Going into Saturday’s action, Hideki Matsuyama had been cruising along with back-to-back 4-under 68s at Augusta National. His second-round effort on Friday was bogey-free. The same cannot be said of his third round.
Matsuyama committed four bogeys, all of them on par-4 holes (Nos. 5, 9, 10 and 17). These errors nullified his four birdies, leaving him T-10 with an even-par 72.
“Yeah, today I really didn’t play my best golf,” Matsuyama said. “I wasn’t in control of my game. But hopefully that’ll turn around tomorrow and I’ll do my best.”
The 28-year old finds himself in big-name company on the leaderboard, as he is tied with Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood. McIlroy in particular has been clawing up the rankings, scoring 66 and 67 after a disastrous opening-round 75. Time will tell if Matsuyama can return to form and make some kind of Sunday charge.
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