AUGUSTA, Ga. – What would a 10-handicap shoot at Augusta National in Saturday’s gusty, frigid conditions? Australia’s Cameron Davis was asked to hazard a guess at the Masters.
“You could play really well and shoot below 100 if you make a couple of putts, I reckon,” said Davis.
But it depends in part, he said, on whether or not that player is a low-ball hitter or a high-ball hitter.
“There’s a 20-shot difference between the two,” he explained. “This course is hard. It seems like you want to hit the ball high into every green and you had to hit the ball low. When the greens are firm and it’s windy, it’s kind of hard to do the low option, so you have to throw the ball up in the air and see what happens a lot of the time. It’s just hard.”
Temperatures started in the low 40s and remained in the low 50s throughout the afternoon, with sustained winds of 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 1-under 71 and holds fast to a three-stroke lead on a day when only nine players managed to break par. Nos. 1 and 18 allowed only two birdies each in the third round. One Rory McIlroy birdied the fourth hole.
Here’s what players had to say about the difficult day: