AUGUSTA, Ga. – On the 30th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’ final Masters victory, another ageless blond is making a run at the green jacket.

This one would be even more remarkable.

Fifty-eight-year-old Bernhard Langer used all his wits and guile to shoot a 2-under 70 on another challenging day at Augusta National, giving himself a shot Sunday at becoming the oldest major champion in golf history.

Leader Jordan Spieth – who was born almost four months after the second of Langer’s Masters victories in 1993 – was still on the course when the German finished out his stunning round on a bit of a downer, making a bogey at the 18th after an errant drive left him behind a giant magnolia tree.

Still, Langer walked off Saturday just three shots out of the lead, assured of playing in one of the final groups Sunday. He flipped his ball to a fan and headed off to ponder the idea of beating the record for the oldest major winner by a full decade.

“I’ll put my feet up, get some rest, and hopefully have a late tee time,” Langer said with a smile.

Julius Boros was 48 when he captured the PGA Championship in 1968. Nicklaus remains the oldest Masters champ, taking his sixth title at 46. And it was Nicklaus who contended again one final time at Augusta in 1998, at roughly the same age as Langer, before settling for sixth.

“I’ve been saying it’s going to happen sooner or later,” said Langer, mindful that two other players over 50 – Davis Love III and Larry Mize – also made the Masters cut. “Guys like Davis Love and Vijay Singh and Fred Couples are long enough to win the majors. I’m not quite at their distance, but I try to make up for it in other areas.”

Playing alongside the world’s top-ranked player,
less-than-half-his-age Jason Day, Langer showed that there are many
ways to get around Augusta National.

At the eighth hole, the 28-year-old Day drove it nearly 300 yards, and then left his approach about 40 yards from the flag. Langer’s drive was some 50 yards behind the young Aussie’s, which was pretty much par for the course all day, and he was still some 100 yards away after his second shot drifted off to the right.

But Langer stuck his third shot to 4 feet and made the birdie putt. Day left his much-shorter approach shot 7 feet off the flag – and missed the putt.

“Jason was outdriving me by many, many yards,” Langer said. “That was a big difference to make up. But so far, so good.”

Day was certainly impressed.

“When you consider some of the positions he is playing from compared to where I was, it was unbelievable,” said Day, who shot 71 and was one stroke behind Langer’s 1-under 215 total. “He plods along and knows his strengths and weaknesses. I had a lot of fun playing with him. I could tell how gritty he is and how much of a competitor he is.”

Langer, who will turn 59 in August, used a run of three straight birdies through the middle of the back side to charge up the leaderboard, highlighted by a chip-in at the 14th after Day sank a long putt of his own.

Can Langer pull off such shots one more day and actually win?

“I believe I can,” he said. “If I play my best, I can shoot 4 or 5 under.”

Tom Watson was 59 when he lost in a playoff at the 2009 British Open, but that was on the links of Turnberry – a manageable layout for a senior still on his game. But Augusta is a young man’s course, which is why Watson played the Masters for the final time this year and Ian Woosnam, who is actually a few months younger than Langer, announced Friday he was done after shooting two rounds in the 80s.

But Langer is still trim with a full head of wavy air, albeit with a bit of grey around the edges. He doesn’t concede anything to the younger guys.

“There are different ways to get around out there,” he said.

Langer leaves nothing to chance. As he stepped to the ninth hole, he kicked away a magnolia leaf, carefully paced off where he wanted to tee it up from, then brushed off a couple of more leaves.

He is steady and persistent, a professor of the fairways, taking full advantage of the vast knowledge accumulated over 33 Masters appearances. He won the tournament in 1985, while playing the final day in the next-to-last group with the late Seve Ballesteros, and it was Langer who awarded Nicklaus the last of his six green jackets the following year.

Langer won again at Augusta in ’93 for his only other major.

Now, he’s got a shot at one for the ages.

LAKE WALES, Fla., – Amateur Ya-Chun Chang (Chinese Taipei), 15, carded a 2-under 70 on Saturday to take the 36-hole lead at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic at 6-under, 138.

If Chang wins on Sunday, she will become the youngest in the 36-year history of the Symetra Tour to win. Chang would be just the fourth amateur to win (Cristie Kerr – 1995, Kellee Booth – 1999, Hannah O’Sullivan – 2015).

Kana Nagai (Tokyo, Japan), 18, is just one shot back at 5-under, 139 after a 1-under 71. Peiyun Chien (Chinese Taipei) and Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, B.C.) are two shots back at 4-under, 141.

