Scottie Scheffler Takes Three-Shot Lead Into Masters Sunday

ARE YOU READY FOR MOVING DAY?

Hopefully you have had a good morning wherever you are in the world and are ready for what should be a fascinating Saturday at Augusta National. The first group have just teed off - check out all all the tee times.

HOW ARE YOUR BETS DOING?

If like mine your bets are struggling, check out the post-cut match and outright tips from our betting expert legendary tipster Jeremy Chapman.

READY FOR A BIG DAY? 

It's Masters Moving Day - what a time to be alive. The first pairing of Adam Scott and Mackenzie Hughes are out on course as we speak...

How's everyone's day been so far? I played golf very early this morning and proved to myself that I can indeed hit a golf ball, which was nice. Birmingham City are losing but a few of my fantasy football players have started well so I'm in good spirits. If you're parking yourself in front of the TV for the rest of the day, I hope myself and the rest of the Golf Monthly team can keep you company. We'll have Elliott Heath and Sam Tremlett on the ground at Augusta National in a few hours, so you'll have to do with me, Dan Parker, until then. 

PUTTS WIN PRIZES

Who is the hottest putter in the field right now? Do they hold the key to a run at Scottie Scheffler's lead? It may or may not be the man pictured above...

FIRST BIRDIE & FIRST BOGEY OF THE DAY 

Congratulations on Mackenzie Hughes for securing the first birdie of the day and commiserations to Adam Scott for securing the first bogey of the day. 

You can see Scott's Saturday attire above - he is actually wearing something colourful today. His brown and grey monochrome efforts in the week didn't impress me. More fashion analysis to follow as and when we get it...

MIXED START FOR HOVLAND

A mixed start for Norway's Viktor Hovland this morning, he's made a birdie on the 2nd hole after bogeying the 1st - level par for the day. He's gone for the all-black look today. 

ICYMI: SWAFFORD'S CLUB BREAKS

This was one of the stranger moments from yesterday, and well worth a watch. 

Hudson Swafford's iron head decided to call it a day mid way through his round yesterday. He still hit the ball (somehow), but his clubhead went flying off into Rae's Creek almost immediately after impact... 

ICYMI: FITZPATRICK'S CADDIE GIVES HIM THE HURRY UP 

Another amusing moment from yesterday was Matt Fitzpatrick's caddie Billy Foster telling him to "get on with it" when they were discussing which club to hit. You'll see below that the Yorkshireman has all his thoughts on the task at hand today...

FASHION UPDATE 

It's all quiet on course right now, but there is plenty of action when it comes to outfits for the day. Tony Finau has either committed a crime or is the best dressed today. I'll let you make your own mind up. 

Tony, it's a yes from me. I promise I'll talk about some golf soon too...

QUIZ TIME!

As I said, it's a touch quiet at Augusta right now.  As things start to warm up, why not fill your time with this quiz on European winners of the Masters - can you name them all?

Will we see another European winner come Sunday evening?

QUIZ UPDATE 

I'm not one to boast, but I managed 100% on the quiz (below). It's not the most taxing quiz, so how quickly can you get all the answers? I did it in 28 seconds...

ON-COURSE UPDATE 

Shall we talk about some golf? Currently no-one is better than two-under par for their round. There's plenty of birdies to be had, but no one has put a significant run together yet. 

TIGER PROWLING

Tiger Woods is teeing off in just under an hour. He'll be alongside Kevin Kisner today, with the pair both sitting at one-over par for the tournament. 

Here's a reminder of all the Saturday tee times at the Masters. 

BUBBA'S SHOES

Those watching the Sky Sports coverage, you'd have recently seen a close up of Bubba's fresh kicks. 

Here is a video of the man himself walking you through his golf shoe choice for the weekend. It's a bizarre video by the way - I'll remind you that Bubba is a 43-year-old father of two. Each to their own...

CHAMP'S FAST START 

We finally have someone two-under par for the day! Cameron Champ birdies the 2nd and 3rd hole to get to one-over for the tournament. 

EAGLE ALERT

Si Woo Kim has just eagled the 2nd hole! His second shot from 278 yards rolls just 18ft short of the hole and he hammers home the putt - a great start from the South Korean who shot 70 yesterday.

