The Latest: Rose, Garcia on top at Masters after 3rd round
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Latest on the third round of the Masters on Saturday (all times local):
7:30 p.m.
Justin Rose's late run has him tied for the lead with Sergio Garcia heading into the final round of the Masters.
Rose, who has a U.S. Open title and an Olympic gold medal, is seeking his first green jacket. Rose ran off five birdies in his final seven holes at Augusta National to finish with a 5-under 67 and was at 6-under 210 for the tournament.
This is Rose's fifth time holding the lead at Augusta after a round.
Garcia, who began the day in a four-way tie at the top, had a steady 70 and rolled in a 7-footer for par on the 18th to maintain his share of the lead.
Garcia, who has never won a major, has never been closer than fourth heading into the final round in his previous 18 Masters appearances.
Rickie Fowler was third at 5 under while Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters winner, headed a group of three who were two strokes back.
That included Charley Hoffman, who held the lead after the first and second round. He was tied for the top heading to the par-3 16th hole when he put his tee shot in the water, simply mouthing the word, "Wow."
Hoffman took double bogey to fall back.
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6:30 p.m.
Justin Rose is back in the clubhouse with a 5-under 67 and a share of the Masters lead.
The Englishman, who won the 2013 U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal last year, made birdies on five of his final seven holes, including the difficult 17th and 18th.
The run left Rose tied with Charley Hoffman at 6-under par. Hoffman has four holes remaining in his round.
Rose was runner-up to Jordan Spieth at Augusta National in 2015. He is now in prime position to win a green jacket.
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5:50 p.m.
If Saturday is moving day at the Masters, Jordan Spieth is moving in the right direction.
The 2015 Masters champion had a run of five birdies in 10 holes to get himself to a stroke behind leader Charley Hoffman late in third round. Spieth looked done on Thursday with an opening 75 that included a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 15th hole.
He steadied himself with a 69 on Friday and then broke out big on Saturday. Spieth had birdies on the sixth, eighth and ninth holes to move within two of Hoffman. He cut the margin by another stroke after a birdie on the 13th hole, Spieth's third one of the week.
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5:30 p.m.
Ernie Els will be playing with a marker in what could be his final round at the Masters.
Even with a 65-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, Els shot an 83 on Saturday. It was his highest score in 79 rounds at Augusta National. The Big Easy had three double bogeys, and it got ugly at the end. He put his tee shot in the water on the par-3 16th, and he took two shots to get out of a bunker on the 17th.
The 47-year-old South African was in last place, one behind Larry Mize.
This is the fifth and final year of Els' exemption from winning his fourth major at the 2012 British Open.
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5:15 p.m.
Charley Hoffman had a birdie on the ninth hole to make the turn with a two-stroke lead in Saturday's third round at the Masters.
Hoffman was a surprise leader Thursday with a 7-under 65, then maintained a share of the top spot with three others Friday. Now, Hoffman is looking to break away once more.
Jordan Spieth is 4 under through 13 holes to tie for second, two shots behind Hoffman. Sergio Garcia, who started the round tied for first, was tied with Spieth halfway through the round.
Hoffman seemed one of the most likely leaders to slip back, following up his 65 on Day 1 with a 75 on Friday. But he had birdies on two of his first four holes and rolled in a 30-footer on the ninth for his third birdie.
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4:15 p.m.
One constant at this year's Masters has been Charley Hoffman atop the leaderboard.
That was the case again early in Saturday's third round at Augusta National, where Hoffman broke out of a four-way tie for first by making birdies on two of his first five holes to take a one-stroke lead over Sergio Garcia. Rickie Fowler was another shot behind while Jordan Spieth, Thomas Pieters and William McGirt were tied three strokes behind Hoffman.
Hoffman shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a four-stroke lead. He was tied with Garcia, Fowler and Pieters after 36 holes.
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3:10 p.m.
The Masters' biggest leaderboard logjam in 44 years could begin to get sorted out now that the four co-leaders have teed off.
The group tied at 4 under through two rounds includes Charley Hoffman, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters and Rickie Fowler. Pieters, a Masters rookie, and Fowler teed off first, then Hoffman and Garcia followed.
The sun has been out all day, hardening greens that had been soft and receptive earlier in the week.
In about five hours, there could be more clarity — or simply more chaos at Augusta National.
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2:50 p.m.
Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth are leading the way at the Masters — at least in the size of their gallery. The two past Masters champions are paired together in the third round and early on picked up much of the large Saturday crowd.
It certainly fired up Mickelson, who opened with birdies on the first and second holes to move to 2-under as those watching applauded wildly. Spieth remained at even par through two holes.
The two are trying to chase down the four co-leaders in Sergio Garcia, Charley Hoffman, Thomas Pieters and Rickie Fowler.
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1:40 p.m.
Former world No. 1 Jason Day has found his stride at Augusta National.
Day followed up an early bogey with birdies on six of his next 13 holes, including four straight at the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th holes to make an early charge. Day started at 6-over par after shooting 74-76 his first two days to fall 10 shots behind. He is now at 2-over and closing in on the quartet of leaders — Charley Hoffman, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Thomas Pieters.
The leaders will tee off in about 90 minutes.
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11 a.m.
It could be another bad Day.
Former world No. 1 Jason Day has struggled at the Masters this week, shooting 74-76 the first two rounds and surviving to the weekend right at the cut line of 6-over par. He was the first to tee off in Saturday's third round and quickly found problems again with a bogey on the par-5 second.
Day has struggled in recent weeks, his best finish in his last three tournaments was a tie for 23rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month.
The four leaders — Charley Hoffman, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Thomas Peters — will tee off in about four hours on what looks like a great day for golf. The forecast is for little-to-no wind, sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s.
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