AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jordan Spieth has been here before, but he has not done that.
Not yet.
Sunday, though, should be his day. And why shouldn’t it be? Spieth has been in complete control the last three days around Augusta National and carries a four-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the Masters.
A year ago, at age 20 playing in his first Masters, Spieth slept with a share of the 54-hole lead with Bubba Watson. He shot 72 while Watson shot 69 and won his second Green Jacket in three years.
A year later, Spieth slept alone with the solo 54-hole lead.
Spieth, who has been setting records all week, shot a 70 on Saturday and broke the 54-hole Masters scoring record with 200 through three rounds, eclipsing the 201s that Woods posted in 1997 and Raymond Floyd did in 1976.
At one point, after a birdie on the 16th hole, Spieth got to 18-under to become only the second player in Masters history to reach that score (tying Woods’ winning score in 1997).
But after a shaky finish that included a sloppy double bogey on 17, he finished at 16-under. Justin Rose is four shots back at 12-under. Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson is 11-under. Charley Hoffman is 10-under.
Those four will play for the Green Jacket on Sunday. The rest of the field will play for position and paycheck.
“It’s in Jordan’s hands right now,’’ said Woods, who made some noise with a 68 to get to 6-under, but is too far back to win his fifth Green Jacket. “He can run off and hide and put a substantial gap between himself and the rest of the field. But you just never know. That’s the thing about this golf course.’’
No one knows that better than Rory McIlroy, who blew a four-shot final-round lead in the 2011 Masters.
“I think the good thing for him is he’s already experienced it once,’’ said McIlroy, who shot 68 Saturday to get to 6-under. “He’s played in the final group at the Masters before. It didn’t quite happen for him last year, but I think he’ll have learned from that experience. I think all that put together, he’ll definitely handle it a lot better than I did.’’
Evidence of McIlroy’s theory came on the 18th hole Saturday, after Spieth had spit up those two shots on 17. After hitting his tee shot to the center of the fairway, he airmailed his approach shot over the back of the green, leaving himself a treacherous chip onto the green sloping away from him.
Spieth dropped it softly to within about 7 feet and made the par-saving putt — an up-and-down that might have saved him the tournament, put one arm of the Green Jacket over a hanger in the champion’s locker room.
The up-and-down, given the circumstances, was nothing short of world class.
“I don’t recommend ever hitting it there,’’ Spieth deadpanned. “That wasn’t easy.’’
He called the chances to execute the up-and-down there “kind of maybe one in five.’’
“That just took some guts, and having been in this scenario or having been in contention enough, having been on Tour for a few years, I felt comfortable enough playing that full flop,’’ he said. “If you caught me a year and a half ago, I probably never would have played that shot in that scenario. So it was nice to have seen that go that way, to play the aggressive play, and to close it out with a nice putt.
“That was one of the bigger putts I’ve ever hit. It was huge just to see one go in after the disappointment there on 17.’’
So with that out of his way, Spieth must now stave off the likes of Mickelson, who has the capability of going on monster streaks and is far-and-away the favorite among the masses, and Rose, who has refused to cave to bad stretches of golf all week. Rose, to date, is clearly the comeback player of the tournament.
“There’s going to be roars,’’ Spieth said. “Phil is going to have a lot of roars in front. Everyone loves Phil. Why wouldn’t you love Phil? And he’s going to make some noise and he’s going to make a run. Tiger and Rory [who are paired together], well … you’re going to hear something there.’’
Asked how often he has thought about last year’s Masters final round, Spieth did not drone on with a cliché answer; he responded with straight sincerity.
“All the time,’’ he said. “Last year definitely left a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve been looking to get back, looking at trying to get some revenge on the year. I’ve got a long way to go still.’’