The Masters Final Round Coverage

For the first time ever, five major champions were tied for the lead of a major championship. And lurking one shot behind were two more major winners, Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. How could anything get better than that?

Then Saturday came along, and the Masters outdid itself. As good as Friday was, what this first men’s major of the year gave us Saturday, teeing up Sunday’s Breakfast at the Masters, was even better.

It was the lowest scoring day in Masters history, a collective and surreal 80-under par, and it produced the tantalizing story line of Woods playing himself into Sunday’s final group with his own personal gem of a round, a five-under 67.

That was good, but the two men who will be playing with Woods Sunday were even better Saturday. Italy’s Francesco Molinari, the reigning British Open champion and one of the quintet of leaders when the day began, shot 6-under 66, while the powerful Tony Finau, teeing off an hour and a half before Molinari, set the tone of the day by firing a 64. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s a total of 19-under par for the three of them on the day.

Italy’s Francesco Molinari, one of the hottest players in world golf. Reuters.

This scorching-hot trio will be playing together — Molinari at 13-under for the tournament, two strokes ahead of Finau and Woods – because the weather is expected to be so bad Sunday afternoon that the Masters decided to begin play at 7:30 a.m. Sunday – and not in twosomes. Threesomes will go off both the first and 10th tees, with the final group beginning bright and early at 9:20.

The possibilities are so enticing that it made perfect sense to have little more than a 12-hour wait from the end of Saturday’s historically low round to the start of one of the most anticipated final rounds in memory. Why wait another minute?

With so many men in contention to win, it seems silly to focus solely on Molinari and Woods, but you almost can’t help doing it because just two majors ago, they were paired together in the final round — at last summer’s British Open — with Molinari prevailing for his first major title, beating Tiger by two strokes on the day and by three overall.

It’s only natural to be intrigued by the rematch, but that could be foolhardy, Molinari said.

“There’s a lot of guys playing great,” he said. “It’s going to be a battle. The course was getable today. If it’s getable Sunday, someone will shoot seven, eight, nine under. There’s him (Woods). There’s lots of guys. I wish I had to worry only about him.”

2019 Masters, Tiger Woods score: Resiliency, long birdie putts create best chance to win since 2011. Getty Images.

Past being prologue, Molinari is probably right. It could get downright crazy out there Sunday, if only because that’s exactly what happened Saturday.

How good was that third round? By the time the final twosome, Molinari and Jason Day, teed off, they already had lost their lead. They weren’t tied for second or third or fourth. They were tied for fifth.

The five leaders went this way and that. We know about Molinari, steady as they come, with only one bogey in the first three rounds, that coming Thursday on the 11th hole. Koepka too: His 69 seemed so routine, you had to wonder if he really wasn’t the favorite on Sunday if he plays the way he is able.

(Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Louis Oosthuizen was a puzzlement, good but not great, shooting 1-under on the day. Adam Scott shot even-par 72, with this refrain: if only he could make a putt. And Day, playing in the last group, had his moments, but a double bogey on 15 and bogey on 18 left him shooting one-over, seven strokes off the lead.

Golf has a fascinating way of reshuffling the deck from one day to the next. Asked what to expect and who will win Sunday, Molinari had no idea.

“The favorite is probably the golf course out there, waiting for us.”

And us with it. 

Officials moved up the starting times several hours Sunday and grouped the players in threesomes. All of this is being done because of a fearsome spring storm forecast to hit the Augusta, Ga., area in the afternoon.

Tee times are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. ET off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees.

The final grouping of Francesco Molinari, Tiger Woods and Tony Finau will go off from No. 1 at 9:20 a.m.

The live CBS broadcast of final round play begins at 9 a.m. ET.

“The safety of everyone on our grounds is paramount,” said Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. “We also believe the earlier start will give us the best opportunity to complete the Masters on Sunday. This decision should benefit everyone – the players, our patrons and our fans watching around the world.M

Masters Final Round Tee Times

1st Tee

Tee Time (ET)Pairing
7:30 a.m.Aaron Wise, Marc Leishman, Si Woo Kim
7:41 a.m.Matthew Fitzpatrick, Kevin Tway, Patton Kizzire
7:52 a.m.Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith
8:03 a.m.Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Corey Conners
8:14 a.m.Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Lucas Bjerregaard
8:25 a.m.Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm
8:36 a.m.Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Thorbjorn Olesen
8:47 a.m.Louis Oosthuizen, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler
8:58 a.m.Matt Kuchar, Justin Harding, Xander Schauffele
9:09 a.m.Brooks Koepka, Webb Simpson, Ian Poulter
9:20 a.m.Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau, Tiger Woods

