AUGUSTA, Ga.
The Masters always seems to bring out the best in Phil Mickelson.
Lefty hasn’t done much this year, failing to finish higher than 17th on the PGA Tour. But he’ll go to the final round of the Masters in the next-to-last group after shooting a 5-under 67 on Saturday.
A three-time Augusta champion, Mickelson shot 32 on the front side and had the crowd roaring when he rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt at the 16th. He stumbled on 17 with a three-putt bogey, but a par at the final hole gave him hope going to Sunday.
He’s at 11-under 205, five shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.
Mickelson knew it could’ve been better.
“On the back, I ended up making two bogeys that stalled my round,” he said, also referring to a slip up at the 11th.
Not that he’s complaining too much.
“It really is the best to play late on the weekends here at Augusta,” Mickelson said.
He wore a pink shirt in honor of Arnold Palmer, figuring he needed an Arnie-like charge to get back in contention.
Mickelson will go back to his customary black Sunday – in hopes of complementing it with green.
ROSE A LATE BLOOMER: Justin Rose has been a slow starter at this Masters.
But he sure knows how to close.
Now, the 2013 U.S. Open champion will be looking for his best finish yet.
For the second day in a row, Rose played brilliantly down the stretch Saturday, making birdies on five of the last six holes for a 5-under 67 that put him the final group with Spieth.
Rose still has some work to do – he’s four strokes behind – but he likes going out with the leader.
“It’ll be great to keep an eye on him,” Rose said.
He put himself in a hole Saturday by bogeying two of the first five holes, but didn’t let it get him down.
Heck, that actually was an improvement on Rose’s start Friday, when he bogeyed three of the first four holes but still managed to shoot 70.
GIVE THE KID ANOTHER RECORD: Spieth posted the lowest 54-hole score in Masters history by shooting a 2-under 70 on Saturday, sending him to the final round with a four-stroke lead.
Spieth’s total over three mostly brilliant days at Augusta National was 16-under 200, breaking the mark of 201 set by Raymond Floyd in 1976 and matched by Tiger Woods in 1997.
The 21-year-old Texan set the record even with a double bogey at the 17th, giving a glimmer of hope to those who’ll be chasing him Sunday.
Spieth set the record with a brilliant up-and-down for par at the 18th hole. After hitting into the gallery behind a bunker, he pitched out 10 feet below the flag and made the putt.
TIGER’S BACK?: Woods did something Saturday he hasn’t done at a major in four years: He posted a score in the 60s on the weekend.
It could have been so much better.
Woods shot a 4-under 68 in the third round, sparking some of the loudest cheers of the day when made a remarkable birdie at the 13th hole after yanking his drive into the trees.
But Woods finished with a pair of bogeys, failing to take advantage of a fine 32 on the front side. He was 10 shots behind Spieth .
“I had my chances to make this a really special round (Saturday),” Woods said. “Man, I had it going there for a little bit. I made a stupidly good birdie at 13 and a stupidly bad bogey at 14. You know, it all evens out.”
Still, considering the mess his game was in just a couple of months ago, it’s been an impressive showing. He had gone 18 consecutive weekend rounds in the majors without breaking 70 going back to the 2011 Masters, when he shot 67 in the final round.
Woods is not giving up, but he knows that it will be tough for anyone to catch Spieth.
“I’m going to have to post something low,” he said. “It’s in Jordan’s hands right now.”
Woods took two months off to work on his game after walking off the course at Torrey Pines in early February. He didn’t even play a tournament before announcing just over a week ago that he would make his return at the first major of the year, and where he has won four times but not since 2004.
