Fansided

Finau, Simpson take advantage of Augusta to jump up Masters leaderboard

By David Salituro

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 13: Tony Finau of the United States acknowledges patrons on the 14th green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 13: Tony Finau of the United States acknowledges patrons on the 14th green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2019 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Tony Finau and Webb Simpson finished just a shot off the Augusta National course record in Saturday’s third round of the Masters

Augusta National is playing soft and calm on Saturday, and nobody took more advantage of it than Tony Finau and Webb Simpson.

Finau and Simpson both shot 64 in Saturday’s third round of the Masters, one off the course record, to jump from outside the top-10 at the start of the day to atop the leaderboard.

The 29-year-old Finau made birdie on his first hole of the day, holing a nine-foot putt. He nearly holed his greenside bunker shot at the par-five second for an eagle, then made his third birdie in a row on the short par-four third. He added another birdie at the sixth, then made a big move up the leaderboard at the eighth. His approach to the par-five bounced off the mounds to the right of the green, rolled across the green and came to rest just eight inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle.

Finau missed a 10-footer for birdie at the ninth that would have made him the first in Masters history to play the front-nine in 29. He birdied both of the par-fives on the back-nine to finish his round at 11-under and a one-shot lead with the last groups still on the course.

Simpson was even-par through his first six holes, but then ran off a streak of four birdies in a row from the seventh to 10th. He rolled in a 37-foot putt for eagle at the par-five 13th and hit his approach to the 14th to within three feet for another birdie. Simpson also birdied the par-three 16th to equal Finau’s 64 and finish at nine-under, two off the lead.

Patrick Cantlay also shot 64 on Saturday, the first time three rounds of 64 were recorded on the same day in Masters history. The course record is 63, set by Nick Price in 1986 and Greg Norman in 1996.

Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele and Francesco Molinari are tied for second at 10-under, a shot behind Finau.

Both Finau and Simpson are in contention for their first Green Jacket, but they have much different history in major championships. Simpson won the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club and the Players Championship a year ago in wire-to-wire fashion. Finau, meanwhile, despite being one of the most athletically gifted players on the PGA Tour, has only one win in his career. That came at the Puerto Rico Open in 2016.

If Finau finds himself in the final pairing on Sunday, he’s going to have to get ready earlier than he anticipated. Tee times for Sunday’s final round have been moved up to avoid storms expected to hit Augusta tomorrow afternoon. Groups will play in threesomes off both the first and 10th tee, with the final group teeing off at 9:20 a.m. EST.

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