Canada’s Richdale posted an even-par 72 on Saturday to put herself in contention heading into Sunday. After the final-round, Richdale will fly to Los Angeles and then on Monday morning she will fly to Honolulu to get ready for the LOTTE Championship on the LPGA. Richdale has partial LPGA Tour status courtesy of a T41 finish at 2015 LPGA Qualifying Tournament.

“If I play well in Hawaii, I can reshuffle and get better status,” explained Richdale. “I just have to see how things go.”

The 3-time Symetra Tour winner is in her 11th year on Tour. She spent three years playing on the LPGA Tour from 2010-2012.

“I’m not hitting the ball as well as I’d like, my greens in regulation are down, but I hit some better shots coming in today,” said Richdale. “I’ve played this course quite a few times and I’m pretty comfortable out here so I feel pretty good going into Sunday.”

The cut was made at 5-over and 69 players will tee off on Sunday. Chang will play in the final group with Nagai and Chien at 11:32 a.m.

Full Canadian results:

Cartagena, COL – Kevin Tway birdied the par-5 finishing hole on Saturday and jumped into the 54-hole lead at the Servientrega Championship Presented by Efecty. Tway fired a flawless 6-under 66 which put him at 11-under-par 205, one ahead of second-round leader Brad Fritsch, who got up and down for birdie on 18 to pull within a shot of Tway.

Argentina’s Jorge Fernandez-Valdes parred the final five holes, shot 2-under 70 and finds himself two off the pace in third place.

Ollie Schniederjans (66) and Timothy Madigan (67) are 8-under-par after three trips around TPC Cartagena at Karibana.

“It was definitely playing tough out there,” said Tway, about the blustery conditions. “The wind probably kicked up around hole 7. So from then on, you’ve just got to try and survive and give yourself as many opportunities as possible.”

Tway took advantage of the front nine, going out in 3-under 33. The 27-year-old from Edmond, Oklahoma knew the importance of getting off to a fast start. Through 54 holes, the back side of TPC Cartagena is playing a half-shot harder than the front.

“Everyone knows when they get to the back nine it’s going to be windy,” said Tway, who has played the second nine 5-under in three tries. “You kind of just have to pick a shot that you can see and commit to it.”

Tway has rolled the flat stick very well this week. The four-time All-American at Oklahoma State University played throughout the Midwest, “where it is windy all the time.” Those experiences have helped Tway not get discouraged on the greens when a gust comes up because he knows how to resort back to feel when standing over the ball.

“Putting is very difficult,” said Tway, who grew up in Oklahoma. “You take the wind into consideration more than usual. Sometimes you don’t even look at the break; you just kind of play what the wind is doing.”

Tway, whose favorite golf memory is caddying for his father, Bob Tway, in the Par 3 Contest at the Masters, has never led heading into the final round of a Web.com Tour event. In 2013, Tway earned his first Tour victory at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft, where he defeated Spencer Levin in a playoff. Now a veteran on Tour, the five-year pro’s strategy for Sunday is to battle the golf course instead of fending off his competition.

“You have so much to handle on the course that I’m not really going to be thinking about leading or not,” said Tway. “You’ve just got to try and hit each shot the best you can and fight the conditions.”

Fritsch struggled with the wind throughout the day. The 38-year-old Ottawa resident was forced to back off a few times when a gust would knock him off the ball. Down two on the final green, Fritsch caught a break when the wind died down for a moment. The brief lapse allowed Fritsch to drain his birdie try to stay within striking distance of Tway.

Fritsch played the first 36 holes with Tway and is familiar with his game. Knowing he can’t overpower a course like the long-hitting Tway, the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada native will try and make his move early before the flagsticks start to bend.

“Just try and get off to a real good start,” said Fritsch, who is 7-under on the opening nine this week. “The front nine is the easier nine when it’s windy and then you just try and survive on the back nine.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jordan Spieth was frustrated Friday when Masters officials put his group on the clock ahead of the toughest stretch at Augusta National.

Spieth, Paul Casey and Bryson DeChambeau were told on the 11th hole – the toughest in the second round – that they were being timed for being out of position. Spieth hit his approach some 75 feet from the hole and was heard saying to his caddie, “I’m being … timed. I want to take my time, wait out the gusts.”

He two-putted for par, escaped with a par from the bunker short of the 12th green and the group was back in position a short time later.

Under pace-of-place guidelines, a player is warned if he goes over his allotted time while on the clock, and the second violation is a one-shot penalty.

