Scheffler shines while Morikawa charges on day three at the Masters

There is just 18 holes left at the opening major of the year. How did things go down on day three of the 2024 Masters?

It was a tricky day thanks to faster greens, which caught all of the top players out at times. Come the close, it’s a familiar name at the top of the tree!

Take a look below at our Masters day three report…

Masters report: So what happened?

Saturday is called ‘Moving Day’ for a reason. Throughout the day, six different men had a hold of the lead in some form, whether it was a tie for the lead or they were solo 1st.

In the end, Scottie Scheffler leads the way ahead of the last 18 holes, currently sitting on a score of 7-under-par.

The World No 1 was 3-over through holes 10 and 11, but battled back with an eagle at 13 and a birdie at 15. He finished his day with a birdie on the final hole to hold a one shot lead.

Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa carded one of just two rounds in the 60s (the other belonging to Chris Kirk), to move into solo 2nd. Max Homa is 3rd at -5, after a solid round that featured 17 pars and one bogey.

The leading European is Ludvig Aberg, with the Masters debutant sitting just three behind with 18 to play. Bryson DeChambeau led at the start of the day, but bogeys at 11, 12 and 16, along with a double at 15, saw ‘The Scientist’ fall away. A closing birdie sees him in 5th, four back from Scheffler.

Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard led at one point on debut, before falling away on the back nine. He, along with Australian Cameron Davis, who reached as low as 5-under at one point, will begin the final day at 2-under, in a tie for 6th.

Ryan Fox started his round with three consecutive birdies to move himself into the top five. However, he would drop back thanks to four straight bogeys around the turn, eventually carding a 5-over-par 77.

Only 12 men will start the final day of the tournament under par, while there were five men who carded a round in the 80s on Saturday. Here is how it stands looking ahead to the final round!

What did they have to say?

Scottie Scheffler

“The eagle on 13 was extremely important. I had the double on 10 and the bogey on 11. I hit a nice shot on 12 that went over the green and I sank a nice 7-footer for par to turn the momentum around.

“That ball was trickling up to the cup on 13 and it looked like it may stay short. It was nice to see it roll over the edge! It is fun being out here in contention and I am excited for tomorrow!”

Bryson DeChambeau

“I am glad I holed out! Holing out is a lot easier than putting, so I will try to do that more!

“I should be up near the top, but I am four back. I am looking forward, will try to work out some putting kinks and get after it tomorrow.”

Tiger Woods

“I was not hitting it very good or putting well. I didn’t have a very good warm up session, and I kept it going all day today. Just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it. And I missed a lot of putts. Easy, makeable putts. I missed a lot of them.

“My team will get me ready. Club has have been awesome. It will be a long night and a long warmup session, but we’ll be ready.”

Jason Day – talking about the jumper he wore on Friday

“They [Augusta National] asked me to take it off — the vest off yesterday. Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament. That’s what we’re here to do is try and play and win the green jacket.

“I didn’t ask [why]. They said, can you take it off? I said, yeah, no worries. I wasn’t trying to do anything. They [Malbon Golf] just scripted me in it, and I was wearing it.”

Shot of the day

With much easier conditions on Saturday, there were plenty of options when it came to shot of the day.

In the early showings, Hideki Matsuyama produced a stunning bunker shot from the back of the 7th green, while World No.1 Scottie Scheffler chipped in from the left side of the opening green for a birdie on the 1st to take the solo lead.

Shane Lowry secured the first eagle on the 14th in eight years. The 2019 Open Champion had 118 yards to the pin from the right side of 14, and played his approach shot to perfection…

However, there was one final moment to finish off the day’s play. Following a couple of tough holes towards the end of his round, Bryson DeChambeau’s drive on 18 flew right into the trees.

After chipping out to a perfect distance, the American then holed out with his third shot to keep himself in the tournament!

Bryson DeChambeau finishes with a bang. #themasters pic.twitter.com/I6zMUYB2MA

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2024

Stat of the day

Just like yesterday, today’s stat is also to do with the great Tiger Woods.

He is a five-time winner of the Masters, but he won’t be adding to that this year. After playing 23 holes on Friday, it looked like he fatigued throughout the course of the day.

He broke two of his own records on the third day at Augusta, starting with his worst ever front nine. Woods took 42 shots to reach the turn.

That bad run would continue, as he eventually carded an 82. It would be his worst-ever round in a major championship…

Tiger Woods scores of 80 or higher as a professional in major championships

82, 2023 Masters Tournament (R3)
81, 2002 Open Championship (R3)
80, 2015 U.S. Open (R1)

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) April 13, 2024

Brutal moments of the day…

Although conditions may have been calmer on Saturday at Augusta, there were still plenty of moments that made your spine tingle and shiver.

Tiger shooting 82 could be classed as brutal torture for both the great man and for fans of the sport alike.

Bryson DeChambeau had a minor meltdown on the par 5 15th. A hole that he would have expected to be putting for eagle on, ended with ‘The Scientist’ writing down a 7 on his card after smacking his approach 60 yards right and then flubbing his next into the water.

However, the most brutal sequence of the day was the capitulation of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard. After three consecutive birdies around the turn, the Dane was leading the way at 7-under.

From there, though, it went badly wrong.. He bogeyed the 11th, and the 12th, and then put one into Rae’s Creek on 13 before writing down a third straight bogey on his card. That became four in a row on 14, and then a second water ball saw him score a fifth consecutive bogey at the 15th. From being in the lead to being five back in the space of an hour…

The best (or worst) clothing of the day…

It might not surprise you to know that Jason Day gets another shoutout in our best/worst clobber section.

After yesterday’s vest jumper, which he was told to take off by Augusta National themselves, Malbon brought back the baggy trousers for Saturday at the Masters.

It didn’t seem like there was much else to these grey pants, apart from an awful brown patch on the right leg, which you can see in the picture below.

Would you wear a pair of these? Let us know with a post on X, formerly Twitter!

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What did you make of day three at the Masters? Will it be one of the leading group who goes on to win, or can someone post a score? Tell NCG on X!