Molinari leads way over Tiger, Finau as birdie barrage hits Augusta National

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Saturday was a day for record scoring in the Masters Tournament.

Sunday will get here quicker than any of the contenders imagined.

Francesco Molinari of Italy, who won the British Open and was one of the European Ryder Cup heroes last year, pulled away from a three-way tie with Tiger Woods and Tony Finau with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 at Augusta National Golf Club. With a third-round 66, he took a two-shot lead at 13-under-par 206.

Woods (67, his lowest score at the Masters since the final round in 2011) and Finau (who shot 6-under 30 on the first nine and shot the third 64 on the day), are 11 under. Brooks Koepka (69) is alone in fourth at 10 under and Webb Simpson (64) and Ian Poulter (68) are tied for fifth at 9 under.

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Five players are at 8 under, two with major championships: Dustin Johnson (70) and Louis Oosthuizen (71). The others are Matt Kuchar (68), Xander Schauffele (70) and first-time Masters participant Justin Harding (70).

Because of a dire weather forecast that calls for dangerous storms to hit the Augusta area in the late afternoon, club officials moved the starting times up to 7:30 a.m., with the field of 65 in threesomes, going off the first and 10th tees.

The final group of Molinari, Woods and Finau will tee off at 9:20 a.m. CBS will begin its final-round coverage at 9 a.m.

“I think the club made a good decision … it keeps the competitive integrity of the tournament,” said Phil Mickelson, who shot 70 to dip into a tie for 14th at 6 under. “They control a lot of things around here, but the weather isn’t one of them.”

But Saturday’s weather, warm and relatively windless, put the course completely at the mercy of the best players in the world.

Finau, Simpson and Patrick Cantlay all came to the 18th hole with a chance to birdie and tie the tournament record of 63, held by Greg Norman (1996) and Nick Price (1986).

The field averaged 70.769, breaking the record for a Saturday, of 70.98 in 1986, and coming just short of the overall record of 70.49 set in last year’s final round.

Molinari hasn’t made a bogey since the 11th hole in the first round and has yet to have a three-putt green.

“I played the [second] nine as good as I’ve ever played it,” he said. “It was nice to keep another clean scorecard.”

However, Molinari said nothing is certain entering the final round.

“A few shots really don’t mean too much,” he said. “You can shoot 7- or 8-under the way the course is playing. There are a lot more guys with a chance.”

Such as Woods, the four-time Masters champion. He missed several short putts during an otherwise splendid second round but more than made up for it on Saturday, not missing any putt of less than 10 feet.

Woods was even-par through five holes but then knocked in an 18-foot birdie putt at No. 6, rattled the flagstick with a shot to 1 foot at No. 7, two-putted for birdie at No. 8, birdied the par-5 13th and 15th, then ended the day to thunderous roars from the patrons when he made an 8-footer for birdie at No. 16.

"Just be patient," Woods said he was telling himself. "Very simple. The golf course was certainly gettable, a lot of scores going out there. Just be patient. Let the round build."

Finau had a putt at No. 9 for a record 7-under 29 on the first nine.

“I’d driving the ball nicely and on this golf course I can attack if I’m hitting the driver well,” he said. “I felt calm and comfortable and I think my score showed that.”