LIVE BLOG: It’s Saturday at The Masters; Follow Our Live Coverage
It’s Saturday at The Masters, and we’re here for you all day. Refresh this page throughout the day for live blog coverage of the 2020 Masters. The live leaderboard is available here, or under the live blog coverage below.
5:15 p.m. – Dustin Owning This Tournament
See the final Saturday gallery and leaderboard by clicking here.
Dustin Johnson has finished in the top 10 at Augusta National each of the last four years. Last year he was the runner-up. But he’s yet to ever win this major championship. Actually, he’s never won ANY major championship.
But this year, he’s the No. 1 golfer in the world rankings, and he’s going to enter Sunday’s play with a monster four-shot lead. He finished Saturday with his second 65 of the tournament.
Will he be able to replicate the magical 7-under round he had today? Or will Mexico’s Abraham Ancer or Korea’s Sungjae Im, who both sit tied for second place, be able to catch up? Both of those golfers are playing in their first-ever Masters, and will likely be in the final group Sunday. A remarkable accomplishment. Australia’s Cam Smith is also tied for second.
The stat you're about to hear way too many times over the next 24 hours: Dustin Johnson has held four previous 54-hole leads at major championships. He's 0-for-4 in trying to convert for victories.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGolf) November 14, 2020
4:25 p.m. – Augusta National Is Alive
There’s no other way to explain what just happened on the 16th hole than to say that Augusta National is alive and isn’t happy about the low scoring this weekend.
Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay all just drilled their tee shots to 11 feet or better to the cup. And all three are playing, really, really well today. It was probably the best collective grouping shots the 16th hole has seen today.
So what happened? Naturally all three of them missed their birdie putts. Augusta National giveth. Augusta National taketh away.
4 p.m. – Scoring Record in Serious Jeopardy
Remember when Tiger Woods had that amazing 18-under 270 in 1997? Or when Jordan Spieth matched it in 2015? Well that number is in SERIOUS jeopardy this weekend, as Dustin Johnson is 16 under… and has a whole other day to play!
All-time Masters scoring record is 18-under. Dustin Johnson is now 16-under with 21 holes left to play.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGolf) November 14, 2020
3:25 p.m. – Tiger Woods Finishes His Third Round
It looks like we probably won’t have back-to-back Green Jackets for Tiger Woods. An even-par round of 72 has Tiger still sitting at 5-under, currently nine shots back of Dustin Johnson.
As the day progressed, Tiger looked stiff and struggled with movement. Perhaps 26 holes in one day was a bit much for his surgically repaired back.
3 p.m. – Justin Thomas Lurking Near the Top
Justin Thomas is doing everything he can to make sure the world’s No. 1 doesn’t run away with the tournament. A birdie on 10 has him 12-under and just 2 shots back of Dustin Johnson.
2:30 p.m. – Bernhard Langer Have a Day!
The seemingly ageless Berhnard Langer drilled a remarkable 63-foot birdie on 16. And even with back-to-back rounds of 73, he’s still 2-under for the tournament. A remarkable achievement at 63 years old.
63-foot birdie putt into the back of the hole for Bernhard Langer on No. 16. #themasters pic.twitter.com/u5RD5jPJOV
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
2:15 p.m. – Jon Rahm is All of Us
The eighth hole has not been kind today for Jon Rahm. Here’s the recap.
Jon Rahm on No. 8:
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) November 14, 2020
1. 316-yard drive
2. Top into left trees
3. Hits tree, ends up in bushes
4. Penalty
5. Drop, shot to 28 feet.
6-7. Two putts for double 7, tying his worst hole score in a major.
1:15 p.m. – Rory Gets to Roaring
While Tiger may be purring along, Rory McIlroy is starting to roar his way back into the tournament. He’s 4-under on the round through 11, and now 7-under for the tournament. Birdies on 8, 9 and 10 helped get the momentum going.
(We may have jinxed him…as we typed this he put his tee shot on 12 in the green-side bunker. Sorry Rory.)
Brief update at 1:25… Rory made the birdie from the bunker. We consider ourselves unjinxed.
12:50 p.m. – Phil Mickelson Falling Apart in Round 3
Moving day is moving in the wrong direction for veteran Phil Mickelson. He’s 4-over through six holes in Round 3, leaving him at 1-under for the tournament. Phil has bogeys on 2, 3, 4 and 6.
Tiger also finally saw his par streak end with a bogey on 7.
12:40 p.m. – Dustin Johnson Surging
So much for those nine players up top. Dustin Johnson is starting strong and now is at 12-under, two shots clear of three golfers now at 10-under.
Tiger meanwhile… more pars. He’s now got seven straight pars to start the third round. But he’s in the pinestraw on 8. Streak could be over, which isn’t good as he sits seven shots back of the leader.
Dustin Johnson follows eagle at the second with birdie at the third. DJ is two up at 12 under.
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) November 14, 2020
Sungjae Im, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are at 10 under.
12 p.m. – NINE Players Tied Up Top
The top of the leaderboard is VERY crowded as everyone is now on the course for the third round. There are nine players currently at 9-under. Could be an interesting moving day at Augusta National.
There are currently NINE players tied for the lead.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGolf) November 14, 2020
It's already official: Best November Masters ever.
11:00 a.m. – Tiger Drilling Pars
It’s been a quiet start for Tiger Woods so far in Round 3, as he’s got all pars. With the scores going low up top, he’ll need to chase some pins to keep pace.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on Brooks Koepka, who is making a move to get back into contention.
10:20 a.m. – Third Round Has Started
Quick turnaround on the course, as the third round of play has begun.
Amateur John Augenstein, Bernhard Langer and Rory McIlroy got things started on the first hole. Victor Perez, Charles Howell III and Kevin Na started off on the 10th.
