Mike Weir didn’t finish what he started Saturday during the third round of the Masters. A birdie on the second hole gave him a six-shot lead. He could have turned the tournament into a rout.
But Weir squandered the opportunity. He played the last 10 holes in 5 over. He wound up shooting 75, leaving him at 3 under and two shots behind Jeff Maggert.
“My round was a little disappointing,” Weir said. “I would have liked to play better than a 75. Sometimes that’s what this course gives you.”
Playing in the last group Sunday, Weir is still in position to win his first major.
“Hopefully I’ll feel comfortable,” he said. “I felt good on the course today. It just didn’t pan out. Hopefully I’ll just keep doing the same thing and it will pan out more like I was playing the other days.”
Experienced: With two Masters titles, Jose Maria Olazabal knows how to win at Augusta. He’s only four shots back, so it would be foolish to discount his chances.
“I need to play good [Sunday],” Olazabal said. “If I make a bunch of putts, I may have a chance.”
Another former Masters winner, Vijay Singh, is third at 2 under. Singh believes Sunday’s final round will be wide open.
“It’ll be a tough day,” Singh said. “Anybody within five or six shots has a chance.”
Almost: Like Tiger Woods, Ernie Els tried to mount a charge. After shooting 79 in the opening round, Els roared back with a 66 and got himself into contention by holing a 9-iron for eagle on the par-4 seventh.
But Els failed to keep up his momentum on the back nine, standing at 1 over following a third-round 72.
“I’m kind of there, but I’m not there, if you know what I mean,” Els said. “I had my chances, but bogeys [on 14 and 15] probably cost me the golf tournament.”
Good and bad: Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were a study in contrasts Saturday. Palmer seemed encouraged, looking forward to playing his 50th Masters next year. Nicklaus, discouraged, expressed doubts whether he will play next year.
Palmer managed back-to-back rounds of 83. Given the tough conditions of the course, those scores weren’t bad for a 73-year-old man.
Just as remarkable, Palmer completed 36 holes in just over 24 hours on the hilly layout that’s difficult to walk even when weather conditions are good.
“I feel great,” Palmer said. “I could have gone another 36 . . . I think.”
Nicklaus was unhappy after shooting 85-77 and said he had no fun playing in the wet conditions.
“The only way I can play this course is if it’s dry and fast,” Nicklaus said. “If it’s like this again next year, I may drop out Wednesday. I don’t want to clutter up the field. I did this year.”
No fluke: Rich Beem is having a terrible year, so he felt good going into the fourth round at 1 over.
Beem’s struggles have prompted some to wonder whether his victory in the 2002 PGA Championship, when he faced down Woods, was a fluke. He bristles at the notion.
“Anybody who thinks what I did was a fluke, that’s garbage,” Beem said. “I won in back-to-back weeks. I know I’m a good player. I don’t worry about what the critics say.”
Going home: The troubles of Colin Montgomerie and David Duval continue. Montgomerie missed the cut at 10 over, and Duval came in at 18 over.
Bernhard Langer missed the cut for the first time in 19 Masters, finishing 11 over.
