Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg vowed to embrace his opportunity to make history in what promised to be a thrilling final round of the 88th Masters.
Aberg is making his major championship debut at Augusta National after only turning professional in June, but went into the last 18 holes just three shots off the lead held by world number one Scottie Scheffler.
No player has won the Masters in their first major start, while Fuzzy Zoeller was the last player to win a green jacket on their tournament debut in 1979.
“I think about it all the time. I’m OK thinking about it,” Aberg said after a third round of 70.
“Obviously I’m a competitor and I want to win tournaments. I feel very fortunate to be in this position and to be here playing golf.
“I don’t think you should shy away from it. I don’t think you should try to push it away. I try to embrace it, and I try to be okay with all that comes with it, I guess.”
Scheffler birdied the 18th in round three to claim a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa, who would just be a US Open victory away from completing a career grand slam if he triumphs on Sunday.
Max Homa was two shots off the pace following a 73 containing 17 pars and one bogey, with Aberg another stroke back and Bryson DeChambeau four off the lead after a remarkable birdie on the last.
Shot of the day
Bryson DeChambeau was staring at a bogey and six-shot deficit before holing out from 77 yards for an unlikely birdie on the 18th.
Statistic of the day
Top statistician Justin Ray suggests the winner will be one of Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg or Bryson DeChambeau.
Quote of the day
Max Homa readies himself for a Sunday scrap at Augusta.
Hardest hole
Despite Bryson DeChambeau’s last-minute heroics, the 18th played as the hardest hole thanks to a fiendish hole location. A total of five birdies, 18 bogeys and six double bogeys resulted in a scoring average of 4.467.
Easiest hole
The eighth hole reclaimed its crown as the easiest hole from the second, yielding 27 birdies and just two bogeys for an average of 4.617.
Key tee times (all BST)
1435 Neal Shipley, Tiger Woods
1845 Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood
1905 Cameron Davis, Nicolai Hojgaard
1915 Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele
1925 Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg
1935 Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa
Weather forecast
Mostly sunny skies and above normal temperatures are forecast for Sunday and Monday with highs in the mid to upper 80s. The wind will remain light out of the southwest and likely average 7-15 mph each day.
Spieth expecting to be tournament ready for 2025 PGA season
Jordan Spieth is expecting to return to action for the 2025 PGA Tour season after undergoing successful wrist surgery last month.
Spieth, who last competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, failed to find his best form during the recent campaign out on the course.
The former world number one started the season strong, finishing third in The Sentry and then, a few weeks later, tied for sixth in the WM Phoenix Open
But the American missed the final two playoffs in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, while also missing seven cuts, one of which included the Masters.
Spieth was seen sporting a cast on his first appearance since the surgery and was able to reveal the timeline for his return to action.
"I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it's my goal to be tournament-ready," Spieth told Golfweek in a Q&A published on Monday.
"And for me, that would be not just going out and seeing how it feels, you know, but expecting to play at my ceiling."
Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour but has not emerged victorious since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.
The American did not earn entry into the 2025 season-opening tournament. However, he is able to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of January.
While the 31-year-old's main reason for surgery was to see him return to form, he also detailed the personal reasons for his decision to go under the knife.
"I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home," Spieth said.
"Like when it would dislocate and I couldn't get it back in, it would happen when I'm getting my daughter out of the bath, I'm putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn't want it to continue, and it happened more and more.
"And it wasn't going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it's just inevitable."
McIlroy 'getting used to' near misses after Irish Open heartbreak
Rory McIlroy admitted that he was "getting used to" his near misses after another late collapse saw him lose the Irish Open by one stroke.
The Northern Irishman looked set to win on home soil after taking a commanding four-shot lead at one point on Sunday.
However, costly errors on the 15th and 17th holes put the pressure back on him, and he could not hold off Rasmus Hojgaard.
McIlroy's performance at Royal County Down had echoes of his US Open misery, where he also held a lead before mistakes at crucial moments saw him lose out to Bryson DeChambeau, extending his wait for a major title into an 11th year.
He also faltered late in his bid for an Olympic medal in Paris, but McIlroy attempted to take some positives out of his latest tournament.
"I'm getting used to it [the near misses] unfortunately this year," McIlroy said.
"Hopefully the tide is going to turn pretty soon, and I can turn all these close calls into victories."
"Missing the green right on 15 is the place you can't go, and then I just misjudged the speed with the first putt on 17.
"Overall, obviously really disappointed that I didn't win, but I'll try to take the positives and move on to next week to Wentworth [at the BMW PGA Championship].
"From where I was at the start of the week and what I wanted to do, it's a step in the right direction. You know, if anything, it just whets my appetite even more for Portrush [the Open Championship] next year."
Woods undergoes back surgery after difficult 2024 season
Tiger Woods has undergone surgery to address the back spasms and pain that hampered him throughout 2024.
Woods has struggled for fitness throughout the last few years, having suffered serious leg injuries in a car crash in 2021.
He appeared at all four majors this year but missed the cut at three of those events, also finishing 60th at the Masters, while illness forced him to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February.
The 15-time major champion has also undergone several surgeries on his back throughout the last decade, and he revealed on Friday that another procedure was required to rectify issues that plagued him this season.
"Earlier this morning Tiger underwent micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back," read a statement posted to Woods' X account.
"Dr Sheeraz Qureshi of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach performed the surgery and deemed it successful."
Woods added: "The surgery went smoothly, and I'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season.
"I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal activities, including golf."
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