Masters notebook: Sunday tee times moved up 5 hours with storms predicted

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The final round of the Masters will be played Sunday morning — with the leaders teeing off more than five hours earlier than normal — because of storms forecast for the evening, Augusta National Golf Club officials announced during play Saturday.

Players normally compete on the weekend at the Masters in twosomes, with everyone beginning on No. 1. But the impending bad weather has compressed the window in which conditions are likely to be suitable for competition.

Play will begin at 7:30 a.m. in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees — meaning a portion of the field will play the back nine first.

The final group of Francesco Molinari, Tony Finau and Tiger Woods will tee off at 9:20 a.m., 20 minutes after CBS begins its live coverage of the tournament.

“The safety of everyone on our grounds is paramount,” Fred Ridley, Augusta National’s chairman, said in a statement. “We also believe the earlier start will give us the best opportunity to complete the Masters on Sunday.”

The Masters hasn’t been forced to finish on a Monday since 1983, when Friday’s second round was rained out. Sunday’s forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms in the early afternoon, with increasing likelihood of more consistent storms around 4 p.m.

The adjustment was well received by the field.

“They put the integrity of the competition first as opposed to having us tee off right in the worst of the weather and having it carry over” to Monday, three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson said. “So I think the tournament is making the decision to really eliminate those adverse effects on how it might affect the tournament outcome. I think it’s a really good decision.”

The final group at the Masters usually tees off around 3 p.m. Finau, who trails Molinari by two, played in the last group at last year’s U.S. Open. and said killing the morning can be a painful process.

“I do think that’s nice not waiting around till 3 o’clock to tee off, kind of twiddling your thumbs,” Finau said. “… It was like the longest day of my life, and I still hadn’t teed off.”

Spieth gets closer

Jordan Spieth recorded a third-round 69, the second straight day he broke 70 and an encouraging sign for the 2015 champion, who has had an uneven year. But the nature of his round — which featured a terrible tee shot at the second, leading to a double bogey, and then four birdies on the back — left him still searching for his game.

“I hit some shots today that made me feel we’re really close,” said Spieth, whose chances were damaged with a first-round 75. “And I hit some others that made me feel like we need to start over.”

Spieth has never finished worse than tied for 11th in his five previous Masters. He enters play Sunday tied for 22nd.

Reed and Rory

Defending champion Patrick Reed shot a 2-over 74 to fall to 1-over for the tournament, meaning there again won’t be a repeat champion. The last back-to-back winner at the Masters was Tiger Woods, whose second and third green jackets came in 2001 and ’02.

Rory McIlroy’s second consecutive 71 got him under par for the tournament but guaranteed the Northern Irishman will arrive at Augusta National next year with the same question: Can he complete the career Grand Slam? McIlroy’s issue: too many unforced errors. Through three rounds, he has 14 bogeys — a total exceeded by only one player in the field, Billy Horschel with 17 (Horschel also has a double bogey).

“I’ve been making too many mistakes,” McIlroy said.