ICYMI: "THE BEST SHOT I'VE EVER HIT AT AUGUSTA"

I may have just lamented him for his footwear video, but Bubba Watson had one of the moments of the day yesterday. He hit what he described as the "best shot I've ever hit at Augusta" from the pine-straw down the right of the 18th hole.

It's well worth a watch - is it better than his shot from the pine-straw at the 2012 Masters?

RAHM TEES OFF

It's not been his week yet, but Jon Rahm - who starts today at two-over par - could yet make a charge on Moving Day. 

He described his first round as 74 "incredibly unlucky", saying that's why he was in such a bad mood on Thursday evening. He shot a solid 72 yesterday to keep himself in the tournament and he's started with a par today. 

WHAT IS FINAU WEARING?

While we wait for our leaders, the biggest headline of day three at the Masters has been Tony Finau's sweater. Or at least I think it's a sweater? It might be a shirt?

I'm going to defend Tony's choice here, it's certainly better than anything Adam Scott rocks up in most weeks. Check out exactly what Tony Finau is wearing and maybe even nab one of the sweater/shirts yourself for your Medal next week. 

LEISHMAN GOES OUT IN 34

He's the hottest man on the course right now at two-under par for his round. It may not be the birdie-fest he needs to get into contention, but it's a really solid start from the Australian as he enters the back nine. 

IT IS COLD

We're seeing the players warming up in some pretty significant winter clothing with snoods, jackets and mittens all on display. Check out the Masters weather forecast for yourself to see just how unseasonably cold it is in Augusta, Georgia right now. 

You can see Hudson Swafford in a fetching beanie hat to prove how cold it is. 

FAST SPANISH START 

The Spanish Ryder Cup pair of Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm have both had solid starts. They're playing in consecutive groups and are both one-under for their round. Rahm picked up his customary birdie on the 2nd hole, while Sergio birdied the 1st. Can either of them make a run this afternoon?

TIGER ROARS INTO ACTION

Well he didn't really 'roar', I just wanted to use a Tiger-ish pun. In fact, he's bogeyed the 1st.  He's playing with Kevin 'This Ain't No Hobby' Kisner today who also secured himself a bogey. Poor early vibes in the Woods/Kisner group. 

OVER TO YOU SAM...

That'll do for my ramblings today! Thanks for joining me for the start of day three of The Masters. 

Sam Tremlett is on the ground at Augusta National and will be talking you through the next few hours as the leaders tee off. Wearing a few extra layers today Sam?

GOOD DAY ALL

Thank you Daniel, yes it is cold out there today especially at the exposed areas of the course. Thankfully I have my seat in the media centre and got a lovely cup of tea on the go with an outrageous toffee and chocolate brownie

LAST WORLD NO.1 WINNER?

A random question just came up in the media centre, given Scheffler's lead and world number one status, who was the last Masters winner who was actually world number one at the time? A pat on the back for anyone who gets it...

TIGER FACING LONG BIRDIE ON 3

After smashing a driver down the left of the 3rd, Tiger finds the putting surface with a wedge but he will take the two-putt and move on given how far away it is.

364! 

Yes Tiger Woods hit his drive on 2 364 yards! He can still keep up with the big boys when his body allows

BIRDIE LEADERS

Get this, there are 3 players who have made 11 birdies so far this week. Scottie Scheffler is one and the other two? Viktor Hovland and Kevin Kisner who are both at +2. 

TOP TIP

Just a small point from me, if you ever get to go to The Masters I recommend watching around the 7th green as you get good views of the hole, along with the 3rd tee and 8th tee. You are also right by the 18th tee as well. 

Also Billy Horschel looks like he is about to explode after throwing his club on the ground at 11. He found the water.

LOVING TWO-BALLS

Having watched a lot of golf over the last two days, I cannot stress enough how much better the two-ball pairings are. Three players is a lot and the pace of play has been very slow indeed on Thursday and Friday. Much better rhythm today.

Also Tiger goes left on 4 before playing a sublime pitch shot to near tap-in range. 

ONE HOUR TO GO

We now have just under one hour until the last group goes off with Scottie Scheffler looking to build on his lead and Charl Schwartzel trying to chase him down. What do you think the lead will be at the end of the day?