Spieth chose his words carefully when asked if it was fair for his group to be put on the clock.

“I wouldn’t say it was unfair,” he said. “I would say that … have fun getting put on the clock at 11 of Augusta, and then play 11 and 12 rushing with gusting wind. It’s not fun. It’s not fun at all.”

He said the group also was put on the clock at the 17th.

Spieth had a 2-over 74 and had a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy.

Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old amateur from China, was given two bad times in 2013 and assessed a penalty shot in the second round. He still made the cut.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Bryson DeChambeau says he didn’t get flustered when his tee shot on the 18th hole went into a holly bush, or when his do-over was even worse.

The U.S. Amateur and NCAA champion put his philosophy of execution over emotion to a strenuous test on a disastrous finish at Augusta National Friday. One shot off the Masters lead and trying to polish off the day’s best round, DeChambeau went for a low drive so it wouldn’t get waylaid by the wind.

Instead, the ball went left into the shrubbery and was unplayable. He went back to the tee and sent it even farther to the left, near a green fence and well off the fairway.

He and a rules official had to hike through a woodsy area and weave their way through tables to take a drop next to a road, some 40 yards from where the errant ball landed. The end result was a closing triple bogey and an even par round left the 22-year-old tied for eighth, four shots behind playing partner Jordan Spieth.

A par on the 18th would have had left him one shot off the lead, tied with Rory McIlroy for second.

DeChambeau’s said he never lost his cool.

“Even when I duck-hooked it twice, I was like, ‘You know what, it’s just a good opportunity to show my character and good grace as well,'” he said.

In other words, be professional when it would be easy to behave otherwise. A professional is exactly what DeChambeau will be after the Masters, his final event as an amateur.

He’s already in select company with Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore as the only players to pull off the NCAA/U.S. Amateur double.

DeChambeau, playing in a Ben Hogan-style cap, had six birdies in his second straight even-par round, including two on Amen Corner. He did that in front of huge throngs of fans following his group, which included Spieth.

“He’s not scared of the moment,” Spieth said. “Doesn’t matter what the moment is. It was just one bad swing away on 18 from being the one that’s (tied for second) or even tied for first… Look for him on the weekend to be a contender.”

DeChambeau insisted nerves weren’t an issue in the end.

“I’m comfortable. I’m loving it out here,” the former SMU star said. “It’s a great experience. I’m learning a lot from it. There’s nothing bad that I can take away from today. I mean, I may go bang my head a couple of times against the wall. No, I’m just kidding.

“Thirty-six holes of golf left, and anything can happen.”

Even before that final hole, DeChambeau said the round wasn’t the best he’s played. He cited the U.S. Amateur, which he won by the widest margin in a title match since 2009.

“It was great golf,” he said. “There’s no doubt, it was beautiful golf. It just wasn’t my A-plus-plus.”

He said what went through his mind when he saw his name on the leaderboard was simply: “I belong.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jordan Spieth atop the leaderboard might be the latest tradition at Augusta National.

One year later, he’s still the man to beat at the Masters.

Six tough par saves and six birdies sent Spieth to a 6-under 66 on Thursday and a two-shot lead in a strong wind that made Augusta National play tough for just about everyone except the defending champion.

Coming off his wire-to-wire victory last year, Spieth now has five straight rounds in the lead, and six out of the last seven when he was tied or leading. One more and he would match the longest streak since Arnold Palmer in 1960 and the opening two rounds of 1961.

And just like last year, now it’s time for the rest of the field to try to catch him.

“We’re through one round,” Spieth said. “There’s going to be a lot of different changes. There are going to be a lot of different birdies, bogeys and everything in between. We know how to win this golf tournament, and we believe in our process. And if the putts are dropping, then hopefully it goes our way.”

They were dropping, which is why Spieth had the only bogey-free round on a day where the wind made that seem unlikely.

He had a two-shot lead over Danny Lee and Shane Lowry.

Canada’s Mike Weir had a 4-over 76.

The battle among the modern “Big Three” and other top players expected to contend did not take shape.

Jason Day, the No. 1 player in the world and Masters favorite, was on the verge of catching Spieth until a mini-meltdown. He three-putted for bogey on the par-5 15th, pulled his tee shot into the water on the par-3 16th and made triple bogey, and then sailed the green on the 17th for another bogey. Just like that, the Australian was back to even par.

“It could happen to anyone,” Day said. “Even though I gave up five shots in three holes, I’m only six back. I know I can catch up.”

