Masters Tournament 2016: Mobile Updates for Sunday Leaderboard Scores

Danny WebsterApr 10, 2016

When the third round of the Masters came to a close, one thing was certain: It will not be an easy quest for Jordan Spieth to don another green jacket.

For the second round in a row, the opportunity for Spieth to separate himself from the rest of the field was nearly handed to him. Heading to the 17th hole, Spieth was at six under par and held a four-shot lead.

Spieth will go into the final round at three under par with only a one-shot lead. The man trailing Spieth isn't Rory McIlroy anymore. It's 24-year-old rookie Smylie Kaufman, who shot a three-under 69 on Saturday to pull within one shot of Spieth.

Final Round: What to Watch

Who Is Smylie Kaufman?

How does one prepare for playing at Augusta National for the first time? For Kaufman, it wasn't just practicing on the actual course.

He had some help in video game land as well, per Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports:

"
Smylie Kaufman is playing in his first Masters, and he’ll tee off on Sunday alongside Jordan Spieth in the tournament’s final pairing. That’s remarkable bordering on miraculous in itself, but then there’s this: Kaufman learned to play Augusta National by playing the course on the Tiger Woods video game.
You know, just like Jack and Arnie used to do.
Though Kaufman, 24, is two years older than his Sunday playing partner, he’s one of the new generation of golfers flourishing in Spieth's wake. Young, smart, disciplined, and laser-focused, this crew idolized Tiger, but isn't slowing down to let him catch up.
"

That's certainly an interesting way to learn a golf course, but it's paid off so far. Kaufman birdied holes 14 and 16 to pull within one shot of Spieth, whom he will pair with Sunday in the final round at Augusta.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Kaufman turned pro in 2014 after playing college golf at LSU. His first career win came in October when he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas and finished tied for eighth in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He followed that by tying for 12th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Kaufman's name hasn't come up often in the final days of tournaments, but he'll have a chance to smile his way to wearing a green jacket with one more stellar round Sunday.

Jason Day Is Still Not Out of It

So, you're saying there's a chance?

Jason Day is not out of the Masters yet. He's one player who benefited from Spieth's rough finish on Saturday. The Aussie sits at even par coming into Sunday and trails by only three shots.

Day has not played well during this tournament, but there were small signs of a breakthrough on the back nine, where he's struggled heavily this weekend. He shot two under par for the round, but he also hit some crucial birdie putts.

One of those was this massive 69-foot birdie putt on No. 14 to move him to one under par, via the Masters:

He did bogey on 16 to get back to even par, but Day is in a good position here. His game on the back nine hasn't been great this weekend, but there were signs of confidence on the horizon for Day.

That's all he needs, and him being only three back should be a wake-up call heading into Sunday.