AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose spent the first two days of this Masters in the lead and remained there for some of Saturday’s third round until Hideki Matsuyama raced past him and everyone else to take a four-shot 54-hole lead into Sunday’s final round.
Rose, who shot a 7-under-par 65 in the opening round, posted his second consecutive even-par 72 Saturday and remains at 7-under.
“I’ve been playing with the lead the whole week, and obviously there’s been an hour of golf where Hideki has sort of moved out there in front,’’ Rose said. “All the guys chasing at 7-under par are all capable of that little run that Hideki has had, so it’s all up for grabs tomorrow.’’
Rose’s round has to be considered a disappointment considering he birdied his first two holes to get to 9-under.
“I didn’t play well enough today, simple as that really,’’ Rose said. “To have a shot tomorrow, I’m delighted. I have that freedom to take a run at it.’’
Marc Leishman, another of the pursuers at 7-under, said, “Obviously if Hideki plays well, he can control his own destiny. But a lot can happen around here. I’ve seen it. You can make up four shots fairly quickly, but you have to do a lot of things right to do that.’’
Leishman said he hopes to draw on his Masters experience Sunday.
“Obviously playing with Scottie [Adam Scott] the year he won [2013], I played with Patrick Reed when he won [2018], in the third round and I’ve seen what you have to do,’’ Leishman said. “I know what you have to do. It’s just a matter of executing and doing it. Hopefully tomorrow I can do that.
“You don’t have to be perfect. You can make mistakes, but they just can’t be big mistakes. A lot is going to have to go right, but I’ve been here before, and I feel comfortable in this position. I enjoy this. This is what we play golf for.’’