Right when Day was falling apart, McIlroy holed an 18-foot eagle putt on the 13th and looked to be on his way in his bid to win a green jacket and complete the career Grand Slam. He was within two shots of the lead until he three-putted the 16th for bogey and missed the 18th green to the right, was plugged in a bunker and dropped another shot for a 70. Even so, it was his best start since 2011.

“If somebody had given me a 70 on the first day, I would have taken it,” McIlroy said. “I’m a little disappointed in the way I finished.”

Bubba Watson, a two-time champion, had a 41 on the back nine and shot 75. He wasn’t even low Watson – 66-year-old Tom Watson, in his last Masters, shot 74. Adam Scott, coming off two victories in Florida last month, opened with a 76.

Rickie Fowler had his worst score ever at Augusta National by posting an 80, with 44 of those shots coming on the back nine.

Spieth simply picked up where he left off a year ago.

Never mind that he discovered a hairline crack in his driver during Wednesday practice and had to find a backup for the opening round. Or that he was hearing questions about what was wrong with his game from not having seriously contended in the last two months.

Spieth was at Augusta National, a course that feels like home for the 22-year-old Texan.

“That was a flawless round of golf,” said Paul Casey, who played with Spieth and posted a solid 69. “I played a wonderful round of golf, but it was great to have a front row seat to watch that.”

For all the birdies – none longer than 12 feet – the pars make Spieth look so tough to beat.

He settled himself early with a beautiful pitch across the first green to 2 feet. He pumped his fist with a tough pitch over the bunker and to the upper tier on No. 4. He gambled with a 4-iron through a tiny gap in the trees on the 11th and made it pay off with another par. On 16, he kept his card clean by ramming in a 15-foot par putt.

By the end of the day, no one could do better.

Casey was among five Europeans at 69, joining Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Soren Kjeldsen. Two more were at 70 – McIlroy and Danny Willett, along with Americans Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy.

Nine players couldn’t break 80, a group that included Ernie Els, who took six putts from 2 feet on the opening hole for a 9. He played the rest of the day at 1 over.

The day ended with a name at the top that was familiar.

“I would have signed for 2 under today and not even played the rough, knowing the conditions that were coming up,” Spieth said. “Just scored extremely well, which is something I’ve been struggling with this season. If I can kind of straighten out things with the iron play, hopefully we’ll be in business. But yeah, I’m extremely pleased with that round today. I felt like we stole a few.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Big Three for Jason Day on Thursday: 15, 16 and 17.

Had any of those holes gone better, golf’s Big Three would all be on the first page of the Masters leaderboard.

But Day went bogey-triple bogey-bogey on those three holes, dropping five shots down the stretch to finish the day at even-par 72.

That’s six behind the leader, second-ranked Jordan Spieth, and four in back of No. 3 Rory McIlroy, who finished at 2 under, in a tie for ninth.

“I felt I played some really good golf going up until then,” said Day, who won the PGA Championship last year and is currently atop the world ranking. “I was at 5-under par. But if you get yourself out of position here at this course, it’s very difficult to salvage par.”

Here’s what “out of position” looked like with the wind whipping around the back nine:

– On the par-5 15th, Day laid up and gave himself an awkward yardage for his pitch across the pond. He ended up easing up on a 52-degree wedge from 83 yards and pushing it right, above the hole, then three-putted for bogey.

– On the par-3 16th, he was trying to tuck a shot onto the small slice of green between the water and the hole, which was positioned in the centre left. “I just pulled it a little to the left,” and into the water, he said. After the penalty, not wanting to make that mistake again, he hit his third shot to the right. That forced him to hit a 40-foot putt on a 90-degree angle away from the hole, hoping to work it down the slope and near the cup; very hard to get down in two, and he didn’t.

– On 17, he yanked his tee shot under trees on the left, punched out to the right of the green and couldn’t get up and down to save par.

“Four bad holes, really, in among some really terrific golf,” Day said.

Thanks to an eagle 3 on the par-5 second and a birdie on No. 8, Day finished the front in 31. That 41 on the back brought made it an even-par round that was anything but ordinary.

“If I’d shot 41 on the front and 31 on the back side, I’d be celebrating,” he said. “It’s just a number. I’ve just got to understand that the next two days are going to be really difficult, with the wind conditions.”

The breezes are expected in the 15 mph range the next two days. That, in Day’s view, means nobody will run away with the tournament.

His job: Stay patient and stick around. Which, he said, shouldn’t be that hard.

