The wind has died down some at Augusta National late in the day making for somewhat easier conditions. The field hasn’t suddenly started racking up birdies, but they are there to be made. But the course is still a fine line between red numbers and disaster as even Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are finding out.
2016 Masters leaderboard: Jordan Spieth holding steady while Rory McIlroy stumbles
McIlroy started the day at 3-under and just one stroke off the lead. It’s all unraveled from there. He’s yet to make a birdie in the third round and has run into frequent trouble, especially off the tee. Those errant tee shots have left him scrambling, sometimes to disastrous results. Like on No. 11 when he tried to recover from the pine straw, only to hit his approach shot into the water.
He went on to make a double bogey. He is 5-over on the day and now 2-over for the tournament. Troublesome rounds have doomed McIlroy at Augusta National, and that once again appears to be the case. He has time to recover, but he has put himself in a precarious situation.
Spieth has opened the door for McIlroy and others, but continues to play just well enough to stay in the lead. He’s been a bit wild off the tee. Once again, his short game has saved him, especially on the greens. Spieth continues to putt well and save big pars. He’s still only even on his round and sits at 4-under for the tournament.
Several players have pulled closer to contention, led by Hideki Matsuyama. He’s 2-under on the round dropping him to 3-under for the tournament and just one shot behind. Smylie Kaufman shot a 69 to post 2-under while Bernhard Langer shot a 70 and sits at 1-under.
Here is a snapshot of current leaderboard. For a live leaderboard head over to Masters.com.
| Place | Player | Score | Through |
| 1 | Jordan Spieth | -4 | 13 |
| 2 | Hideki Matsuyama | -3 | 15 |
| 3 | Smylie Kaufman | -2 | F |
| 4 | Bernhard Langer | -1 | F |
| T5 | Jason Day | E | F |
| T5 | Dustin Johnson | E | F |
| T5 | Danny Willett | E | 16 |
| T8 | Lee Westwood | 1 | F |
| T8 | Soren Kjeldsen | 1 | 14 |
| T8 | Brandt Snedeker | 1 | 14 |
| T8 | Scott Piercy | 1 | 13 |
| T12 | Daniel Berger | 2 | F |
| T12 | Danny Lee | 2 | 13 |
| T12 | Rory McIlroy | 2 | 13 |
| T15 | Justin Rose | 3 | F |
| T15 | Angel Cabrera | 3 | F |
| T15 | J.B. Holmes | 3 | F |
| T15 | Bryson DeChambeau | 3 | 17 |
| T15 | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 3 | 15 |
| T20 | Louis Oosthuizen | 4 | F |
| T20 | Matt Kuchar | 4 | F |
| T20 | Billy Horschel | 4 | F |
| T20 | Emiliano Grillo | 4 | F |
| T20 | Paul Casey | 4 | F |
| T20 | Jimmy Walker | 4 | F |
| T20 | Chris Wood | 4 | F |
| T27 | Bill Haas | 5 | F |
| T27 | Charley Hoffman | 5 | F |
| T27 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 5 | F |
| T27 | Jamie Donaldson | 5 | F |
| T27 | Brooks Koepka | 5 | F |
| T32 | Rafael Cabrera Bello | 6 | F |
| T32 | Davis Love III | 6 | F |
| T32 | Shane Lowry | 6 | 17 |
| T32 | Troy Merritt | 8 | F |
| T36 | Webb Simpson | 7 | F |
| T36 | Adam Scott | 7 | F |
| T36 | Harris English | 7 | F |
| T39 | Patrick Reed | 8 | F |
| T39 | Anirban Lahiri | 8 | F |
| T39 | Keegan Bradley | 8 | F |
| T39 | Bernd Wiesberger | 8 | F |
| T39 | Sergio Garcia | 8 | 16 |
| T44 | Kevin Kisner | 9 | F |
| T44 | Victor Dubuisson | 9 | F |
| T44 | Henrik Stenson | 9 | F |
| T44 | Kevin Streelman | 9 | F |
| T48 | Bubba Watson | 10 | F |
| T48 | Hunter Mahan | 10 | F |
| T50 | Justin Thomas | 11 | F |
| T50 | Larry Mize | 11 | F |
| 52 | Martin Kaymer | 12 | F |
| T53 | Thongchai Jaidee | 13 | F |
| T53 | Ian Poulter | 13 | F |
| T53 | Cameron Smith | 13 | F |
| 56 | Romain Langasque | 14 | F |
| 57 | Kevin Na | 15 | F |
Watch Ernie Els seven-putt from six feet out
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