Scottie Scheffler has the Masters green jacket in his sights after a carding a one-under-par 71 to leave him three shots clear at the top of the leaderboard at Augusta National.
But while he enjoyed another strong day, Tiger Woods endured a bit of a nightmare. Saturday proved to be his most difficult day of the week so far after shooting a six-over 78 in round three - his worst score on the iconic Augusta course.
Scheffler came into moving day five shots clear of the rest of the field at the top of the leaderboard, and, the newly crowned world No 1 looked to continue where he’d left off with another quick start in round three.
The American star picked up two birdies in his first three holes to extend his lead even further, but was then slightly brought back down to earth after he gave one back with a bogey at the par three fourth.
Despite the hiccup, his birdie trail restarted soon after at both six and eight to leave him 11-under for the event, as the rest of the field continued to look up at the roaring No 1 golfer. Scheffler looked a man in control, however if there was one course that did not give up lightly it was Augusta National.
Scoring proved a little tougher on the famous Georgia back nine, and after finding the front bunker on the par three 12th, Scheffler felt the course bite back as he walked away with a frustrating bogey.
As he still found himself clear at the top, the world No 1’s battle on Saturday looked to be more with the Augusta course rather than his rivals, as he quickly hit back with an immediate birdie at 13, before handing two back with bogeys on 14 and 15. Meanwhile, one man looking to pounce on Scheffler’s stutter was Thursday's star of the show Cameron Smith.
Smith carded an impressive six-under-par for the lead on day one, however struggles on Friday saw him fall off the pace. Despite this, the Aussie star was in no mood to allow Scheffler to coast his way at the top, as he fought back to put some rare pressure on the leader.
Who do you think will win The Masters? Let us know in the comments section.
After a standard start, Smith carded five birdies in 10 holes to draw him four shots behind the leader and into contention, as he headed into the clubhouse at six-under and within three of Scheffler. The American headed to the 16th on the back of three bogeys in four holes, however a remarkable birdie at 17 restored his four-shot lead.
The drama was not done there though, as Scheffler stumbled at the final hurdle after crashing his tee shot at 18 left into the trees. Despite this an impressive iron shot from the pines saw the leader limit the damage to a commendable bogey after taking a penalty drop from the bushes, capping off an eventful round.
At the other end of the leaderboard golfing icon Woods endured a much more difficult day to the two prior, following his six-over 78 on day three. The fact the 15-time major champion is even competing is a remarkable achievement in itself, and to find himself inside the top 20 through 36 holes was something special.
But the gruelling challenge of Augusta National clearly took its toll on Saturday, after a poor round with the putter saw him slip down the leaderboard leaving him seven-over for the tournament with round to go.
Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy enjoyed a much improved day, after carding his first round under-par round for the tournament. Two inconsistent days had seen McIlroy card back-to-back 73’s to leave him two-over. However a solid one-under-par 71 saw him cut a shot off his event score heading into Sunday.
His Irish Olympic teammate Shane Lowry is the man flying the European flag, as he sits in a tie for 4th with 18 holes to play. Despite an impressive start, a frustrating back nine followed for Lowry as he shot one-over-par to leave him two-under for the event.
