Masters leaderboard https://www.masters.com/en_US/scores/index.html
Masters tee times https://www.masters.com/en_US/players/pairings/index.html
Ok what do Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Greg Norman, Scott Hoch and Ken Venturi have in common?
Yes you are right, they all are/were fabulous golfers....and yes you are right they all share the ignominy of having large leads going into Sunday at Augusta, and unravelling in one way or another to lose.
Spieth in 2016, at the par-3 12th, when he put not one, but two balls in Rae's Creek en route to a fate-changing quadruple-bogey 7. Rory in 2011 pulled his tee shot on #10 so far left it found a property adjoining Augusta National. He eventually carded a triple-bogey 7. He then four-putted for a double-bogey 5 on the 12th hole. Greg Norman in 1996 led Nick Faldo by six heading into the final round but bogey's at 10, 11, 12, 16 combined with a fine 64 from Sir Nick sealed Norman's fate.
Ken Venturi playing as an amateur in 1956 had a 4 shot lead but 3 putted 6 times on his way to 80, and Scott Hoch in 1989 missed a 2 foot putt on the 10th for a playoff win, allowing Nick Faldo to go on and win the Masters with a birdie at the 11th.
There are others, Ed Sneed, Roberto Devicenzo, Kenny Perry, Curtis Strange all have suffered the same fate.
Patrick Reed has been playing well since the Florida swing, and despite hard charging 65's on Saturday from Rory, Rickie and Rahm, he posted a fine -5 67 -14 of his own and has that 3 shot lead over McIllroy who will be today's final pairing.
But do not hand him the this 82nd Masters title yet. Just ask any of the above.
Today's weather at Augusta will be calm and cool, plenty of sunshine in the afternoon, very little wind so we can expect fireworks, the question is, from who?
What I do know is that despite all the hoopla from the same media who had Tiger or Phil winning this (and remember back on Wednesday I did not include either in my Masters Pool sheet), this is not match play like the famous 2016 Hazeltine Ryder Cup, and Rory (65 -11), who will become the 6th man to win the career grand slam if he wins, is not the only one who can catch Reed.
Rickie Fowler (65 -9)and Jon Rahm (65 -8) are the penultimate pairing, Henrik Stenson (70 -7) and Tommy Fleetwood (66 -6)) are right in front of them and they follow Bubba (68 -6) and Marc Leishman (73 -6)
Yesterday Justin Thomas (70 -5) and Jordan Spieth (71 -5) played well but the putts didn't fall,, They seem out of it but these best friends are paired together and I'd bet the mortgage one if not both of them will have a stress free blast going low. Same with Dustin Johnson (71 -4)
So, yes Patrick Reed has been stellar (69 66 67 -14), so far, and with a little luck he will go out and build on that 4 shot lead and win his first major this afternoon and if he does he will have earned it.
However, something tells me, with all that talent behind him, chasing as low a score as they can with nothing to lose, he won't be leading by 4 shots come the back nine this Sunday..
Haven't we heard that before..
Bryan Angus
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