Conners, Matsuyama take advantage of Moving Day at Masters

Apr. 11—AUGUSTA — Corey Conners started Saturday five shots off the Masters Tournament lead.

Through seven holes, he had shaved four shots from par.

Moving Day, as the third round at golf tournaments is traditionally known, featured plenty of excitement at Augusta National Golf Club. There were several birdies, a few eagles and even a hole-in-one.

Mother Nature even struck a blow, stopping play at 3:57 p.m. because of the threat of dangerous weather. After some rain, play resumed at 5:15 and the golfers took advantage of benign conditions.

Conners had the day's hottest start. He was 1 under through five holes, then he made a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth. The Canadian pulled the right club on the 180-yard hole, an 8-iron, and the ball bounced a couple of times before tracking right into the cup.

He followed that up with a birdie at No. 7, and all of a sudden he was tied for second and closing in on leader Justin Rose.

Conners' momentum slowed with a bogey at No. 10 and, after the weather delay, he 3-putted No. 13 for par. At No. 14, his tee shot came to rest near a pine tree and he had to hit a recovery shot left-handed. That led to another bogey, but he closed strong with birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 for 4-under 68.

"I feel like I've been in a groove with the ball striking for the last while," Conners said. "The shot on 6 was obviously really special and kind of sparked things a little bit."

Hideki Matsuyama made the biggest move of the day with 7-under 65. He started the day three behind Rose but caught him with birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 after the restart. An eagle at the par-5 15th put him ahead of Rose for the first time, and he added birdies at the 16th and 17th.

The Japanese star, who was bogey-free Saturday, will take a four-shot lead into the final round.

Matsuyama's playing partner, Xander Schauffele, got hot on the second nine and fired 68 to match Conners for second-lowest score of the day.

Not all players went in the right direction Saturday. Justin Thomas shot a 3-over 75 that included a triple-bogey 8 at No. 13. Brian Harman (74), Tony Finau (73), Si Woo Kim (74) and Bernd Wiesberger (74) were among the challengers who also shot over par in the third round.

Billy Horschel took Moving Day in a different direction as he suffered a slip and fall on the grassy bank of the 13th green. His second shot wound up in the tributary of Rae's Creek, so he took off his socks and shoes and rolled up his white pants.

But he lost his footing and fell on his backside, sliding a bit down the bank. He was able to get the submerged ball onto the green and salvaged par in his round of 73.

"It was an incredible golf shot. That's not easy," Phil Mickelson, Horschel's playing partner, said. "Sometimes that thing comes out kind of blah. I'm curious how he hit that.

"But certainly down that bank he slipped, and fortunately he wasn't hurt. It's a pretty steep bank and that wet rye makes a difference."

Mickelson had one of the best early rounds with 3-under 69. He applauded the firm course conditions, which he said "punishes" players when they make mistakes. At even par through 54 holes, he knows he will have to fire a special round Sunday.

"I'll need to shoot something in the mid to low 60s, which is still fun to have a chance," he said. "You want that opportunity to do what (Jack) Nicklaus did in '86 and shoot 65 and have a chance. I don't know if that will be good enough, but I'm having a lot of fun."