Saturday At The 2024 Masters
Scheffler takes one stroke lead into Sunday with Morikawa, Homa and Aberg lurking. Plus, Mickelson takes new 9th hole path, ESPN scores big ratings, Quotables, payout news and more from Augusta.
Saturday At The Masters By The Numbers
7 - strokes leader Scottie Scheffler needed to play the back nine par 5s
5 - players tied for the lead at 5:30 ET. Saturday
7/14 - Seven of the last 14 Masters champions overcame a 54-hole deficit.
3 - The top three players entering the final round all represent the
USA, the first time at the Masters since 2006 (Mickelson, Campbell, Couples)
12/60 - Rounds under par Saturday.
2/60 - Rounds under 70 (Morikawa 69, Kirk 68)
42 - Tiger Woods’ front nine score that included his first birdie at the fifth since the hole was renovated in 2019.
82 - Woods’ highest round at ANGC and first-ever at 80 or higher
37.850 - Second nine scoring average Saturday
74.300 - Saturday scoring average
1 - Eagle at the 13th this week (Scheffler on Saturday)
0 - Eagles at the 15th this week. This and 2022 are the only Masters’ in the last 50 years where no eagles were carded on 15 through three rounds.
2:35 p.m ET - Final round tee time for Scheffler and Collin Morikawa
His Ownself’s adage about the Masters not starting until the back nine Sunday faded after Hootie took a sledgehammer to MacKenzie’s Symphony No. 34, then took a brief little detour when Sunday setups treated fun like a dirty word, only to have recent comeback hopes thwarted by Georgia having too many Rhode Island spring days.
The late, great Dan Jenkins honed his legendary observation on the veranda by shrugging off any Masters week roar until some time Sunday afternoon. Everything up to that point centered around a sunny social gathering where Azaleas—of both the floral and liquid varieties—bloomed and lubricated the veranda faithful.
With regularity, Augusta National gradually parsed the pretenders before the late Sunday afternoon fireworks show usually produced thrills. Dare we dream after a fun week, that those days could be back?
Yes, Saturday was another brute during what was an otherwise glorious weather day where forecasted afternoon winds stood down. But to this point it’s been an otherwise prototypical Masters week and the leaderboard seems just close enough to have Green Jackets of all sizes on call for Sunday’s Butler Cabin ceremony.
Only The Lords of Augusta know how generous the pins will be or how much water they’ll put on speedy greens that caught players off guard during Saturday’s third round. But given how the week has enjoyed a peaceful, retro feeling, expect them to dial the difficulty down with hopes of a thriller.
Standing in the way of fun is undisputed World No. 1 Scheffler looking to win his second Masters in three years. The worst weather is behind us and a sizzling 87-degree high should relieve any Sunday tension. The Lords will have seen the transcripts where players expressed shock at Saturday’s speed or Scheffler’s mention of a dreaded “volcano” cup situation. The green coats should be satisfied that their golf course conspired with Friday’s winds to inflict enough humility.
While there aren’t any Nicklaus’ on page one, seven chasers are within five of Scheffler’s one-stroke lead over Collin Morikawa. The numbers say the winner will come out of their 2:35 p.m. ET tee time given a run since 2017 where the winner has been in the final group.
His Ownself would love his fellow Texan and probably overlook a few curious blips in Scheffler’s 71 that suggest the lurkers have a chance. The biggest blunder came after an aggressive approach into the 10th. One that Scheffler chalked up to a wind gust, but even the Fort Worth Light and Shopper’s longtime beat man might have to concede was a pin Hogan and Nicklaus would never have sniffed.
“Hit what was a decent shot into 10, and it lands -- obviously I wasn't trying to land it back there by the pin, but I get a bad gust and it lands eight feet from the pin, and it ends up in the bushes back there and I make double,” said Scheffler who then bogeyed the 11th to fall two back before atoning with key par save at the 12th.
This set up two tremendous shots into 13. Scheffler was one of only nine players to hit the green in two Saturday and the only player this week to make eagle there.
“That putt on 13 was nice because it was trickling up towards the cup,” said Scheffler. “I didn't know whether or not it was going to get there, and it kind of just nudged right over the edge and went in. So it was exciting, and it was nice to be able to steal a couple shots there on 13 and get back in the tournament.”
Scheffler had another birdie look at the 14th that did never sniffed the cup.
“The greens just got ridiculously fast and firm,” he said after a 29-putt day. “The reason I was looking at 14 is because I'm putting down that hill, it wasn't that it was in a weird location, it was basically like putting up to a small volcano there.”
Greens are always fast here but players made sure to point out how they sped up and pushed the boundaries of sanity Saturday. Likely some combination of Friday’s crazy winds, the low humidity and crystal clear skies sped them up, but other than players commenting about cups surrounded by deflector shields, no one mentioned the dreaded “unfair” word.
Thankfully, the course setup committee has shown for over a decade that they’re all-in on traditional Sunday pins eliciting roars, risk-taking and if the players are good enough, a permanent place in Masters lore. So assuming player brains and nerves haven’t been fried after three long days, this otherwise sociable, entertaining, bright and decidedly old-school Masters week should shine on Sunday.
