Heading into the third round of the Masters in Augusta on Saturday, there was a belief that we could be in for a marvelous final 36 holes of golf, like we saw at the PGA Championship in Harding Park this past August. There were five tied for the lead at the 2020 Masters after round two, with another 11 players within three strokes of the lead.
However, once Dustin Johnson, the world number one, started his third round, the golf world saw just why Johnson is the best in the world. The 2016 United States Open champion was not just great, he was spectacular on the front nine.
After registering a par on hole number one, Johnson delivered an amazing approach shot on the second hole, and almost made an albatross. That is not a misprint. Johnson easily registered an eagle, and came mighty close to registering a score of two on a par five. Then after birdies on the third, fourth, and seventh holes, Johnson went from -9 to -14 in a blink of an eye.
As throughout the Masters to date, Johnson has exemplified a little more caution on the back nine. However, he was still able to register a score of two-under-par to finish his round at -7 for a three-round score of -16.
Johnson’s -16 also tied a record after 54 holes at the Masters. Jordan Spieth of Dallas, Texas was also at -16 after three rounds when he won the Masters in 2015.
However, before you give Johnson the Green Jacket, remember Johnson has had a significant lead heading into the final round of a major before, and blew it. At the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Johnson had a three-stroke lead over Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, and then subsequently shot a final round score of 82 to finish five strokes off the lead and in a tie for eighth.
Heading into Sunday, Johnson’s lead is four strokes over Australia’s Cameron Smith, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, and South Korea’s Sung-jae Im. The field will need to play flawless golf and hope Johnson makes plenty of mistakes.
Due to Johnson’s high level of experience, he is a different player now than he was a decade ago. That level of maturity should give him his first green jacket and second major title on Sunday.
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