CLUB TWIRL MAESTRO

Tiger launches another bomb with the driver on 5. Dare I say he has found something with the TaylorMade Stealth Plus model he has in the bag? On that see his clubs on our WITB page. 

BIG DAY FOR JT

After yesterday's 67 which got him back in the tournament, today is a huge day for Justin Thomas. Can he back it up or fall away which he has often done in Majors? He just parred the 1st which is a solid start

EAT MY WORDS

I should admit to being wrong today. I didn't think Matthew Fitzpatrick would do anything this week but he has just birdied the 1st to get into the top-10 at one-under par. Perhaps it is because of Billy Foster telling him to get on with it rather than questioning every shot like many players seem to do!

TIGER FOUR-PUTTS 5

After a terrible iron shot that Wood turned away from as soon as he hit it, Woods proceeds to four-putt the 5th hole with a brutal lip out. The entire media centre was shocked at that miss as we never see Woods do that. 

SCOTTIE IS GOOD AT GOLF

Many are questioning Scheffler and whether he can get it done over the weekend, but the stat below from Justin Ray suggests he will give himself a good chance tomorrow

COLDER THAN IT LOOKS OUT THERE

I wasn't expecting Augusta to be so cold in April but it really is. When the wind picks up it really is bitter out there and you can tell the players/fans are feeling it right now. 

Looking to halt the slide, Tiger finds the front bunker on six. Thomas has just birdied the 2nd and Zalatoris the 1st to get them both to two-under. Birdies to be made out there

BACK TO BACK

JT birdies the 3rd hole as well to get to three-under. As a huge JT guy, this is great news. His playing partner Christian Bezuidenhout does the same and having met him in 2019, it is awesome to see him up the leaderboard as well. For those of you who don't know him well here are 15 things you didn't know about him

FINAU'S SWEATER...

For those of you wondering about Finau's sweater, it is a Nike Dri-FIT Long Sleeve top and there are actually some nice white, black and blue colors available. Why he went for the Desert Bronze and Pin version I will never know. 

ANOTHER POOR TIGER IRON

His driver is working but the irons are definitely not as he leaves his approach on 7 well short. He then plays a sublime flop shot to three/four feet. A crucial putt to come

MOVING DAY INDEED

Today is the day to get in position to contend on Sunday and it seems the players know that. There is a lot of red coming up on our big leaderboard in the media centre with Thomas, Willett, Zalatoris, Simpson and Fitzpatrick all moving up. 

WHAT A WEEKEND OF SPORT

Just as an aside Elliott has just seen Tottenham won 4-0 and he is not happy. I will be hoping the mighty Liverpool can do the same to City tomorrow. What a weekend of sport we have in store and here are our tips on how to survive the mother of all sporting sundays. 

THINGS HEATING UP

We are so early in this weekend but given how many players have made good starts things could get spicy, provided Scheffler doesn't run off into the sunset. Nothing against the guy, but for tournament excitement if he could drop back a touch that would be great. He is off in 5 minutes. 

Cameron Smith has birdied the 2nd to join the players on three-under as well. 

LEADERS TEE OFF

And everyone has now teed off with Schwartzel finding the fairway. Not sure where Scheffler's went as we didn't even get to see it. (The coverage...) 

SHAVE DOWN EDGES OF GREENS

I cannot be the only one who thinks this but they really need to shave down the edges of greens especially on the 12th, 13th and 15th holes. If a ball is short or spins back towards the water it should go in it, not stop on the bank. Just saying...

PUTTER FROM PINE STRAW

There is something you don't see often. Long of 12 Rory McIlroy takes a putter and plays a reasonably good shot to get within 10 feet or so. He will need that for par. 

Also an inauspicious start for Scheffler as he misses the fairway and misses the green. However as I was about to hit send he stiffs the pitch shot...

UNIQUE MOVER

The swing of the world number one and leader of The Masters....by five shots

LOWRY TO FOUR-UNDER

Lowry birdies the 2nd hole with a delicious wedge shot. He is the first player from the chasing pack to get to four-under. How many more shots can he take off Scheffler today?

