Late Spieth stumble keeps Day dream alive

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Jason Day’s Masters dream is well and truly alive thanks to a late two-hole implosion from runaway leader Jordan Spieth that gifted a battered Masters field.

With one arm seemingly in a second Green Jacket after racing out to a four-shot lead, Spieth combined brilliance with abomination on a rollercoaster back nine that included a double-bogey at 11, three straight birdies from 13 to 15, before closing out his round with a bogey, double-bogey finish, much to the disbelief of the huge galleries.

The world No.2 still sits atop at 3-under but will sleep on a nervous one-shot lead over Smylie Kaufman heading into tomorrow’s final round, with Day lurking just three shots back at even par after a solid 1-under round.

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Day’s dinner will taste a little better tonight following Spieth’s meltdown, and with a final-round pairing with the big-hitting Dustin Johnson locked in, it could be just the tonic to get the Aussie world No.1’s blood pumping after a relatively flat three days.

“I need to show a little more patience tomorrow, even though I’m going to have scoring opportunities,” says Day.

“It’s always fun to play Sunday (at The Masters) in contention.”

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Bernhard Langer, the 58-year-old German and Masters champ in 1985 and 1993, remains in contention after shooting a two-under 70. At 1-under, he is tied for third place with Hideki Matsuyama and two shots off the lead. Langer is looking to become the oldest Masters and Majors champion.

Meanwhile, Australia’s other hopes had forgettable days. Adam Scott signed for a disappointing 75 to finish 7-over and in a share of 34th. While fellow Queenslander and Masters debutant Cameron Smith struggled in the Georgia winds, carding 10-over 82, leaving him in a share of 53rd at 13-over par.

Rory McIlroy was one of the biggest disappointments of the day. Playing with Spieth, he simply couldn’t keep up with the young gun, shooting a 5-over 77 to trail by five and in need of something special tomorrow to complete the coveted career Grand Slam.