Masters Moving Day Sleepers: Four to Watch

There’s going to be quite a show just below the top of the board on Moving Day at The Masters!

Masters Moving Day promises more than the usual amount of drama this year. The final group is the one golf fans have been waiting for. And there’s no doubt that there will be plenty of action in the Jordan Spieth – Rory McIlroy match within the tournament.

But don’t get myopic. There’s going to be some golf played elsewhere in the field that’s going to merit watching and if you get overly focused on the Spieth – McIlroy battle you may miss the sleepers. I’m seeing four guys who could sneak up on the Moving Day stars and steal the show.

Danny Lee

Lee’s ann unlikely bet to slip on the green jacket tomorrow, to be sure. He’s played The Masters once before, in 2009, as an amateur. He beat Ernie Els putting disaster with a quintuple bogey on the 10th and missed the cut.

The New Zealander who can’t seem to find a girlfriend, however, has been playing some very impressive golf this week, and he’s managed to avoid those spectacular breakdowns that have put blemishes on Spieth’s and McIlroy’s cards.

Although Lee seems to be having some kind of struggle with the 3rd hole, a relatively short par 4 that Ryan Andrade says shouldn’t be giving anybody any trouble, he’s been successfully navigating the slippery back nine without drama.

Conditions will continue to challenge today and Danny Lee seems to have found the right formula. With a 68 and a 72 going into Moving Day  he’s trailing Spieth by a mere 2 shots and, as we’ve seen, 2 shots one way or the other can be spanned in an eye blink at Augusta National.

Hideki Matsuyama

With his 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open victory that came with a playoff against Rickie Fowler, Matsuyama has proved that he can compete at the intense, one-on-one level. He’s poised to deliver a standout performance at Augusta National. He finished last year in 5th place. He has the place figured out.

On a day when there were no sub-par rounds, Matsuyama recorded an even par on his scorecard, an impressive achievement when measured against some of the other performances.

While Matsuyama’s strength is centered in his long game – and that’s what’s needed at Augusta National – if he can avoid getting out of position and just deliver an average performance on the putting surface I’m looking for Matsuyama to be poised for a run at the the top of the leaderboard tomorrow.

With a mid-afternoon tee time (2:20pm), Matsuyama will hit the most potentially troublesome spot in his round after the predicted winds have calmed for the day. Much will depend on his ability to maintain focus and take advantage of the breaks that come his way. Needing 3 strokes just to pull even with the leaders, a low front nine score will be a must for Matsuyama.

Sergio Garcia

This is the Spaniard’s 18th run at the green jacket. His best finish is 8th place and he’s done it twice, in 2002 and again in 2013. What makes this year look different? Right now he ranked 4th in tee-to-green strokes gained so even though he’s no better than average in his putting performance he’s saving shots on the way to the green.

That’s working to his advantage at Augusta National. I know he had trouble with the 9th hole yesterday but he got out of position. He’s not the only player in the field who put a double bogey on his card yesterday. On the whole he’s been managing the back nine nicely and if Garcia can recapture the command of his game and the golf course that he had on Thursday look for him to make a move today.

Garcia is running out of time to put a major championship on his resume. He knows that and he’d like to finish the job this year. Given his position and the conditions, it’s not outside the realm of the possible that a steady, trouble-free third round would give him a good shot at the top of the board on Sunday. Look for this savvy, seasoned veteran to threaten the two young guns.

Danny Willett

Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia are paired today and they’re going to be as much fun to watch at Spieth and McIlroy. Willett, like Garcia, is coming in to Moving Day at even par and trailing Spieth by 4 shots.

This is only Willett’s 2nd Masters, so he’s at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of experience with the snares and snarls of Augusta National. However, that doesn’t seem to have slowed him down. Willett’s one of the few players in the field who’s played 36 holes without a double bogey. Now that’s an impressive and encouraging data point.

Willett’s no stranger to golfing in the wind and he’s managing the conditions nicely. There have been no trips off into the trees for the Englishman and he’s one of the few who put a 72 on his 2nd round scorecard. Now all he needs to do is hold steady and make a few small improvements on the putting surface today and he’ll be looking at the top of the board on Sunday.

Next: Masters Debutantes Who Made the Cut

While on Thursday afternoon it appeared as though Jordan Spieth might be running away with a 2nd green jacket before we got to the weekend, things changed on Friday. The scene is set now for a weekend battle that involves at least a dozen realistic contenders. Moving Day looms large for all of them. Let’s sit back and enjoy!