After each round of action at the Masters, contributing writer Taylor McCutcheon will recap with his most standout highlights from the day’s action.
WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT MAX HOMA
When Max Homa was asked what he was going to do tonight to prepare himself to make a Green Jacket push on Championship Sunday, his answer told us all we needed to know about the confidence he has in his chances.
“I’m going to remind myself I’m a dog, and I’m ready for this moment,” Homa said.
As I mentioned yesterday, this is Max Homa’s first experience atop the leaderboard at a major championship. Furthermore, he played in the final group today alongside Bryson DeChambeau.
Never before has such a magnifying glass been on the six-time PGA Tour winner. With this focus, we all have a front-row seat into who Max Homa is when the pressure peaks. Heading into Sunday, he sits at six under par and tied for first with Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler, both major champions. Here are my reflections on what we learned about Homa after his Saturday round.
To start, Homa revealed calm nerves with four straight pars. He showed some early signs of confident play with a deft pitch shot on 5, an accurate 227-yard iron shot into 5, and a lag putt on the same hole for a comfortable par.
Hole 6, more of the same. A safe tee shot and a lengthy lag to the hole resulted in a stress-free par. When the stress levels did turn up, Max demonstrated great resilience.
On No. 8, he drove it left into the pine straw. His ball came to rest among the trees, and he only had the option of punching out through a low window. He punched his ball back into the fairway, carried on, and carded a par. I think he’ll look back on that hole as a momentum-maintaining moment.
Max finished the first nine with nine straight pars, sharing the lead at six under par.
His first blemish of the day, however, occurred on the 12th. His tee shot sailed long of the front left pin. From just off the green, his second shot rolled well past the hole, and he missed his par putt.
Although, with the bogey, Max stood one stroke off the lead. But, he kept at it. On the next hole, the 13th, Max faced a lengthy, uphill par putt. He buried it. He stayed the course. The 15th saw Max hit his 100-yard approach shot to 15 feet from the pin. Sadly, he missed the birdie look. Holes 16 through 18 filled his scorecard with three more pars. Max will start tomorrow chasing Scheffler by two strokes.
In a post-round interview earlier in the week, Homa shared what he wrote in his journal. His honesty and vulnerability are receiving a lot of supportive attention, which he deserves. It also gives us a glimpse into a healthy mindset that’s, no doubt, keeping him even-keeled on one of golf’s grandest stages.
“I wrote something in my journal yesterday that said however good I am is however good I am,” he said. “I don’t need to try to be better than I am, and just see where that takes me. Maybe it’s winning this and maybe it’s not, and I’m OK with that. I know what I put into this game.”
After Saturday’s golf, he should hold his head up high. Well done, Max!
This morning, I told myself to write about what we learned from Max in this massive spotlight. Honestly, I don’t think I learned anything new. Ever since Max climbed into this elite level of professional golf, we have learned about his gritty journey to get here.
Today’s round only reinforces his stick-to-it attitude in pursuit of his dreams.
MIGHT SOMEONE EMERGE FROM THE MEDIAN?
Traditionally, Saturday at the Masters is known as “Moving Day.”
Competitors have survived the cut, and now opportunities to enter the conversation present themselves. When I look at the leaderboard, I focus on the group of players near the score of even par.
Plenty of major champions are hovering in this range. Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, and Matt Fitzpatrick are a few names that pique my interest. With more docile conditions this weekend, I am eager to see who will emerge from the pack and move up into contention.
Enter Collin Morikawa.
Leading up to Saturday, he was one of only two players to break par in the first two rounds, with scores of 71 and 70.
The two-time major champion decided to stake his claim early in the third round with three straight birdies to start.
I was lucky enough to be on the third hole to see his birdie. After hitting a 314-yard drive straight down the fairway, Collin had 48 yards to the hole. His pitch shot settled 11 feet past the hole. With a gentle pace, Collin rolled in his left-to-right putt and moved within one of the leader, Scottie Scheffler, who stood at 7 under. Morikawa continued steadily, making the turn to the second nine one stroke behind the leaders.
Standing in the fairway on No. 13, Morikawa had 221 yards to the hole. His lengthy approach shot drew into the green and came to rest 50 feet away from the pin. Unfortunately, Collin committed his first three-putt of the tournament on the 13th green with a chance to take the solo lead. Instead, he remained tied at 6 under par with Homa and Ludvig Åberg. On the 15th, Collin missed a five-foot putt to take the solo lead, which felt like a bogey. His birdie bid two holes later, on 17, lipped out and rolled nine feet away from the hole. No matter, Collin saved par. On the last, he finished with a stressful par after a wayward approach left of 18 green. A round of 69 for the California superstar.
Tomorrow, he’ll start at 6 under par, tied for the lead with Scheffler.
WHAT TO MAKE OF BROOKS KOEPKA
If you recall, last April, Koepka led the Masters for the majority of the week.
The 54-hole leader looked prime to claim a green jacket until Jon Rahm tracked him down. Furthermore, in the last five years at Augusta National, Koepka has a pair of T-2s (2019, 2023) and a T-7 (2020). Koepka is a five-time major champion, and with that elite level comes high criticism at each of the major championships of the year.
Through 36 holes at Augusta, Koepka sits at 2 over par and tied for 24th place, which is underwhelming, to say the least. But, we can never count him out when the lights shine the brightest. Never. On Masters Moving Day, which direction did Koepka travel?
Starting eight back of the leaders Scheffler, Homa, and DeChambeau, Brooks needed to have a momentous weekend to have any shot at a green jacket.
Unfortunately, Koepka parred the first seven holes of the day, remained stuck in neutral, and even went on to bogey the par-5 eighth, which was not encouraging.
Three holes later, on No. 11, things got even worse for the Florida State Seminole. His approach into the 11th green found the pond short left. Once he pitched up, his putt for bogey lipped out.
His uninspired body language coupled nicely with deflating six on the first hole of Amen Corner. On 12, he needed more prayers. His 155-yard tee shot sailed left of the green into a tricky lie. With a putter from off the green, Koepka ended with a bogey.
Like the true champion Brooks Koepka is, he responded to the difficult play with a string of birdies. He got on a heater and birdied the 13th, 14th and 15th to return to three over par. A costly double bogey on 16 thwarted his positive run. With Sunday remaining, Brooks is well off the lead and needs perhaps nothing short of some divine intervention for a charge up the leaderboard in the final round.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR TOMORROW
With this bunched leaderboard, I am not sure how to wrap my mind around Sunday expectations. The logical thought is to assume Scottie Scheffler will maintain his steady excellence en route to a Green Jacket. I believe his play on the last sent a message to the rest of the field.
For all of the trouble that No. 18 caused competitors, Scottie separated himself with that birdie, which might be the difference in his eventual victory in the 2024 Masters.
The pursuers, Morikawa, Homa and DeChambeau, however, refused to go away Saturday, as evidenced by DeChambeau’s dramatic and unlikely birdie at 18. The fight, indeed, shall be on for Championship Sunday.
As fans, we cannot ask for much more. On Saturday, countless major champions jockeyed for the lead in the 88th Masters. They shared first place like family at the Thanksgiving table. We can only hope the same glorious madness unfolds on the second nine on Sunday, which is when many say the tournament begins.