“I’m not frustrated with how it all unfolded at the end,” Day said. “I’m not saying I don’t care. I can’t dwell on the past. I just have to keep fighting.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Ernie Els was 2 feet from a par to start the Masters.

Twenty-four measly inches.

Then, the unimaginable happened.

One miss. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another.

Finally, on his seventh putt – a one-handed swat that showed his total disgust – Els finished off a sextuple-bogey 10 that essentially ruined any hope of contending for a green jacket on the very first hole Thursday.

Talk about a hard one to take for the Big Easy.

Els posted the worst score ever at No. 1, a 445-yarder known as “Tea Olive.”

No one at Masters had ever gone higher than 8 on the par-4 hole.

Making the whole scene downright surreal, none of the putts appeared longer than about 4 feet. Video quickly began making the rounds on social media showing Els knocking the ball back and forth past the cup, totally bedeviled by the slick, treacherous greens at Augusta National.

Apparently, the video didn’t even show his first miss, the one that could’ve gotten him off the green with a par.

After the fourth putt, Els stared at the ball with a disbelieving smile. By the end, he let his frustration get the best of him, making a half-hearted flick at the ball with one hand on the club from less than a foot away. Naturally, it lipped out, leaving him with a double-figure debacle and 17 more holes to play.

This one would’ve been tough to take for a weekend duffer.

Imagine how a guy who has won four major titles must’ve felt, though it wasn’t the first time Els has come down with the yips at a major championship.

At the first hole of the 2014 British Open, Els struck a spectator in the face with his opening tee shot and was still shaken when he got to the green. He missed a 1-foot putt, and then missed again when he carelessly tried to back-hand the ball into the hole.

But that was only a triple-bogey.

This was much worse.

The sequence was so far-fetched, the high-tech shot tracker on the Masters web site couldn’t handle it. The system at first showed only seven shots for Els, went down temporarily, and finally returned with all 10 shots logged in. Apparently, no one had planned on a professional golfer needing that many strokes on one hole.

For Els, it was a far cry from his start a year ago, when he opened the Masters with a 5-under 67 that left him only three strokes behind eventual winner Jordan Spieth.

There was no chance of Els shooting a 67 this time around.

Not after a seven-putt.

INCREDIBLE!! @TheBig_Easy suffers a NIGHTMARE at #TheMasters hitting a 10 on a par 4. #GoingForGreen #Golf pic.twitter.com/ef9brhINM5

— FOX Sports Asia (@FOXSportsAsia) April 7, 2016

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Masters is underway after a pair of ceremonial tee shots from Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Fifteen minutes after the ceremony, the tournament began for real with Jim Herman and Steven Bowditch going off in the first group on a sunny, brisk morning at Augusta National, the course dampened by overnight thunderstorms.

Herman made a birdie on the first hole to put his name atop the leaderboard, sure quite a thrill for the 38-year-old journeyman playing in his first Masters. He was the last player to qualify for the tournament, getting in with his victory last weekend at Houston.

Watch the Honorary Starters hit their tee shots to open #themasters.https://t.co/fMG8WZ87hj

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 7, 2016

The most meaningful start to this Masters was a ceremonial tee shot that wasn’t even hit.

Arnold Palmer was on the tee Thursday morning.

That was enough.

Palmer, the four-time Masters champion known in the golfing world simply as “The King,” rode a cart out to the first tee at Augusta National, offering that familiar wink and a thumbs-up. He watched Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit their shots to officially begin the 80th Masters.

The 86-year-old has slowed significantly and struggles with his balance. He said last month he would not be hitting a tee shot.

Masters chairman Billy Payne introduced him as “not driving this year, but forever a part of Masters tradition.”

“I think he was delighted to be out there,” Nicklaus said. “I think we were delighted to have him there. I think Gary and I felt it was more about Arnold this morning than anything else, and I think that was just fine.”

Player, the 80-year-old South African who said he prepared by doing 1,300 sit-ups and crunches, belted his drive down the middle. Nicklaus, who 30 years ago this week became the oldest Masters champion at 46 when he won his sixth green jacket, hit it high and shorter than Player.

“Gary won his tournament this year,” Nicklaus said with a grin. “I hit a pop-up.”

“I wouldn’t be too concerned about me outdriving you too much, because you did it to me for 50 damn years,” Player said to Nicklaus.

There was plenty of levity, as usual, for the original “Big Three.” Rivals and lifelong friends, they combined to win seven straight Masters during the 1960s and collectively have won 34 major championships.