SCHWARTZEL'S TEMPO

I have serious tempo envy of Charl Schwartzel. He just played a beautiful fairway wood onto the 2nd green and will have an outside shot at eagle. Scheffler then rakes a hook around the left-hand trees to get greenside in two. Will be surprising if he doesn't birdie this...

NEARLY SLAM DUNKED

Morikawa with an iron is just automatic. On the 6th he nearly slam dunks his tee shot with a slight cut. Speaking of great iron players, Tiger hits a great five-iron into the heart of the 10th. 

IM DOUBLES FIRST

Apologies for the late update, but Sungjae Im has dropped down the leaderboard big time after a double at the first. He sits on one-under which is a long way back now as Scheffler birdies 2 along with Schwartzel. 

CLINIC IN CONTROL

Scheffler is in total control of his golf ball. After ripping a driver on 3, he flights down a lovely wedge shot that bounces three times and checks. He has a putt inside 12 feet for birdie now whilst Schwartzel is struggling to make par.

SCHEFFLER TO 10

The man is unbelievably good. Slides the birdie putt in the centre of the cup to get to 10-under. For some Scheffler content, check out the links below...

• Scottie Scheffler What's In The Bag?
• 21 Things You Didn't Know About Scottie Scheffler
• Who Is Scottie Scheffler's Caddie?
• Who Is Scottie Scheffler's Wife?

SCOTT HAS HIS SAY ON CONDITIONS

Adam Scott shot 80 today and acknowledged just how tough conditions are out there. When asked what a good score would be he said; 

"Par. I mean, there's probably going to be a couple scores under par, but you've sell everyone par at the start, on the 1st tee, but I'd be surprised if conditions stay like this and you see in the mid-60s. I just don't -- it's very tough out there today."

Scottie Scheffler seems to be ignoring that as he is two-under through three holes, and has a six-shot lead.

I STRIKE AGAIN

Once again I jinx a player. As soon as I say Scheffler isn't making any bogeys he does so at the 4th. Lead is down to five again. 

POWER STRUGGLE ON FRONT NINE

It has just been brought to my attention that Seamus Power has not made a single birdie on the front nine yet, after three rounds! I imagine that is very rare. 

Tiger made a sick birdie on 12 by the way. 

NO EAGLES ON 15?

Someone in the media centre just said there have been no eagles on 15 this week either? I am checking this as we speak but if anyone knows otherwise let me know. That doesn't seem good as the hole should always offer up the chance at eagle, or eight. 

HANDOVER TO ANDY WRIGHT

Once again I am handing over to Andy Wright back in the UK. In a bit I am off to brave the cold and see just how tough the conditions are. 

Also I don't know what it is about the trees right of 10, but they always seem to produce miraculous recovery shots. JT just produced a sublime shot to get himself out of trouble. 

HELLO

Thank you, Sam. A pleasure to take this through to the finish. Scheffler looks like he's going to be incredibly hard to beat, but anything can and probably will happen. After all, he's chasing a maiden Major title with a horde of world class players hunting him down.

SCHEFFLER BIRDIE

Of course as I say that the World No. 1 drains a birdie putt on the sixth to re-establish his five-shot lead. Need to find out what board games he's playing at night. 

On the seventh, Lowry hits a solid approach into the heart of the green. He's Scheffler's nearest challenger as it stands and is renowned for his ability to cope in cold and windy conditions.

CONNERS BIRDIES THE NINTH TO GET WITHIN EIGHT!!!

A birdie for Corey Conners at the tricky ninth hole moves him into a tie for fifth. That's good enough to get him within eight of runaway leader Scottie Scheffler, who has another birdie chance on seven to pull even further ahead. 

We're getting into Greg Norman territory here. Of course we wouldn't wish a repeat of that on anyone...

FITZPATRICK GOING BACKWARDS

It's more bad news for Matt Fitzpatrick. The Englishman has dropped another shot at the 12th to slip back to +3. That's four shots gone in six holes for the Sheffield native, who got into red figures early on in his round.

The good news: he has two par-fives in his next three to try and arrest the slide.

FLEETWOOD: "I PLAYED AMAZING TODAY"

Tommy Fleetwood leads in the clubhouse after a two-under 70, which could quite possibly be the low round of the day. The Englishman has improved each round and spoke of the challenge facing players today.

