus 25.
In truth, McIlroy had struggled for momentum from the onset of his round. And yet, he had hung on grimly until a poor tee shot and subsequent pull into a water hazard on the 11th. Spieth’s matching of that six afforded McIlroy hope that was blunted a hole later; the 2015 champion holed from 17ft for birdie as his playing partner missed from 10.
When Spieth converted again, on the 14th, to move back to five under, McIlroy was seven adrift. That margin only eroded on the final green, where Spieth took three putts.
If you add together the ages of Spieth and McIlroy, then add 10, you will reach the 58 years of Bernhard Langer. When the German won his second Masters, in 1993, Spieth was still three months from being born. When Langer was paired with Jason Day for round three, it seemed little more than a pleasant opportunity for the old-timer to catch a glimpse of what it takes to be world No1 in 2016. Langer took it upon himself to outscore Day by one – 70 to 71 – and finish within two of the lead. This marked a quite extraordinary performance, one that visibly enchanted Day as the pair battled with Augusta in its most ferocious form. Langer has enjoyed frequent success but it is still, surely, a stretch to suggest he can win here. Isn’t it? Perhaps there really is no substitute for experience.
“There’s different ways of getting there,” Langer said. “Obviously it’s a lot easier for these young guys, hitting a lot less club into some of the greens. They can stop the ball, while mine sometimes release. But when I bring my A-game, I can still compete, even on a very long golf course like this.”
At level par, having improved his scoring in each round, Day retains a live chance of Masters glory. Before contemplating that, the Australian led the effusive tributes to Langer.
“That was just so impressive to watch,” Day said. “When you consider some of the positions he is playing in from compared to where I was, it was unbelievable. If I think back to the 10th, I had 120 yards to the pin and he was at least 60, maybe 80 yards behind me.
“He plods along, he knows his strengths and weaknesses. I could tell how gritty he is and how much of a competitor he is. He’s a dominant player out on the Champions Tour. He was a dominant player out here on the main Tour. He was No1 in the world at one point. To be able to be a 58-year-old man, be competitive with us, and want it as much as he did 40 years ago is pretty impressive.
“He is a true professional in that regard. I know that he really wants to compete and try to win this thing tomorrow.”
Dustin Johnson matched Day’s 54-hole score, as did Danny Willett. Lee Westwood lies one over after recovering from Friday’s 75 by faring four shots better.
Smylie Kaufman is both the most unorthodox name on the leaderboard and the most unlikely one. The 24-year-old from Alabama, playing in his first Masters and only second major, signed for a third round of 69 to sit second. Nobody seemed more surprised by this than Kaufman himself. The reward is a Sunday date with Spieth.
An incident with Billy Horschel highlighted just how treacherous conditions were. The wind was not constant but instead gusted with regular ferocity. Horschel replaced his ball on the 15th green, having previously marked it, only to watch it be blown off the putting surface and into a lake.
The rules of golf treat that scenario as if Horschel had simply hit a shot into water. To his credit, he was phlegmatic about it. “I was hoping the ball would stop so I could put my coin back on it,” said Horschel. “I knew that once the ball rolls, once it’s in play, you have to play it from where it finishes and obviously I didn’t have my scuba gear to play it from the water. I’m not in the business of changing rules.”
