Hideki Matsuyama had to speak to newspaper and tv journalists after shooting a flawless 65 in difficult conditions at the third round of the Masters. It was the only time through a long, rain-delayed afternoon that he seemed remotely uncomfortable. The Japanese golfer will take a four-shot lead over four players, including 36-hole leader Justin Rose, into today’s final round.
Matsuyama, 29, has been something of an enigma over the last four years. Back in 2017 he won two World Golf Championship tournaments by seven and five shots, rose to number two in the world and seemed on the cusp of becoming one of the great players of this generation. His final round 61 when winning the WGC at Firestone Country Club in August of that year was one of the greatest exhibitions of golf delivered by any player over the last decade.
That though was his last victory, as he became the kind of player who regularly finished in the top 20 without ever looking likely to win. This season has been like the three previous ones: always present, never winning. “This year’s been a struggle,” he said after his round yesterday. “I haven’t really played my best. The last three years, you know, there’s been different reasons why I haven’t been able to win.
“But this year, starting early in the season, I have a coach with me now from Japan. It’s been a great help, a great benefit. Things that I was feeling in my swing, I could talk to him about that, and he was giving me good feedback. He has a good eye. It’s like having a mirror for my swing, and it’s been a great help for me.”
In yesterday’s third round Matsuyama rediscovered the 2017 version of himself and became the first player in this tournament to shoot a bogey-free round. He completed his back nine in 30 shots and that included an unlikely three-putt on the par-5 thirteenth. His iron shots to the 12th, 13th, 15th 16th and 17th greens were masterful. It was golf from another planet and anything close to that form will see him become the first male Japanese player to win a major championship.
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It was a tough experience for Justin Rose who led this tournament from the first round but struggled with his ball striking yesterday and only remains in contention through the excellence of his short game and a never-say-die attitude. Rose saved par through a brilliant bunker shot on the 11th, a great putt on the 14th, an exquisite chip on the 15th and through two great putts on the 17th and 18th.
At the beginning of the day we waited to see who would come from the pack to challenge the Englishman. Before Rose even got to the first tee, the Canadian Corey Connors had thrown down a challenge, playing the first seven holes in four under par and leaping up to tied second, a shot behind Rose. Connors made a hole-in-one at the 182-yard par-3 sixth.
Others followed Conners’ lead, most notably Rose’s playing partner Will Zalatoris, Matsuyama and Xander Shauffele. Matsuyama was the only one amongst the leaders not to drop a shot on the front nine, his one birdie on that nine coming at the day’s toughest hole, the seventh. It was on the back nine that Matsuyama’s game moved onto a different level.
He hit his one wayward drive at the tough 11th, pushing it into the trees on the right and forcing him to punch a low shot under hanging branches to the green. Before he could attempt that shot, the hooter sounded, and play was suspended. Matsuyama spent most of the 90-minute break in his car playing computer games on his phone.
His first shot on the resumption was that low approach from the trees. He played it brilliantly, getting the ball to within 12 feet of the flagstick and then holing the putt for birdie. From there to the end, Matsuyama played beautifully. The 5-iron he hit to the centre of the 15th green to set up his eagle was, he said, the best shot he’d struck all week.
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The shots that set up birdies at the 16th and 17th were also excellent. And when he needed to make a good up-and-down at the 14th and a miraculous one on the 18th, he was equal to the task. His chip from off the back of the 18th green is generally considered an impossible shot bit he got it to within three feet and then holed the putt.
He achieved the rare feat of making birdie at the first of Amen Corner’s three holes and that put him level with Rose and Zalatoris at the top of the leaderboard. Matsuyama then played the most precise approach to the par-5 fifteenth, leaving him a very makeable eagle putt. He holed that and had the lead on his own.
Seconds before Matsuyama made his eagle, his playing partner Shauffele holed a 30-foot for his eagle. That allowed him to jump into a temporary tie for the lead but that became a two-shot deficit as Matsuyama then rolled in his eagle putt. As the first of the four players to finish at seven under, Shauffele will be in the final pairing with Matsuyama in the final round.
There are good reasons why the man who leads the tournament after the opening round of the Masters so rarely wins. Not least the stress that comes with expectation and the endless questions in countless interviews. Without realising it, the player seeps energy and worries if he can hold onto what he has. It’s inevitable, especially for one who wants the Green Jacket as much as Rose does.
They don’t come easily. So many came into the weekend close enough to the lead to believe in their chances. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were the two obvious challengers but Thomas lost his chance with a calamitous eight on the par-5 13th. He had an 80-yard pitch for this third but a mis-hit saw his ball fall into Rae’s Creek and from there, things got worse.
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Spieth played well and holed his chip shot for a birdie on the tenth. He just couldn’t make enough putts which generally is his strength.
For a first-year professional Zalatoris dealt remarkably well with the pressure. A year and a half ago, he wasn’t in the world’s top 2000 golfers. Having got himself into the final pairing yesterday, he refused to be fazed. “I’ve wanted this my whole life and now that I’m here, it feels like I’m playing with house money. Yeah, the joke that I’ve been having with my family is if I’m stupid enough to think I can play here, then I’m stupid enough to think I can win it.”
Ironically Rose had begun his round impressively, making birdies at the opening two holes. He gave those shots back on the fourth and fifth and things took a turn for the worse when his ball-striking went awry on the back nine. Without some miraculous scrambling, he wouldn’t have had much to play for today.
As it stands, he is tied second with Marc Leishman, Shauffele and Zalatoris. They will wonder about Matsuyama and how he will cope with the pressure that comes with a substantial lead. Ten years ago, he won the prize for the lowest amateur in his first Masters. That was 2011, the same year Rory McIlroy began the final round with a four-shot lead. We recall how that went.
Matsuyama is the favourite but in this game that status comes without guarantees.
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On TV today
The Masters final round
7pm, Sky Sports Main Event
Leading third-round scores
United States unless stated
205 H Matsuyama (Japan) 69, 71, 65.
209 J Rose (Eng) 65, 72, 72; X Schauffele 72, 69, 68; M Leishman (Aus) 72, 67, 70; W Zalatoris 70, 68, 71.
210 C Conners (Can) 73, 69, 68.
211 J Spieth 71, 68, 72.
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212 B Harman 69, 69, 74.
213 T Finau 74, 66, 63.
214 R MacIntyre (Scot) 74, 70, 70; Si Woo-kim 71, 69, 74; B Wiesberger (Austria) 74, 66, 74.
215 P Reed 70, 75, 70; K Na 75, 70, 70; H Stenson (Swe) 73, 71, 71; S Cink 74, 69, 72; W Hovland (Nor) 73, 70, 72; R Palmer 74, 68, 73; C Smith (Aus) 74, 68, 73; J Thomas 73, 67, 75.
Other British
217 M Wallace (Eng) 74, 72, 71; M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 74, 70, 73; T Fleetwood (ENG) 74, 70, 73.
219 I Poulter (Eng) 74, 73, 72; T Hatton (Eng) 71, 74, 74.
220 P Casey (Eng) 73, 74, 73.