Tiger Woods is teeing off at 10:42, joined by Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.
The leaders will head off at 11:48 and 11:59 a.m., all from the first tee.
1st Tee
10:20 AM – *John Augenstein, Bernhard Langer, Rory McIlroy
10:31 AM – Webb Simpson, Jazz Janewattananond, Xander Schauffele
10:42 AM – Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel
10:53 AM – Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler, Paul Casey
11:04 AM – Louis Oosthuizen, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka
11:15 AM – Justin Rose, Sebastian Munoz, Dylan Frittelli
11:26 AM – Patrick Reed, Danny Willett, Tommy Fleetwood
11:37 AM – Sungjae Im, C. T. Pan, Hideki Matsuyama
11:48 AM – Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay
11:59 AM – Abraham Ancer, Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas
10th Tee
10:20 AM – Victor Perez, Charles Howell III, Kevin Na
10:31 AM – Si Woo Kim, Shugo Imahira, Adam Scott
10:42 AM – Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cameron Champ, Marc Leishman
10:53 AM – Brandt Snedeker, Lee Westwood, Matt Wallace
11:04 AM – Chez Reavie, Bubba Watson, Bernd Wiesberger
11:15 AM – Shane Lowry, *Andy Ogletree, Ian Poulter
11:26 AM – Mike Weir, Nick Taylor, Sung Kang
11:37 AM – Collin Morikawa, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Zach Johnson
11:48 AM – Jimmy Walker, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau
11:59 AM – Charl Schwartzel, Jordan Spieth, Rafael Cabrera Bello
The groupings and starting times for the third round of the 2020 Masters Tournament have been announced.
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
The Third Round of the 2020 Masters Tournament began at 10:20 A.M.#themasters https://t.co/o8sAzRjIbO pic.twitter.com/3nmhjgqOUj
10 a.m. – On To the Weekend!
The second round has come to an end, so now we can officially enter the “weekend” of our first ever November Masters.
Barring any withdraws, 60 players have made the cut to play the weekend. The leaders are at 9-under, 135. The players tied for 50th are at even par, 144.
Third round play is expected to start around 10:30 a.m., with groupings of three teeing off from the first and 10th tees. We’ll have the official tee times shortly.
Of note, Bernhard Langer is the oldest player to EVER make the cut at the Masters.
In his 37th Masters appearance, past champion Bernhard Langer still sets records. #themasters pic.twitter.com/U3c5AR9hzM
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
9:45 a.m. – Some Eerie Similarities for Tiger and Jack
We will let this tweet speak for itself.
https://twitter.com/JustinRayGolf/status/1327622168423903233
Also, worth noting, that for the first time at the end of a round in a major tournament history, the top three golfers in the world are all tied for the lead. Yikes.
9:30 a.m. – Tiger Finishes at 5-Under Through Second Round
There were plenty of opportunities for Tiger Woods to put up some red numbers this morning, but he only got one of them. He nearly holed out a birdie chip shot from off the green on 18, but instead settled for par. He’s four back of the leaders.
And more on Bryson DeChambeau. He says he isn’t feeling well physically, but has tested negative for COVID. He is still within the cut line, barely. With only a couple holes left to go for the final groups on the course.
ESPN just said that 32 of the last 33 Masters winners have been within the top 10 after the second round. Woods is currently tied for 17th.
Bryson chatted after his second-round 74 and said he's not feeling 100%. Two nights ago started feeling dizzy, "dull" and "numb." Tested negative for COVID but says that he's "not good, unfortunately."
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) November 14, 2020
8:45 a.m. – DeChambeau Likely Sets the Cutline
It appears that the cut line is hinging on the round of Bryson DeChambeau. His bogeys on 17 and 18 brought him back to even par for the tournament, which right now would be the cut line for the top 50 players and ties.
There’s a small possibility the line will move to -1, but it looks like DeChambeau will make the weekend after a wild first two rounds that seemed far from being able to compete.
7:45 a.m. – Jon Rahm Joins the Leaders
The top of the leaderboard is getting awfully crowded. Four golfers (Abraham Ancer, Cam Smith, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson) finished their second rounds Friday at 9-under 135. This morning, Jon Rahm has already climbed up to join them. He’s 6-under in his second round, through 13 holes.
It’s worth noting that Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm are the top two ranked players in the world right now. This is gonna be a fun weekend.
Jon Rahm birdies No. 13 to join the leaders at nine under par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/KvM00P6GkN
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
7:40 a.m. – College GameDay From The Masters
The Dawgs may have an unexpected week off, but it’s still an important day for college football. Augusta National will play host to ESPN’s flagship “College GameDay” morning show starting at 9 a.m. The show will air on ESPN2 at 9 a.m. because of the extended Masters coverage. It will switch to ESPN after the second round concludes.
It's Saturday at #themasters. @CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/p10bdTbmP7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
Programming Update: Saturday, the second round of #themasters will resume at 7:30a ET on ESPN & @ESPNDeportes@CollegeGameDay live from @TheMasters will begin at 9a ET on ESPN2 & move to ESPN when second round coverage concludes
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) November 13, 2020
More: https://t.co/f3q1kAfHQZ pic.twitter.com/zdwlSDbB6s
7:30 a.m. – The Horn Has Sounded to Resume Play
The second round has resumed, as the horns blared to resume play for 47 golfers. Tiger Woods was already addressing his ball on the 11th fairway as the horn blared. Webb Simpson tapped in his parr putt on 15 seconds later as well.
One golfer didn’t come back out for Saturday, as Vijah Singh withdrew because of illness. He shot a 75 in round one and was through 10 holes of round two.
Due to illness, Vijay Singh has officially withdrawn from Masters Tournament competition after completion of 10 holes in his second round.
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
A special thanks to our friends at Augusta National Golf Club.
