How to beat Jordan Spieth and win the Masters

No one has held the lead, or even tied for the lead, at the Masters in the last two years other than Jordan Spieth. It’s become his second home and now he’s playing in the final group on Sunday for the third time in his short three-year Masters career. He’s got the lead again and is the favorite, but a late Saturday stumble opened things up to a loaded group of chasers. Here are a few ways they can pull off the chasedown and win the green jacket.

You’re losing strokes to the field if you do not pile up birdies, and even eagles, on the par-5s at Augusta. This is the case almost weekly on the PGA Tour, but no move at Augusta can be made without posting some red numbers at Nos. 2, 8, 13 and 15.

Rory McIlroy’s success and failure at Augusta is dependent on how he plays the par-5s. Early in his career, he wasted the tremendous power advantage he has off the tee on these holes, just throwing away shots. He’s had better results at Augusta in recent years because he has figured out how to carve up the par-5s. In his first eight tours through the par-5s this week, Rory finished 7-under. Then Saturday happened. He was wayward with his driver, finding steep fairway bunkers and other impediments to his getting home in two or getting up-and-down easily. McIlroy made up no ground on the par-5s and tumbled down the leaderboard.

McIlroy is still in this, but he’ll need to light it up on those holes -- make an eagle at one, birdies at the others.

Unfortunately for Spieth, Rory is not the only bomber within striking distance. Two of the game’s preeminent long hitters are three strokes back at even-par, tied for 5th. One is the No. 1 player in the world, Jason Day, and the other, Dustin Johnson, set a new Masters record last year with three eagles in one round on those par-5s. Day and DJ have the distance advantage over Spieth and if they want to close the gap, they can’t miss these opportunities. They will make bogeys elsewhere, but these holes have to mitigate this damage and move them closer to the lead.

The chance will come early, too, on Sunday. That second hole is a critical spot to watch. Spieth’s lead could be reduced to one, or nothing at all, by the time he reaches No. 1 tee. Spieth already knows the group chasing includes some of the most powerful modern talent, and one of them -- Rory, DJ, Day, Hideki Matsuyama -- making a move by No. 2 would be unnerving.

The second nine par-5s at Nos. 13 and 15 are obviously two of the most famous holes in golf, responsible for so many late Sunday moves at Augusta. You simply have to come out of those two under-par if you want to post that mid-60s round and pull off a Sunday charge. Day and DJ will go big there.

Not every one of these is the hardest holes on the course, but it’s a quick and easy way to vaporize a Sunday second nine charge before the birdie opportunities even arrive. The 10th has lost some of its teeth in recent years, as modern players bomb it way down the hill and hit a short iron into that sloped green.

But it’s still not the most comfortable right-to-left shot off the tee. We saw Rory relive some of his 2011 nightmares there on Saturday, overcooking it and yanking one down the left side into the pines.

The 11th is one of the hardest holes on the course and if you’re chasing, you need to come away unscathed with a par. Both Spieth and McIlroy made double-bogey there on Saturday in much different ways. Don’t be stupid and try to actually go at this pin, no matter how far behind you are on the leaderboard. Miss the green entirely on the right, but just don’t go at the pin or flirt with the water hazard. Most players know this and avoid it at all costs but there was Rory trying some insane hero shot on Saturday:

Don’t screw around at No. 11. Make your par and get the hell out of there.

There’s not exactly time to exhale after the challenge of the 11th. The tee shot at No. 12 can be the most intimidating in golf, especially on Sunday. It is the most famous par-3 in the world, with a tucked pin, water, sand and jail all around it. It should be an easy wedge for a lot of these guys, but the hole plays over-par and it’s another spot for a Sunday charge to be extinguished.

All three of these holes play over-par and no matter how much pressure you’re feeling to make a move, just coming through it clean with no dropped shots and getting to the 13th tee, an enormous birdie chance, is paramount.

“I turned around on, after 15, I said, how the hell is he 2‑under par today? But it’s his most impressive asset, it’s his most impressive ‑‑ and as much as it could be annoying to his competitors, it’s very, very impressive.” - Rory McIlroy after Saturday’s third round

Spieth is not playing as well as he did last year. It’s not been the smoothest ride -- he cracked his driver the night before the Masters, which is a less than ideal way to go into a major championship.

Some are saying he’s “winning ugly” this time around. And some of his stats, particularly driving, are not world-beating. He missed badly off the tee going right on several holes in the third round, both early and late. The late right misses, at Nos. 17 and 18, cost him three shots and brought a huge swath of players back into it with 18 more holes to go. But Spieth’s short iron game and putter have him back on the lead for the seventh straight round at the Masters.

Day, DJ, Matsuyama -- all these world-class talents -- can go out and shoot a 67 and will still need Spieth to stall out a bit. He gave them a gift on Saturday night and left the course angry and “uneasy” about how his approach now has to change.

I can’t rely on the putter the way I did today. I’ve got to strike the ball better. That’s what leaves me a little uneasy compared to last year. I was at a four‑shot lead and we were, what, 16‑under. I’ve got to, and I relied on my putter on Sunday last year and it came through. Can’t do that every single round, so I’ve got to put myself in better positions tomorrow.

The tough conditions and a few mishaps have opened windows for the rest of the field that he simply did not provide last year.

The chasers have to hope that Saturday night was not the anomalous bump in a four-day march to his second straight green jacket.