On a day where his best competitors refused to buckle, one swing effectively ended Dustin Johnson’s chances at a Masters Tournament title.
The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer had a couple of front-nine birdies and was looking at making a charge on a leaderboard that was soaring into higher and higher red figures.
It was undone by the time he got to the 12th tee.
A wayward drive to the left on No. 11 resulted in an unplayable lie, a double-bogey 6 and too much ground in front. He finished at 1-under-par 71 on the day and is at 4-under 212 overall, good for 11th place.
"I thought I hit it beautifully today, just hit a lot of good putts, just nothing went in the hole," he said.
"And then pulled my drive on 11 just a little bit, didn't hit it that bad, it just went too far, went down in the bushes and ended up making double on 11. That was really kind of the only, my only bad hole all day."
PHOTOS: Third Round Action at Augusta
ALMOST GONE. As the roars surrounded players, Justin Rose rued the missed chances to give patrons a chance to yell for him.
Last year’s Masters runner-up is in a tie for 12th — a chance for his fifth consecutive top-15 finish here. But with the leader 11 shots ahead, his quest for a green jacket almost certainly will have to wait.
He had birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 to get into position, then made only one birdie offset by a bogey the rest of the way.
“It wasn't a terrible round, but not what you're looking for on moving day,” Rose said. “Obviously, I was a few back starting the day and it was the kind of day I needed to put something strong together. I could feel the guys were making it happen.”
LEFT IT LATE. Australian Cameron Smith used a 2-under-par 70 to move into a tie for 12th at 3-under 213.
He could have been in the top 10, and was in line after birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 16 coming home. But bogeys on 17 and 18 knocked him back a couple spots.
Smith is aiming for his best finish in a major since tying for fourth in the 2015 U.S. Open.
“I'm happy that I improved my position, absolutely I'm happy that I shot under par, but I feel as though, like I said, I left probably two or three out there today that were pretty easy to turn around,” he said.
JUST HANGING ON. Tony Finau’s memorable Masters will continue Sunday after he recovered from a slow start in Round 3.
The Masters rookie, now famous for his celebration and injury during the Par-3 Contest, made four consecutive bogeys on the front nine to slide out of title contention, but found his groove on the back nine. He made seven pars and two birdies to close in 34 for a 1-over 73 and 1-under 215 total. He’s tied for 15th.
UP FROM THE BACK. Before the great scores from some of the final pairings, Si Woo Kim had one of the rounds of the day.
The Players Championship winner went around in a bogey-free 4-under 68 to vault into a tie for 21st. He had birdies on Nos. 7, 9, 13 and 15 and hit 14 greens on the day.