AUGUSTA, Ga. — We’ve seen a Masters Sunday melt the best of golfers. Greg Norman lost a six-stroke lead in 1996 by shooting a horrid 78 in the final round. More recently, Rory McIlroy played brilliantly for three rounds in 2011, but came apart on the back nine and ballooned to an 80 to blow a four-shot lead.
Disaster and disappointment can happen at Augusta National, especially when a Green Jacket is at stake. But that won’t happen to Jordan Spieth, even with former major winners Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose in his rearview mirror.
Sunday of the 79th Masters will be a bit more interesting than expected thanks to Mickelson and Rose, each of whom carded 67 in Saturday’s third round. Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, is at 12-under and will be in the final group with Spieth, while Mickelson, the three-time Masters champion, is at 11-under. But Spieth will start four shots clear of Rose after a 2-under 70 Saturday put him at 16-under for the tournament. His 54-hole score of 200 is the lowest in Masters history, breaking the record of 201 set by Raymond Floyd in 1976 and Tiger Woods in 1997.
Maybe if this were Spieth’s first appearance in the final group at a major, maybe if he were just some kid enjoying a hot weekend, the rest of the contenders might have a chance. But barring someone posting a 64 or better, Spieth has enough guts, game and even experience to get job done.
He already is a seasoned 21-year-old and will draw from being in the final group last year when he held a two-shot lead after seven holes. He played the final 11 holes in 3-over and wound up losing by three shots to Bubba Watson.
“Last year left a bad taste,” Spieth said. “I’ve been looking to get back and get some revenge.”
His only real buckle Saturday came at the par-4 17th where he pulled his tee-shot, muffed a chip and three-putted for double bogey. But he split the fairway at the 18th before pushing his second shot right of the greenside bunker. But there he pulled off an improbable flop shot that helped him save par with “one of the biggest putts I ever hit.”
Spieth called playing in the final group here last year “the highest amount of pressure I’ve ever felt,” adding he “played pretty much the entire round feeling different than I’ve ever felt on the golf course.”
He certainly will feel pressure again Sunday, but Spieth should be used to this kind of thing. Not only did he play in the final group at last year’s Masters, but more recently he won a playoff to capture the Valspar Championship with a birdie on the third extra hole and finished second in his last two tournaments prior to the Masters.
Nothing will come easy. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who are paired at 6-under, will try to make some early noise while Charley Hoffman at 10-under can’t be counted out, along with Mickelson and Rose.
“Everyone loves Phil,” Spieth said. “He’s going to make some noise and he’s going to make a run. Justin is going to do the same and Charley is going to do the same. It’s about throwing those out of my mind, not worrying about it and being patient with the opportunities that are going to come my way.”
Spieth said he is hoping to have “a relatively stress-free round,” with as many tap-in pars as possible to take pressure off his mid-range putting.
“I can’t rely on the putter that much to save me with two major champions right behind me,” he said.
Good luck with that. There’s going to be moments where he will swallow hard, his hands will shake and his knees will knock. But by sundown, Spieth will be wearing a new Green Jacket.