The 2021 Masters rankings sharpened significantly on Moving Day, and with the sharpening, a new leader emerged. Hideki Matsuyama, with multiple top-10 major finishes but not such wins to his name, finished 7th in a huge round to sit on top of the board at 11ths, four strokes away from the 36-hole -leading Justin Rose (-7).
Matsuyama played well all day, but after a delay of about an hour he hit an eagle at 15, surrounded by a few birds to jump on a talented field. He also avoided disaster at 18 when his wedge flew out of the sand about 30 feet over the green; Matsuyama took the lead. His 30 on the second nine times the record for best such score by an international golfer in Masters history, and his rogue-free round was the first of any golfer in this tournament.
Jordan Spieth, who looked like he wanted to run early on the second hole with a birdie, was up and down all afternoon and finally finished where he started at 5 down. Justin Thomas, on the other hand, reached the climax. After scoring birdie on two of his first three holes, he landed on the second nine with a triple bow on no. 13 and boogies on no. 11 and no. 14. He finishes in third place for the round, although he is one of the best two favorites to capture the green jacket at the start of the day.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the Masters rankings before the final round action on Sunday.
Watch the 2021 Masters on Sunday with Masters Live while we follow the best golfers in the world by Augusta National with Popular groups, drop by the famed Amen Corner and see the leaders around the corner on holes 15 and 16. Watch live for free CBSSports.com en the CBS sports program. Also available on Paramount +.
1. Hideki Matsuyama (-11): Matsuyama is currently the second-longest active series for rounds at or below track mark, and is poised to put an end to a Masters story that began in 2011 with him as the low amateur. While other golfers struggled with difficult points with Augusta National, Hideki thrived and proved doubters wrong with a putter who had let him down in majors in the past. But before we start writing about the end of the storybook, that putter should stay warm for 18 holes on Sunday – or at least not be a liability. The hard and fast greens became significantly softer on Saturday afternoon after rain in Augusta, and Matsuyama benefited more than anyone from it. What happens if they are fast and fast again on Sunday?
T2. Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, Will Zalatoris (-7): All in all, probably the right round for what Rose had to do to stay in the hunt to win. A long par hole at 18 saved an excessive day and kept him level for the second consecutive round. Due to Matsuyama’s incredible second nine, there is more pressure to get lower on Sunday after Matsuyama matches Rose’s Thursday performance for the best round of the week. Along with Matsuyama, Schauffele once again turned a classic third round at a major championship and shot a 4-under-68 to save the standings in a hit distance. The challenge will be, as in the past during his small sample size of big fight, to follow up that strong Saturday with an equally strong Sunday as he has to compensate a few strokes to win. Schauffele has had seven top 10s on majors since 2017.
Leishman was consistent Saturday and never dropped below the 5-under score he had to start the round. An eagle on no. 15 gives him his 2 down for the day when he scores on his last three holes. Zalatoris is linked to Rose and was equally consistent, finishing with his last three holes.
Corey Conners (-6): It was a good start for the 29-year-old Conners, who scored an eagle at number 6 and three birdies in the first nine. He dropped two of the shots in the second nine, but he registered two birdies over his last five holes to hit back at a striking distance and look for a key talent above the standings.
7. Jordan Spieth (-5): The lap was extremely Spieth-y in providing the kind of highlights and flashing lights that make up the ride on the Jordan subway. Playing a draw might have been a good score if he had just chased Justin Rose, but the tournament has changed drastically since then thanks to Matsuyama’s incredible round. At 18, Spieth missed a (relatively) easy birdie stop that would make him feel a little better. Instead, he should turn on the jets Sunday as in the past at Augusta National. On a day when it seemed like he wanted to tackle another green jacket, he might not have done enough to be six shots from the leader now.
CBS Sports was all the way to updating the story with scores, highlights and analyzes from the Masters. Check out a more detailed ranking and our complete viewer guide.