2016 Masters Day Three This And That
/Good news! It's not raining and there was no frost this morning at Augusta National.
Bad news? It's cool, the wind is blowing hard (already at 11 am) and the forecaster appears to have nailed this one. It's not looking like the early starters will have much chance to gain an edge, but it won't be pretty late either. The wind forecasts: 12 pm WNW 15-20 G 25-30 mph; 3 pm NW 12-18 G 25; 6 pm NW 10-15 G 20 mph.
Morning scuttlebutt under the oak and in media dining continues to focus on (A) the dreamy final pairing, (B) is Jordan Spieth really that slow, (C) how about those crazy things Bryson DeChambeau says.
My take?
(A) Dreamy pairing, what else can you say? Spieth-McIlroy, 2:50. Be there! Kyle Porter with some of the history between these two when they've played together.
(B) Jordan Spieth is not fast, but his playing partners were the problem on Friday. DeChambeau is not fast and Casey was in all sorts of trouble all day. Spieth's post-shot whining--"I can't even take my time"--after being given a warning by official Jim Duncan was understandable in the context of where the grouping's pacial blame game lies. But the notion that he is entitled to wait out gusts was a rare sign of entitlement from someone who rarely exudes spoiled tendencies. I'm chalking it up to the supreme pressure, difficulty and stress of the moment.
(C) DeChambeau's unshaken confidence and good attitude after his 18th hole 7 was summed up nicely by Scott Michaux here in the Augusta Chronicle. I certainly love hearing any player who has a smart take on the game, but can certainly understand why answers like this rub some the wrong way:
Q. Did you allow yourself to think about being in the final pairing, potentially, looking ahead?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I mean, yeah, but I was on 17 and I went and striped the drive, cranked the drive. I think what may have been part of the issue, too, on 17 I hit a crank drive, which is a really different golf swing. And usually when I go back down to the lower speed swing the club face does rotate a little bit more. I just didn't take that into consideration.
Or this...
Q. What did you hit into 13?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: 13, I hit the gamma, whatever that is.
Q. You were able to give a pretty cut and dried breakdown of what happened on 18. Is there an emotional part of it or do you shut that off?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'm not emotional. An execution is what I'm trying to accomplish on the golf course. If I can do that, stick to my game plan, nothing else matters.
Anyway, he's young, he's fascinating and he's an amateur in contention at the Masters. And while he may come off as cocky at times, he's respectful of his peers, his elders and the game's history.
As usual, some links you need to know along with great coverage at GolfDigest.com, Augusta.com and of course, Masters.com:
Masters official Twitter and Instagram accounts.
CBS's coverage in the United States begins at 3 pm ET and is simulcast at Masters.com.
The Leaderboard.
Masters Live coverage starts at 10:50 am ET with Featured Group coverage of Scott and Hoffman. All other groups and Masters.com coverage info is here.
Amen Corner Live commences with the first group through the corner, at approxmiately 11:45 am ET.
