AUGUSTA, Ga. — The third round of the Masters was the Dustin Johnson Show, and an air of inevitably now hangs over this 84th playing of the tournament. But as everyone from Greg Norman to Ken Venturi has learned the hard way, there are no sure things on Masters Sunday. Anything can happen, and just might. Here are the seven best possible storylines, assuming, for the sake of this exercise, a winning score of 17 under…
Patrick Reed shoots 64 to win
Since it’s 2020, a Reed upset would be fitting. He made plenty of birdies during his third round but lost the plot with a double bogey out of the fairway bunker on 5 and then a deflating bogey-bogey finish. But if the 2018 champ with the wizardly short-game cleans up those mistakes, ya never know…
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Abe Ancer shoots 67 to win
It’s a huge ask to make the Masters your first PGA Tour victory but Ancer is trying to do exactly that. He hardly shrank from the moment in the third round, shooting a calm and collected 69 to move into a tie for second. If the dashing Ancer pulls through he has a chance to become the Seve Ballesteros of Mexico. Whatever his Sunday score, he’s pretty much guaranteed to make history: no Mexican player has finished better than 30th at the Masters.
Sungjae Im shoots 67 to win
The 22-year-old with the easy smile and gorgeous tempo is a cult favorite, and a victory here would turn him into the biggest (male) golf superstar to come out of Asia at exactly the right moment, with the Olympics heading to Tokyo next summer (coronavirus willing). Im was rock-solid on Saturday, his always strong ball-striking complemented by some short-game magic; the hole-out on 11 was pure class and stirred the ghosts of Larry Mize, who himself had quite a week. It’ll take more of the same to run down DJ.
Jon Rahm shoots 64 to win
Deep into the second round Rahm looked like the guy to beat but his third round (and entire Masters) was derailed by a ghastly double bogey on the 8th hole. He never recaptured his swagger. But a freewheeling (and fired-up) Rahm could be capable of something scary. A first major championship win is inevitable, so why not on Sunday?
Justin Thomas shoots 64 to win
JT played beautiful golf over the first 10 holes of the third round to seemingly set himself up as DJ’s biggest threat but a series of brutal mistakes coming home ensued (including flying the green on 15 into the water), and those four bogies have put Thomas in the deepest of holes. It will take a special round to claw back into the mix but the world number three is certainly capable.
Rory McIlroy shoots 63 to win
Augusta’s star-crossed kid has been on fire the last two rounds, though he suffered the inevitable letdown on the back-nine par-5s on Saturday afternoon. McIlroy has excelled at the backdoor top-10 at the Masters so why not go just a little deeper? Coming from way behind and winning in the clubhouse may be the best chance for Rory to exorcise his Augusta National demons.
Dustin Johnson shoots 71 to win
If DJ drives it even close to as proficiently as he did Saturday, it’s hard to imagine any scenario in which he doesn’t win. But the rough is more penal this year, and creeks and swaths of forest are there waiting to gobble up errant drives. Still, Johnson seems more likely to shoot 61 than 71. A green jacket will slam the door on a decade of frustration in the majors and set up DJ for a monster run (including defending this Masters victory a mere five months from now). He’s telegenic, strangely charismatic and draws in casual sports fans. A win here will be monumental not only for Johnson but the game as a whole.
