From Jeff Knox’s annual appearance, to Lee Westwood’s special birdie run, it’s five things your might have missed on Masters Saturday.
Friends reunited
Twelve months ago, Danny Willett played alongside his friend, and stablemate, Lee Westwood in the final round at Augusta National and went on to claim the Green Jacket. Westwood will have a familiar face alongside him again in Ryder Cup teammate Thomas Pieters, his partner in the Friday morning foursomes at Hazeltine last year. Both of the final two pairings will comprise mates as well, with Americans Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler playing just ahead of Europeans Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia. Jordan and Rickie have been spotted on Spring Break together, while Sergio and Justin have featured in four Ryder Cup teams together, including the unforgettable Miracle of Medinah in 2012. That triumph was dedicated to the legendary Seve Ballesteros, who passed away earlier a year earlier, and the Spaniard’s legacy will not be far from either player’s mind tomorrow, as it would have been his 60th birthday.
Birdie bonanza for Rose
Having done his homework in advance of the year’s first Major, Rose was a relatively late arrival to Augusta National, with the Englishman deciding to take an extra day at home on Monday before getting to Georgia on Tuesday. He’s certainly not been hanging round since, racking up an impressive 16 birdies so far this week – the most of any player in the field. The 2013 US Open Champion fired five on the back nine alone on Saturday, including back-to-back gains on 17 and 18 which ensured he passed Charley Hoffman, Lee Westwood and Jason Dufner as the most prolific birdie machine out there. What would he give for a few more tomorrow?
Westwood’s special run
Lee Westwood likes Augusta National – one glance at his record around here is enough to tell you that – and the Englishman has enjoyed plenty of fine moments amongst the Azaleas. He was at it again on Saturday, negotiating the tough three-hole stretch of four, five and six in just seven shots, a run Westwood described as ‘special’. Those three holes ranked as the third, sixth and fifth toughest on the course in the third round, but the Englishman breezed past them and then picked up three more birdies on the back nine, en route to a fine 68. He will start five back on Sunday.
Opportunity Knox again for Jeff
The Masters is the first date in the calendar when all of the world’s leading players gather without exception (ok, minus DJ this week), but there was one additional name out on the fairways of Augusta National today: Knox. No, not Scotland’s Russell Knox, who sadly departed early last night, but Jeff Knox. The Augusta member going out as a marker has become something of a weekend tradition in recent years, and the ‘best player you have probably never heard of’, as he has been described, was it at again, joining Jason Day first out this morning at 10.20am. Knox has played with – and outscored – Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia amongst others in previous Masters, and his renowned local knowledge of the Augusta Greens was on display once again as he shot an unofficial 76. Not to be outdone on this occasion, Day carded four consecutive birdies on the back nine for a round of 69. Still, not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning, Jeff?
The long road to redemption
The road to redemption is often a long one and for Jordan Spieth it became somewhat longer still when he carded a quadruple bogey nine on the 15th hole on Thursday in an opening round of 75. That left the 2015 Masters Champion a daunting ten shots off the 18 hole pace set by Charley Hoffman, and looking unlikely to bounce immediately back from his experience last year, when Danny Willett overturned his five shot lead on the back nine to seize the Green Jacket. Well, this year it has been Jordan – who is no stranger to fishing (note Rickie spring break above) - reeling in the leader, with subsequent rounds of 69 and 68 leaving him just two adrift. No-one in Masters history has made up ten shots over the final 54 holes, with the biggest margin to date the seven shots clawed back by Sir Nick Faldo (1990) and Tiger Woods (2006). Could Jordan be the first?