"I think it's so hard to get it anywhere near the pin. I played amazing today. I mean, not saying I'm the best golfer in the word, but I played really, really well and I honestly seemed to be holing out all day.

"I made what, three -- I made four birdies today, so you're not -- nobody is really going to be stiffing anything."

WOODS MISSES BIRDIE PUTT ON 15

Another putt slides by the edge for Tiger. It'll surprise no one to learn that he ranks dead last today on the greens. Through 15 holes, he has lost 2.69 shots to the field with his usually trusty putter in hand.

Back at the business end, Scheffler has 5ft upcoming for birdie on the eighth to move six clear. 

MCILROY PARS 18 FOR A 71

Rory McIlroy tidies up on the last for a closing par and a best-of-the-week 71. The Northern Irishman sits in a tie for 15th currently, which is likely to improve, without having anything like his A-game. 

It looks like being another failed attempt at the career Grand Slam but there's still plenty to salvage from his 14th Masters appearance. 

ZALATORIS FINDS THE WATER ON 12

Will Zalatoris, who is becoming something of a Masters specialist, finds the water on the par-3 12th coming off a birdie on the 11th. Truth be told it wasn't even close to making the carry. 

An update on the leader: he is now -11 and six clear. 

IT'S NOT OVER

A timely reminder from golf's stats guru Justin Ray...

ANOTHER BOGEY FOR TIGER

It's been one of those days for the five-time Masters champ. A poor first effort on 16 leaves him with work to do for par and once again he isn't up to the task. He's hit the ball nicely but his putter is stone cold. 

He's now +4 for the tournament with two holes to go.

ANOTHER SHOT GOES FOR THOMAS

After a strong start, it's another sloppy bogey for Justin Thomas. He missed from short range at the 11th for par and he's done the same on the 14th after an excellent recovery shot. 

Every shot is a prisoner with Scheffler so far ahead and JT is frittering them away carelessly here. He's back to level par.

WATCH: EAGLE TIME FOR CHARL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This. Is. Not. Over. From the middle of the tenth fairway, 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel has just produced an absolute moment of Masters magic, holing his second shot to sent the crowd into a frenzy. 

The South African is now six-under and back to within five of the leader.

OUT OF NOWHERE

A reminder that Schwartzel came into this year's Masters on the back of six consecutive missed cuts. Taking horses for courses to a whole new level this week.

CLOSING DOUBLE FOR TIGER

It's a disappointing end to a disappointing day for the Big Cat. He follows bogeys at 16 and 17 with a three-putt double drop on the last for a six-over 78. Tee to green he was in fine form but he lost more than four shots on the Augusta greens on Saturday.

He'll begin Sunday at +7 for the tournament.

IS THIS YEAR'S MASTERS OVER ALREADY?

I'm sitting beside my father who has reliably informed me that, barring a quad or quintuple bogey for Scheffler, this is as good as over from a competitive standpoint. I don't agree with him yet, but the chasing pack certainly need some help to get back into it!

WOODS: "I HAD ABSOLUTELY ZERO FEEL FOR THE GREENS"

Tiger has been reflecting on today's round, and unsurprisingly, he's disappointed with his performance on the greens today...

"I was hitting too many putts. It was like putting practise out there today. I hit a thousand putts out there today. I think I had four three-putts and a four-putt. Honestly I didn't really feel like I hit it all that bad, I just had absolutely zero feel for the greens and it showed."

Today's 78 is the worst round of his 24 Masters appearances. What would represent a satisfactory end? "A 66," he adds.

BIRDIE FOR JT, BOGEY FOR SCHEFFLER

Thomas makes a much-needed birdie on his penultimate hole to get to -2. He's still some distance behind, so will need a closing birdie and some help to get into contention on Masters Sunday.

Speaking of help, the unflappable Scheffler has finally thrown the rest a lifeline with a bogey at the par-three 12th. The wind is gusting so it could be a tricky final six for the leader.

SMITH ON THE CHARGE

The Players champion adds another birdie on the par-five 15th to get to -7 and, crucially, within three of Scheffler's lead. He's tackling the long holes in a similar vein to how Zach Johnson did en route to glory in 2007. Then again, why wouldn't you when your wedge game and putting are that good.

