If there’s one player out there who’s overdue a major championship, it’s Xander Schauffele. The 30-year-old Californian tied second here in 2019 and third in 2021; he’s also got a tied-second on his Open CV, plus eight other top-ten finishes in the majors. An Olympic gold in his back pocket, mind, but still. Anyway, Schauffele did well to grind out 72s in both of his rounds so far, without bringing his best stuff, but there were signs he was beginning to hit his straps towards the end of yesterday. That’s been borne out by his start today: a birdie at 3 brings him up to -1, the first player to break into the top ten of the leader board today.

-6: Homa, DeChambeau, Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard
-3: Davis, Morikawa
-2: Aberg
-1: Schauffele (3), Pavon, Young, Fleetwood, Willett, Fox, An, Smith
E: Straka (2), Fitzpatrick (2), Schenk (1), Kitayama (1), Glover (1)

Tiger can’t afford many missteps. If any. He’s made one at the long par-three 4th, though. His tee shot only just makes it onto the front of the green, and he trundles a heavy-handed 45-foot putt six past. The one coming back is always missing on the high side, and he slips to +2. His playing partner Tyrrell Hatton drops a shot there too, finding the bunker to the left and then knifing out. After a positive early surge, he’s back to +1.

Rickie Fowler won the par-three contest this year. A lovely thing to have on your resumé, though of course it comes with a terrible cost: a historical guarantee that you’ll not be winning the gold medal and draping a green jacket around your shoulders. The two prizes are to date incompatible, and that’ll continue this year, but at least Fowler made the cut despite disappointing rounds of 76 and 74. He’s posted a much-better 71 today, as has the other superstar in the first group out today, the 2021 champion Hideki Matsuyama. They’re both +5 after their third day’s work.

If Tiger isn’t out of this yet, then neither is Tyrrell Hatton. Birdies at 1 and 3 for the 32-year-old from High Wycombe, and he rises to level par for the tournament. These two are going round together; it’s another par at 3 for Woods, who remains at +1.

A par-par opening to the third round for Tiger Woods. The five-time-winning living legend may be 48 years old now, and on a leg rebuilt to specifications, but at +1, just seven off the lead at the halfway mark, he’ll believe he can still win this. He wouldn’t bother turning up otherwise. But he does need a couple of low ones over the weekend, and that’s not the ideal start. Two decent birdie attempts go close but neither were from particularly makeable range. Meanwhile fair’s fair to Rory, who dinks a chip up delicately from the side of 10 to a couple of feet to scramble his par. He remains +4.

The pre-tournament second favourite Rory McIlroy has once again been a total non-event at the Masters. Yesterday’s birdie-free round of 77 took the career-slam-seeking superstar completely out of contention, and an opening bogey this morning looked to have set the mood. He steadied the ship at with birdie at 2 – astonishingly, his first at a par-five all week – before trading another bogey at 6 with birdie at 8. Finally, the par fives bearing fruit, but it’s too little, too late. He remains at +4, where he started the day, though having just sent his approach at 10 down the bank to the left of the green, he might not be there for too much longer.

There hasn’t been too much in the way of low scoring by the early starters today. One exception, though, shows there’s a score out there if you’re dialling them in. Luke List, the 39-year-old journeyman from Seattle, has only played in the Masters on two previous occasions. He tied for 33rd in 2005, and missed the cut two years ago. But he’s making a few waves today. Starting out with a birdie, he sent his second at 2 from 227 yards to ten feet, then made the eagle putt. Though there were subsequent bogeys at 6 and 7, he’s made three further birdies, at 8, 13 and now 14, and he’s four under for his round so far. That’s the best performance of the morning, and one that’s whisked him up the standings to +2.

The weather. It’s going to be sunny all weekend. Pretty warm today, positively balmy tomorrow. There’s still a little wind blowing around, but nothing like the hoolie of yesterday afternoon. So scoring should be a lot better … although with the sun out and the wind drying everything, the greens won’t be as receptive as they were on Thursday, so more of a job of work to hold.

Here we go, then.

Preamble