Zach Johnson shot his best ever Masters round at the age of 49 and joked: “What happened? I just blacked out.”
The American’s previous lowest score in 20 previous appearances here was 68 – and his best round when he won in 2007 was a 69. But the former US Ryder Cup captain nailed a 40-foot eagle putt at the second and made six birds and two bogeys for his six-under 66. He beat his playing partner and fellow champion Jon Rahm by four shots.
“I love the pairing,” said Johnson. “I loved making the weekend. I guess it’s been a couple years. This game, man, right now there’s a lot of analytics, there’s a lot of data, there’s a lot of things you can chew on and spew out, but when it comes down to it, it’s still a sport.
“You’ve still got to be an athlete. When you’re on these grounds right here, it helps to know it. It’s also when you’re playing in some place that you love and you’re familiar with, when this membership, these Green Jackets want you here, you want to play good. It’s just icing on the cake if you do.”
Rahm, who bogeyed his last two holes for a 70, said: “There’s still a lot of mistakes to hopefully clean up.”
The 2016 champion Danny Willett shot a third-round 73 – the same as Masters debutant Aaron Rai – while Matt Fitzpatrick carded a 74.
While Johnson had a great third day, another former champion, Jordan Spieth, risked incurring the wrath of tournament officials after complaining about “mud balls” at Augusta National.
Spieth, who made the cut with nothing to spare on two over par, carded a bogey-free third round of 69 before voicing his frustration with one aspect of the playing conditions.
“My iron play killed me the last two days and, to be brutally honest with you, it was primarily mud balls,” the 2015 winner and three-time major champion said. “It’s just so frustrating because you can’t talk about them here. You’re not supposed to talk about them.
“Mud balls can affect this tournament significantly, especially when you get them a lot on 11 and 13. They’re just daggers on those two holes. They’ve done a better job, there’s like less than normal, but I still had them today on those holes, too.
“I had them yesterday on those holes. It’s something to pay attention to for sure for leader groups, because you just have to play so far away from trouble or lay up when you’d normally go for it, just random stuff, because it will affect it significantly. And if you’re on the wrong side of the hole, you’re either in the water or you almost can’t make par depending on what hole it is.
“I’m expecting it a lot out here. The ball is digging in on every shot. A lot of times you have it on 75 per cent of your drives. The fact that you’re not supposed to talk about it is a bit frustrating because it is a difference maker.”
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