LOWRY FUMES AFTER CADDIE MIX-UP

A costly three-putt for Shane Lowry at the 13th drops the Irishman back to -3 when he could ill afford a backwards step. And he's not happy with his caddie Beau for leaving him with an awkward yardage from which to attack the pin.

"Left myself no shot. What a f****** s*** lay-up that was. Well done, well done Beau. Only 30 yards out. Well done."

Awkward...

THE LEAD IS BACK TO FIVE

Just when it seemed like it was heating up, Scheffler adds some more daylight to his advantage. With Smith bogeying the 16th, the American gets back to -11 with a birdie four on the 13th. He leads by five, again!

BOGEYS FOR SCHEFFLER AND SCHWARTZEL ON 14

After missing the green on 14, both players in the final group head to 15 a shot worse off. Schwartzel is now back to -4, while Scheffler returns to -10, four ahead of Cam Smith who tidies up a par on 17.

BIRDIE LIFTS SUNGJAE

The first-round leader is back on the first page of the leaderboard after a long-range birdie on the par-five 15th drops. He joins Lowry on three-under, seven behind Scheffler. Stranger things have happened...

NA FIVE-PUTTS THE 16TH

While Tiger might curse his four-putt, Kevin Na has gone one better on the par-three 16th. Having found the green with his tee shot, the American needed five putts to get the ball in the hole, putting an end to any outside chance he might have had at tasting success this week. 

He's now +4 for the tournament with one hole to play.

GRITTY PAR ON 18 FOR SMITH

After a terrible drive, Cam Smith has salvaged an excellent par on the final hole. Smith needed to hit a wood into the last such was his mishit off the tee, but did excellently to get it onto the back edge before making a clutch up and down to get in the clubhouse at -6.

On the 15th, Scheffler faces a 10-footer to save par and maintain his four-shot advantage.

BOGEY FOR SCHEFFLER, LEAD BACK TO THREE

Scheffler fails to convert for par on the 15th which brings the lead back to three. With Smith in the clubhouse, the American will do well to consolidate that advantage going into tomorrow. 

TOUGH FINISH FOR DJ

It's back-to-back bogies for the 2020 Masters champion, leaving him one-over after 54 holes following a disappointing 75 on Moving Day. Most would have predicted the experience campaigner to make a strong move through the field but he never really got anything going. 

Sungjae Im makes his fourth birdie of the back-nine at 17 to get to -4 and back to within five shots of Scheffler, who makes a comfortable par at 16. 

SCHWARTZEL LOSES GROUND ON 16

With a chance to get to -5 and within four of his playing partner, Charl Schwartzel misses from 15ft at the 16th for birdie, before pulling his par effort from close range to card a sloppy bogey.

He's back to level par for the day, six behind Scheffler.

SCHEFFLER MAKES SIXTH BIRDIE OF THE DAY

After flirting with the greenside bunker on 17, a favourable bounce sets up an excellent chance for Scheffler to increase his lead to four. He duly converts to get back to -10.

In the game ahead, Shane Lowry finishes with a par and a round of 73 that promised so much more. A bogey six after a mix-up with his caddie Beau seemed to derail the Irishman. He'll need some serious help from those ahead of him if he is to challenge tomorrow. 

TROUBLE FOR SCHEFFLER ON 18

The World No. 1 is in trouble after a wide left off the final tee. His ball ends up in a bush and a penalty drop is upcoming. This could make it interesting...

SCHEFFLER SALVAGES A BOGEY TO LEAD BY THREE

It's about as good a bogey as you're likely to see to finish for Scheffler. His recovery shot after a penalty drop looks like it's going to give him a look for par before skirting through the green, but a classy chip and putt ensures he avoids disaster. 

It's a 71 for the World No. 1, who will take a three-shot lead into Masters Sunday. Playing partner Charl Schwartzel tidies up for par and a one-over 73. Through ten holes today, he was in good shape at -6, but four bogies in his final eight look to have ended his hopes of winning a second Green Jacket.

SIGNING OFF

Anyway, that's all from me this evening. Thanks for following along and we'll pick this up again tomorrow when the 2022 Masters champion will be crowned!