Putting lets Justin Thomas down in third round play

Solid ball striking helped Justin Thomas created plenty of chances to climb the leaderboard in the third round of the Masters Tournament. But similar to Thursday, he struggled to convert on an overcast, soggy day when chips and putts dropped all around him at Augusta National Golf Club.

Thomas finally elicited a roar from patrons when he sank a 10-footer for birdie at No. 18 to post a third-round 70, moving him to 5-under in a share of ninth with Jordan Spieth.

“I played well, hit a lot of greens, hit a lot of quality shots,” Thomas said. “I just really couldn’t make a putt to save my life out there.”

Thomas hit 17 greens in regulation. He’s third in the field in that category (75.9 percent) but 29th in proximity to the hole.

The world’s second-ranked pro never looked comfortable on the greens, fiddling with his setup in between putts and leaving putts short or missing on the low side. He got up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the par-5 No. 2 for his first birdie, sinking a 6-footer. His only other birdie was a two-putt from 25 feet on the No. 8 to improve to 2-under on the round. Setting that up was a brilliant towering fairway wood from 259 yards out in the middle of the fairway.

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“It was a little tougher with the rain going on and off. The greens had some moisture and they were slowing up and then getting a little faster,” he said. “I just had a hard time adjusting to that.”

Thomas avoided a 3-putt for the second consecutive round but finished with 32 putts and is 23rd in strokes gained putting this week.

“I should be good enough to compensate and get better,” he said. “Just couldn’t get it feeling good in my hands.”

Thomas trails leader Patrick Reed by nine shots entering Sunday’s final round. The largest deficit erased after 54 holes of the Masters is eight shots - by Jack Burke in 1956 and Gary Player in 1978.

“When you’re 10 back you can’t really expect to win,” Thomas said. “I would need some pretty ridiculous things to happen. But crazier things have happened, that’s for sure.”

Although scoring conditions are expected to be favorable Sunday afternoon with temperatures in the low 60s and light wind, Thomas doesn’t anticipate overhauling his game plan.

“I’m not going to go out there and be stupid,” he said. “It’s still Augusta National. It’s not like the greens are soft and the pins are all five yards from the edges. They’re still going to be tough. It’s the same as I did the first three days. I’m just going to have to pick my spots when I have them and hopefully make some more putts.”