Could that be the case with Garcia's second shot Saturday at No. 13 than hung on a steep bank rather than bounce into the creek?
Rose, who started the day three off the lead, set the clubhouse lead for Garcia to match after an excellent back-nine around Augusta.
AUGUSTA, Georgia Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler were supposed to lead the American charge in the final round of the Masters but the USA pair fluffed their lines while Sergio Garcia delivered a storybook ending to the first major of the year.
Jordan Spieth (-4) - +315 - How are you going to argue with this number for the King of Augusta National. Rose is tied for the lead with Sergio Garcia at 6 strokes under par for the championship. No. 1 was the approach shot on No. 9, which landed 18 inches of the hole and led to a momentum-sustaining birdie.
Ryan Moore joined Spieth and Hoffman at 4 under after shooting a 3-under 69 Saturday. Rose has four top-10 finishes in 11 Masters appearances. Spieth could have been forgiven for playing safe, but smashed a long iron onto the green from 230 yards and narrowly missed the eagle putt. With a four-under 68 third round, he's well within contention of a second green jacket.
On Saturday, Jeff Knox, the most famous marker in the history of major-championship golf, played with Jason Day. It's the first time he doesn't hold the 54-hole lead.
If you're wondering, no one has ever won the Masters with a triple bogey on his scorecard.
The 23-year-old safely negotiated the 12th on his return 12 months later, only to then stumble to a quadruple bogey on the 15th in an opening 75 which left him 10 shots behind Hoffman.
TELEVISION 1 p.m.to 6 p.m. today, CBS Sports. "That's all you want but really it starts on the back nine (in the final round)", added Rose.
Hoffman entered Saturday's third round with a share of the lead.
Hoffman dropped a shot on the 14th then double-bogeyed the par-four 17th and to finish at 4-under. "Great shots were rewarded, but mid-irons out of the rough were hard".
Rose said he and his caddie knew they were being tested on the front nine, a stretch in which he mixed two birdies with a pair of bogeys, and so they decided patience was paramount.
"I know better than anyone what can happen on a Sunday".
That gave the 37-year-old Spaniard two putts from 12 feet for the victory, and his putt swirled into the cup. His 68 was the second lowest round of the day, behind Rose's 67.
Rickie Fowler. Jordan Spieth.
He will be paired with Spieth in the penultimate group. "I'm looking forward to it". You still need to play smart when you have to. He almost holed a wedge from the fairway on the 15th for another birdie and wound up with a 68.
His back nine was filled with pars except on the two par fives.
"To wake up with a chance to win your favorite tournament and to have a fourth opportunity now, I didn't know going into my first one if I'd have five chances in my life". "A one-shot lead starting the day doesn't mean much".
And most menacing, two shots back is Jordan Spieth, the 2015 victor who has never finished lower than second in three previous appearances at Augusta National.
Only 10 players remained under par, all of them separated by five shots.
Also challenging were Australian Adam Scott, the 2013 victor, at three under, with 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa another shot back. Spieth has now shot back-to-back rounds in the 60s.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum). Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, looks back on the seventh green during the third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, April 8, 2017, in Augusta, Ga.
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18 April 2017