Dustin Johnson builds commanding Masters lead in third round at Augusta

Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson hits a shot on the 13th hole at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday.

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The world’s top three players were among the five to share the lead after Saturday’s completion of the delayed second round. The world’s top player led alone after the third round. The cream rose to the top. The cream of the cream stayed there. Here are three things you need to know after Saturday at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. 

Dustin Johnson leads 

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, world No. 2 Jon Rahm and world No. 3 Justin Thomas were among the five players to lead the Masters after the second round. 

Johnson led alone after his second hole. 

On the 575-yard, par-5, Johnson hit his tee shot 363 yards, knocked his second shot, from 222 yards out, to within 3 feet, and he tapped in from there for an eagle. Johnson would add birdies on 3, 4, 7, 13 and 15 for a seven-under, bogey-free 65 (his second such round of the tournament), a 16-under total and a four-stroke lead over three players. 

The 16-under total tied the 54-hole scoring record, set by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

Three players are tied for second

Four behind Johnson and tied for second are Sungjae Im, who shot a four-under 68; and Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith, who each shot three-under 69s.

Five back is Dylan Frittelli, six back is Thomas, and seven back are Rahm, former champion Patrick Reed and Sebastian Munoz.

Tiger Woods is 11 shots back 

Tiger Woods, the defending champion and five-time Masters winner overall, shot his first non-subpar round of the week with an even-par 72. He’s at five under overall and 11 shots behind Johnson. 

Bryson DeChambeau, this year’s U.S. Open champion, shot a three-under 70 and is 13 shots behind Johnson.

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Nick Piastowski

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.