Scheffler By The Numbers
Through 54 holes:
66-72-71
35/42 fairways (83%)
34/54 greens 63%
26-27-29 putts 1.5 avg.
302.3 yards off the tee
14/20 scrambling (70%)
Par 3’s -2, Par 4’s +2, Par 5’s -7
History At Stake Sunday
Scheffler
Would be the 18th player to win the Masters multiple times and first to accomplish the feat since Bubba Watson in 2014
Would be the fourth-youngest player to win the Masters multiple times, behind Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros
Morikawa
Would be his third major championship title in his 17th start in a major.
Would be the 48th man to win three majors.
Would be the eighth player to win the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open (joining Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson).
Would enter the 2024 U.S. Open with a chance to be the sixth player to complete the Career Grand Slam
Aberg
With a win would become the third player since the inception of the Masters in 1934 to win a major in his first attempt, joining Ben Curtis (2003 Open Championship) and Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship)
Quotable
Scheffler on his often discussed putting. “It's a good place to be. I feel like I'm starting to make some putts on line and I'm in a comfortable spot with my game. Yeah, I'm definitely excited about tomorrow…At times last year, I've talked about it a decent amount, but I think I was just overthinking things. So it's nice to just put the ball down and use my eyes and see that ball go into the hole. Yeah, it's a good place to be.”
Scheffler on the course difficulty Saturday. “It was a frustrating day to be playing this golf course….it was very challenging out there. But it's a major championship. I don't think Augusta wants their golf course to be very easy so... (turning to Member).”
Scheffler on Masters fan support. “It's nice walking onto these tee boxes and getting a nice ovation. I think No. 12 is one of those for me today. I double 10 and bogey 11, and then we were walking up that tee on 12 and everybody kind of stands up behind the tee and starts cheering me on. It's a really nice feeling to have the crowd behind you. I try to embrace that as much as possible out there.”
Collin Morikawa (69/2) on how the final round might play out. “It's going to depend how the first five to nine holes go. But, yeah, look, Scottie is the No. 1 player in the world for a reason, and what he's done over the past few years is incredible. But at the end of the day, it doesn't scare me. I still know that at my best and at what I truly believe I can do. I saw a little glimpse of that early on today. And just didn't hit the shots I needed to. Didn't really make the putts on the back nine, or else I would be even with him or 1-up.”
Morikawa on his Sunday morning plan. “I'll probably wake up tomorrow and look at [the pin sheet] and briefly glance through it. You just don't know what to expect out here. I mean, today, as the round was going through, you could just tell the greens were just completely changing. Tomorrow it's going to be even that much more bouncy, fast.”
Max Homa on his birdie-free third round (73/3rd). “If I catch myself thinking about what could go wrong, I let myself dream about what could go right. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I didn't know what was going to happen today.If you told me I made no birdies today, I would have thought I imploded. You just kind of go with the flow.”
Homa, asked if he was consulting research after noting how Chris DiMarco layed up in his 2005 Tiger duel. “No, I've watched all the Masters probably 700 times, especially the Tiger ones.”
Ludvig Aberg on his first Masters Saturday (70/4th). “One of the coolest things are the really long shadows you see. Those are pretty iconic for Augusta. We're walking down No. 10 and walking up 18 and you see those really long shadows. It's really cool to, first off, experience it and see it firsthand.”
Bryson DeChambeau (75/5th) after 30 putts Saturday. “I'm going to look back on this one and try to figure out how to putt well, putt better on these greens and control the speed a little bit more. I haven't been able to use the foresight on the putting green, which is another variable that gets thrown in, which is totally fine. I've got to be able to conquer it. Nobody else is doing it, and they're able to putt just fine. I've got to learn. Just like the greens books. We're not able to use greens books out here, I've had to learn and adjust to that. This is just another step. I've got to figure out, when the greens get this firm, this crisp, how to control the speed just a little bit better.”
Tiger Woods on his 82 (T52). “I haven't competed and played much. When I had chances to get it flipped around and when I made that putt at 5, I promptly three-putted 6 and flub a chip at 7 and just got it going the wrong way, and when I had opportunities to flip it, I didn't.”
Will Zalatoris (72, T21) on the 12th hole. “12 is 150 yards of brutality. I've made plenty of birdies there, but I've made plenty of bogeys. My dad always told me, when you're standing on the bridge on 12 to look back and take that view because it's a view you'll never get on TV. Always special being here. Never take it for granted.”
Tyrrell Hatton (72/T21) on struggling with Augusta and the 18th hole cup placement. “I don't know how I have to play golf around here to shoot under par. Like it's now my 23rd tournament round. I've got four rounds under par. I don't know what to say about the last there. The greens are getting quicker, but I'm putting up the hill. I actually felt like I'd left the putt a foot short. My pace has been good all day. It's gone like three foot past, and the cup's sitting like that. You can't see it on TV or whatever, but it's an interesting slope that it's on. It's hard.”