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The historic five-stroke margin has shrunk heading into the home stretch at Augusta National. Taking to the pole position, Scottie Scheffler looked flawless on his first nine as he turned in 3-under and extended his lead to six-strokes at various points on Saturday.
Standing at 11-under on the 12th tee, the wheels began to fall off the world No. 1. Carding four bogeys against two birdies over his final seven holes, Scheffler’s advantage shortened as Cameron Smith finished in a flurry.
With his tee shot on the 18th hole finding a holly tree, it appeared as if Scheffler would head into the final round with only a two-stroke edge. Keeping his head and using the rules to his advantage, the 25-year-old made a world class bogey-5, securing a three-stroke lead at the 54-hole mark.
When asked about his finish, Scheffler said, “Fortunately they found the ball. And then all I was trying to do was figure out how I was going to get it on the green for my third shot. And fortunately, I was able to take an unplayable out of the bush and still have a swing.”
Adding, “I think I could have gone in there and played it if I had to, but getting out of the bush and trying to make my five from there with a drop and guarantee me being out of the bush was huge, and I hit a really good shot and had a nice up-and-down.”
All in for a round of 1-under 71, the three-time winner on the PGA Tour sits at 9-under compared to Smith’s 6-under. With Sungjae Im at 4-under, a three-man race has emerged with Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, and Rory McIlroy hoping for an unconscious Sunday to play themselves back into the tournament.
Down from +100 to -225 at PointsBet Sportsbook, Scheffler will have to stand face-to-face with the second hottest player in the world in Smith. Sharing the final tee time tomorrow, the pair should provide plenty of fireworks as they race to put on the green jacket.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
-225: Scottie Scheffler
+275: Cameron Smith
+1600: Sungjae Im
+5000: Shane Lowry
+6600: Justin Thomas
+15000: Charl Schwartzel, Corey Conners
+40000: Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy
Round 4 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
Rory McIlroy +105 over Collin Morikawa:
The backdoor has swung wide open as McIlroy sits in a tie for ninth-place. On the cusp of yet another top-10 finish at the Masters, the Northern Irishman has thrived in this spot throughout his career. With six top-10 finishes in his last nine Masters, McIlroy has carded under-par rounds in each instance when outside of five-strokes of the lead.
Averaging 68.80 in these instances, I expect more of the same tomorrow as the 32-year-old has looked sharp at moments. With the winds forecasted to lie down in the final round, McIlroy’s tee-to-green presence should propel him to something in the high 60’s and past Morikawa in the process.
Harry Higgs +145 over Lee Westwood:
It may bite us in the butt to bet against Westwood once again, but the calmer conditions should aid Higgs’ efforts to do so. The Masters debutant has impressed thus far as he sits at 3-over and has the potential to not only come in as the low first-timer, but also play himself into next year’s Masters with a finish of T-12 or better.
Gaining strokes throughout his bag on Saturday, the fun-loving SMU product’s full tournament metrics would look even better if not for a poor Friday. 11th in SG: Tee-to-Green and fifth in SG: Approach, I am hoping the 30-year-old will be able to implement the little knowledge he has garnered on the greens to push us past Westy.
2/3-Balls YTD: -11.45 units, -23.99%
Total YTD: +47.72 units, +46.93%