10th Tee

Tee Time (ET)Pairing
7:30 a.m.Kyle Stanley, *Viktor Hovland, Charley Hoffman
7:41 a.m.Kevin Kisner, Bryson DeChambeau, *Takumi Kanaya
7:52 a.m.Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Gary Woodland
8:03 a.m.Jimmy Walker, J. B. Holmes, Charles Howell III
8:14 a.m.Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Kevin Na, *Alvaro Ortiz
8:25 a.m.Patrick Reed, *Devon Bling, Keith Mitchell
8:36 a.m.Tyrrell Hatton, Satoshi Kodaira, Andrew Landry
8:47 a.m.Bernhard Langer, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Eddie Pepperell
8:58 a.m.Branden Grace, Martin Kaymer, Haotong Li
9:09 a.m.Emiliano Grillo, Zach Johnson, Billy Horschel
9:20 a.m.Trevor Immelman, Alex Noren
* – Amateur

Final Round Hole Locations

Current Leaderboard

PosPlayerTodayThruTotalR1R2R3R4
1Francesco Molinari 
-6F-13706766
T2Tony Finau 
-8F-11717064
T2Tiger Woods 
-5F-11706867
4Brooks Koepka 
-3F-10667169
T5Webb Simpson 
-8F-9727164
T5Ian Poulter 
-4F-9687168
T7Matt Kuchar 
-4F-8716968
T7Justin Harding 
-2F-8696970
T7Dustin Johnson 
-2F-8687070
T7Xander Schauffele 
-2F-8736570
T7Louis Oosthuizen 
-1F-8716671
T12Rickie Fowler 
-4F-7707168
T12Adam Scott 
EF-7696872
T14Patrick Cantlay 
-8F-6737364
T14Thorbjorn Olesen 
-4F-6717168
T14Justin Thomas 
-3F-6736869
T14Phil Mickelson 
-2F-6677370
T14Jon Rahm 
-1F-6697071
T14Jason Day 
1F-6706773
T20Bubba Watson 
-5F-5727267
T20Lucas Bjerregaard 
-3F-5707269
T22Jordan Spieth 
-3F-4756869
T22Tommy Fleetwood 
-2F-4717170
T22Corey Conners 
-1F-4707171
T25Henrik Stenson 
-5F-3747267
T25Matthew Fitzpatrick 
-4F-3786768
T25Hideki Matsuyama 
-4F-3757068
T25Cameron Smith 
-3F-3707469
T25Kevin Tway 
-2F-3727170
T25Patton Kizzire 
1F-3707073
T31Aaron Wise 
-4F-2757168
T31Si Woo Kim 
-2F-2727270
T31Marc Leishman 
-2F-2727270
T31Kyle Stanley 
-2F-2727270
T31Viktor Hovland 
-1F-2727171
T31Charley Hoffman 
EF-2717172
T31Kevin Kisner 
EF-2697372
T31Bryson DeChambeau 
1F-2667573
T39Takumi Kanaya 
-4F-1737468
T39Keegan Bradley 
-1F-1766871
T39Rory McIlroy 
-1F-1737171
T39Gary Woodland 
2F-1707174
T43Jimmy Walker 
EFE727272
T43J.B. Holmes 
2FE707274
T43Kiradech Aphibarnrat 
3FE697275
T43Charles Howell III 
4FE736776
T47Kevin Na 
1F1717373
T47Alvaro Ortiz 
1F1737173
T47Patrick Reed 
2F1737074
T50Devon Bling 
-1F2747371
T50Tyrrell Hatton 
EF2737372
T50Keith Mitchell 
EF2727472
T50Satoshi Kodaira 
1F2757073
T50Andrew Landry 
1F2727373
T50Rafael Cabrera Bello 
3F2737075
T50Bernhard Langer 
3F2717275
T57Branden Grace 
EF3727572
T57Eddie Pepperell 
EF3747372
T57Martin Kaymer 
EF3737472
T57Hao-Tong Li 
1F3727473
T61Emiliano Grillo 
1F4727573
T61Zach Johnson 
1F4747373
T63Billy Horschel 
2F5727574
T63Trevor Immelman 
3F5747275
65Alexander Noren 
3F6757275

Credit: Golf Week and USA Today

https://golfweek.sportsdirectinc.com/golf/pga-results.aspx?page=/data/pga/leaderboard/leaderboard1_total.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2019/04/13/masters-final-round-downright-crazy-augusta-national/3462392002/