Masters 2015 leaderboard: Jordan Spieth leads at 16-under heading into Sunday’s final round

Jordan Spieth starts Sunday morning at the Masters with a shot at history. At 16-under, he’s just a 3-under 69 round away from breaking Tiger Woods’ overall scoring record set in 1997 at Augusta. That 18-under score from Tiger came before all the renovations to Augusta, before it was lengthened dramatically and multiple times, before rough was added, and before different and tougher angles were created.

Tiger’s 18-under mark just did not seem reachable. Spieth, however, just has to match his worst score of the week, a 2-under 70, to join Tiger. He’s been in double-digits under-par since early Friday morning, setting a new 36-hole record (that one stood for almost 40 years) and a new 54-hole record. The course is playing a bit easier than in recent years. Rain has softened up the greens and the putting surfaces have been receptive to long iron shots. But that doesn’t diminish the work Spieth has done through 54 holes on the modern and renovated Augusta.

Spieth will have three primary challengers -- Justin Rose, Charley Hoffman and Phil Mickelson. Those three are also double-digit under-par, the closest being Rose at 12-under. A four-shot lead is certainly capable of being erased, and quickly, on Sunday at the Masters. The similarities between this 21-year-old Spieth run and 21-year-old Rory McIlroy in 2011 are a little frightening. McIlroy also started that round with a four-shot lead, had many comparable stats to Spieth this week, and then folded on Sunday. His lead was long gone early on the back nine and he went from a 4-shot lead to a 15th-place finish. For Spieth’s sake, here’s hoping that’s harder to replicate than Tiger’s record score.

Rose is a major champion and has showed that form all week at Augusta. His ball striking is some of the best in the game, and his short game work was most responsible for his late third-round push to get the final tee time on Sunday. This chip-in at the 16th was the last of four straight birdies:

He also added one more improbable birdie at the 18th hole, bombing in a sidewinder putt. Those five birdies in his last six holes got him within four and a date with Spieth. Rose’s game, however, has not been sharp all season and it’s hard to see him repeating that kind of run, which is what may be needed to chase down Spieth.

The most likely challenger is three-time green jacket winner Phil Mickelson. He matched Rose with the round of the day on Saturday, a 5-under 67. It could have been a 65 if not for a couple burned edges that were 50-50 putts. Mickelson knows the course better than anyone, has put together these weekend runs many times, and will have larger and louder crowds than Spieth if he gets hot. He has posted rounds of 70-68-67, so things are “trending” as they say. If he fires a mid-60s number Sunday, something he is completely capable of, he’ll push Spieth and challenge the record himself. Eagles at either the second, 13th or 15th are probably necessary for Mickelson to contend. He definitely needs to get at least two birdies on the four par-5s.

Not to be forgotten is the third-to-last tee time, the powerhouse duo of Tiger Woods and McIlroy. The gap between them and the three aforementioned chasers is really steep, and the gap all the way to Spieth seems insurmountable. They’re 10 shots back and would likely need a course record round (63) just to get into contention (not necessarily win). That looked in play when both guys went out in 32 on Saturday (Tiger’s number could have been a 30 real easily). But even if Spieth collapses and gives them hope, there’s also those three other world-class talents starting with a 4/5/6 shot cushion in between. It seems like they’re counting on too many other things they don’t have control of just to get in the mix.

Here’s the full leaderboard at the start of Sunday: