Masters 2016 Leaderboard: Live Look at Sunday Scores and Overall Predictions

Could Jordan Spieth make it two Masters triumphs in a row? Or would the talented and deep pool of players nipping at his heels catch up and provide a winner from its ranks?

Those were the questions heading into play on Sunday, as Spieth (-3) took a one-stroke lead into the tournament's final day. But a number of very talented players—Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, Brandt Snedeker and even Rory McIlroy, to name a few—remained within striking distance.

Let's take a look at the updating scoreboard:

It's hard to predict anybody other than Spieth winning the green jacket this year, even if he has played at three over in the last two rounds after opening the tournament at six under in the first round. Spieth simply seems to have a feel for the Augusta course, as he won last year and finished tied for second at the Masters in 2014.

Add in the fact that he's won two of the past four majors, and the stage certainly isn't too big for Spieth.

But the Masters can be a cruel mistress, and it certainly was to Spieth at the end of play on Saturday, as he bogeyed No. 17 and double-bogeyed No. 18, giving the field a chance on Sunday. Now, he has to move on from that poor finish, though even he acknowledged that won't be easy, per Kevin Van Valkenburg of ESPN:

"

I think it will be tough personally. I mean honestly, I think it will be tough to put it behind. I think I will, but that wasn't a fun last couple holes to play from the position I was in. I'm not going to dodge the question by any means. It's not going to be fun tonight for a little while, and hopefully I just sleep it off and it's fine tomorrow. I imagine that will be the case.

"

He added, "I played better than I scored today. I'm in the lead after 54 holes. If you told me that at the beginning of the week, I'd be obviously very pleased. So it's mixed feelings right now."

It should be mixed feelings for the rest of the field as well, as they attempt to catch the man who has now led after seven consecutive rounds in Augusta. 

But whereas Spieth dominated and didn't seem to break a sweat last year, he's had to grind and battle for every putt this time around. And as Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel noted, Sunday will be Spieth's greatest challenge at the Masters yet:

"

Sunday will not be a “walk in the Georgia pines,” as Tom Watson waxed on Friday following his last Masters round, not with six players within three strokes and a Spieth game that is something less than 100 percent.

Unlike last year, Spieth won’t be able to play a prevent defense on Sunday, and that reality was etched into his face following a windswept day.

“With very little wind tomorrow, someone gets on a run and shoots 6, 7 under, I know I have to shoot a significant under-par round in order to win this tournament, when I could have played a different style of golf like I did on Sunday last year,” Spieth said.

"

Indeed, a number of players seem very capable of making a championship push on Sunday. Day is the hottest golfer in the world right now, so he's a very obvious threat. Matsuyama has the game to put up a strong number. Johnson has yet to get his major, but he has the talent to blow past the field on any given day. 

And then there's McIlroy, who is five strokes back of Spieth but—of all the players in the field—is certainly capable of stealing this tournament with a huge round. He'd likely need a bit of a collapse from Spieth—who is the only player to shoot lower than a 68 at this year's Masters—but McIlroy isn't out of this thing just yet.

Few players are capable of exploding just a day after imploding, of course. And Saturday's disappointing round surely woke the ghosts of 2011 swirling around in McIlroy's head, memories of his four-stroke lead on Sunday that year disappearing amid a series of hooks and mishits that led to a final-round 80 and a meltdown for the ages. 

Surely, McIlroy has been attempting to exorcise those demons again after Saturday's performance. If he's able to keep those ghosts at bay, perhaps, just perhaps, he can make a late push and finally earn his career grand slam.

What seems more likely, however, is Spieth grinding and battling and fighting for the course one final day, taming Augusta once again and holding off the field to earn his second straight green jacket. 

Prediction: Spieth wins the Masters.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.