A day filled with high drama before a shot was struck at Augusta National, ended with Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera tied for the lead, and Tiger Woods only four shots back. For a few tense hours in the morning, it was not clear if Woods was going to get a chance to play. (see my blog 'Woods / Ridley mess-up.. Tiger should have WD )
Snedeker has been building toward a moment like this for the last year, and he seized his chance on a glorious afternoon with a bogey-free round of 3-under 69. After opening with 12 pars, he birdied both the par 5s and stuffed his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th to take the lead. Cabrera joined him at 7-under 209 with a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole, capping off a round in which he twice made bogey on the par 5s
Cabrera, whose two major titles include a Masters win in 2009, has plunged to No. 269 in the world. Snedeker on the other hand strted this year red hot with two T2 and a win.
Adam Scott rammed home a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole for a 69 and was one shot behind at -6. He was runner-up here to Schwartzel in 2011, and golf fans vividly remember last summer at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, where he bogeyed his last four holes and finished one shot behind Ernie Els
Two more Aussies, Marc Leishman (72) and Jason Day (73) were another shot behind at -5 and as they keep getting reminded the Masters is the only major an Australian has never won, a point driven home with every mention of Greg Norman losing a six-shot lead on the last day in 1996
Day was in the lead for most of the day, going 18 straight holes without a bogey until he missed short par putts on the last two holes.
Matt Kuchar (69) was three shots back at -4, and Woods was right behind at -3.
Lost in all of this were Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.
Rory had two bogeys and a triple bogey over a five-hole stretch in the middle of his round after he'd briefly moved to within three strokes of the lead. "The margins are very small on this course and when you get on the wrong side of some of these slopes, you can't help but get a penalty," said McIlroy, who closed in 42. "I felt like I was done in on 11 and 15, but that's the way it goes." He shot 79.
But much like the rest of his season, Saturday's round was wildly inconsistent with four bogeys, a double, a triple, one birdie and a dozen pars. For the week, he has more bogeys, 11 than birdies 9, and has just 59 percent of his fairways and taken 87 putts
Mickelson, always a favorite to win at Augusta, seemed out of sorts with the greens from the start has shot 76 77.
Other guys who were in contention early but aren't now... David Lynn shot 80, Fred Couples dropped out with 77, Dufner 75, DJohnson 74, Schwartzel 75, Luke Donald 75 and how about Keegan Bradley at 82..
Here's the great news, Tianlang Guan the 14 year old sensation holed a 70 footer for par on 18 to get in at 77 and is +9 going into Sunday.
The big winner so far this year is Augusta National, in fairly benign weather conditions the best the world's best can take from her par is 7 shots...so although there are 12 players within 5 shots as we head into the fabled back nine on Sunday.. somehow or other she will decide who the winner will be..
For live scoring click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html
Bryana (notes from BBC, Reuters and pgatour.com)
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