Dustin Johnson had a place in the record books and a second major title in his sights as he took a commanding lead into the final round of the 84th Masters.
The world number one fired an eagle and five birdies in a flawless third round of 65 at Augusta National to finish 16 under par and match the 54-hole scoring record set by Jordan Spieth in 2015.
A closing 69 or better would see Johnson surpass the 72-hole record of 18 under, shared by Spieth and defending champion Tiger Woods, who was the last world number one to win the Masters in 2002.
Australia’s Cameron Smith, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Korea’s Sungjae Im were Johnson’s nearest challengers on 12 under, with Ancer and Im attempting to become the first players to win the green jacket on their tournament debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Tweet of the day
I believe Rahm just made par at 15 with the ole Driver-wedge-wedge-wedge-wedge play.
— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) November 14, 2020
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee detailed Rahm’s unusual par on the 15th in round two, the Spaniard chipping in for par after opting not to go for the green in two, then hitting his third shot over the green and leaving his first pitch short of the putting surface.
Quote of the day
Love him or loathe him, Bryson gives good quotes: "Wet ground and water has always been my nemesis for some reason" was his reason for bogeying the 17th and 18th
— Phil Casey (@pcaseysafc) November 14, 2020
Bryson DeChambeau gave an interesting explanation for dropping shots on the 17th and 18th in his second round.
Shot of the day
From 286 yards to 4 feet. Englishman Matt Wallace jumps to -4 with an eagle on No. 2. #themasters pic.twitter.com/j5RdnCyJyS
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
Dustin Johnson’s eagle on the second in round three was not captured by the television feed, but Matt Wallace’s from earlier in the day was not a bad substitute.
Round of the day
The second 65 of the week for the 54-hole leader. #themasters pic.twitter.com/b3eGFmuLEO
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 14, 2020
Dustin Johnson began the third round tied for the lead but separated himself from the pack with a stunning 65.
Statistic of the day
Jack Nicklaus in 1986: 33rd in World Ranking, 23 years since first Masters win, seeking 6th green jacket, T-17 after 36 holes
Tiger Woods in 2020: 33rd in World Ranking, 23 years since first Masters win, seeking 6th green jacket, T-17 after 36 holes
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) November 14, 2020
Tiger Woods fans could dare to dream thanks to this strange coincidence, but his chances of a successful title defence disappeared with a third round of 72.
Easiest hole
The par-five second hole was again the easiest, playing to an average of 4.533 thanks to two eagles and 29 birdies.
Toughest hole
The 18th played as the toughest hole with an average of 4.383, yielding just four birdies, 21 bogeys and three double bogeys.
On the up
Dustin Johnson’s chances of a second major title as he opened up a commanding lead.
On the slide
Jon Rahm’s mood after the combustible Spaniard struggled to a third round of 72, which included a seven on the eighth.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here