Even so, this moment was all about Palmer.

The King dislocated his right shoulder in December 2014 and still was determined to get to the first tee at Augusta National. This year, he couldn’t make that happen. Last month, he chose not to hold his press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, did a taped segment for the broadcast and seen only in a cart watching his grandson, PGA Tour player Sam Saunders.

He walked out of the clubhouse on a crisp Thursday morning in his green jacket, holding onto the arm of Buzzy Johnson, the senior director of the Masters. His steps were short and choppy as he was helped into a cart. His face came to life when he looked out a corridor of fans leading to the first tee. The affection hasn’t changed after all these years.

“To have longevity has been a special gift,” Player said. “And to come here today and to be on the tee with Arnold being a part of us, it was gratifying and sad, because everything shall pass. But it was nice to have him on the tee. I dedicated my first tee shot to him in respect. It’s a very special moment.”

Nicklaus asked Palmer to play with him in the Jamboree last month, a members-only event at the club. Nicklaus and Palmer are the only Masters champions who also are members of Augusta National. Nicklaus said Palmer wanted to join him except that it was the week of Bay Hill.

And then on Tuesday night at the Champions Dinner, Nicklaus made one last pitch.

“I think he would have preferred to hit a golf ball,” Nicklaus said. “I talked to him at the Masters dinner. I said, ‘Arnold, when you’re out there, what if we just take you up and had you hit … I don’t care if you putt it off the tee. I think everybody would love to have you do anything.'”

He said Palmer told him he would think about, and Nicklaus checked back with Thursday morning.

“He said, ‘I’m good.’ I said, ‘Fine, let’s leave it alone.’ So I think it probably was the right thing,” Nicklaus said. “Arnold’s balance is not good, and that’s what they were worried about.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jason Day was lurking just outside Augusta National Golf Club, wondering if he wanted to go in.

The game just wasn’t fun anymore.

Even though he was set to play in his first Masters in 2011, Day thought it might be time to do something else.

“Golf is a very, very frustrating game,” Day recalled.

Whether he was really serious about quitting, no one will ever really know. Certainly, it’s not a consideration these days.

As the 28-year-old Aussie prepares to tee off in the Masters for the sixth time Thursday, he’s ranked No. 1 in the world and coming off his first major championship, one of the favourites along with defending champion Jordan Spieth and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.

“I feel comfortable around this course,” Day said. “I know it sets up well for me. It’s a golf course where I can compete and play well and win.”

Working against Day: the last top-ranked player to win at Augusta was Tiger Woods in 2002.

Indeed, this might be the most wide-open Masters since the pre-Tiger days.

Spieth captured the first two majors of 2015 and nearly won the other two. McIlroy is missing only the Masters from a career Grand Slam. Day and 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott are both two-time winners on the PGA Tour this year. Two other Masters champs, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel, also have victories in 2016. So does rising Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, and let’s not forget Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner and hardly ready to fade away at age 45.

“There’s a lot of guys who have a lot of success here that really brought some strong finishes and motivation and some momentum into this week,” said Spieth, who tied for second in his Masters debut in 2014 before cruising to victory with an 18-under score a year ago. “I know that the people who are down maybe a few _ three, four, five shots after the first couple of rounds _ are capable of making up a lot of ground here.”

Coming off one of the greatest years in golf history, Spieth isn’t even rated the favourite.

That would be Day.

“He can be the favourite,” Spieth said with a shrug. “We’ll go ahead and just do our thing.”

Day hardly felt like the man to beat before the Masters five years ago.

In fact, he had totally lost his love for the game.

“You have to perform, because if you don’t perform, then you’re off the tour,” Day said. “Then you start stressing about, ‘OK, is there enough money up to get my card for next year.’ And then you start losing a little bit of confidence. Then you start getting frustrated out there, and then you don’t practice because you’re frustrated with how you’re playing, and it’s a downward spiral from there.”

Right before the Masters, it almost came to a head during a meeting with his wife, his agent and his sports psychologist.

“I’m like, ‘I just do not like the game right now. I’m just having a very, very hard time picking up the golf club to even just enjoy myself out there,”’ Day said. “But we came to the conclusion of just going and saying, ‘This might be my last Masters ever playing, I may as well enjoy it.’

“So,” he added, with a smile, “I went out there and finished second.”

So much for finding another line of work.

Day followed up with a third-place showing in 2013. Now, having romped to victory at last year’s PGA Championship, he’s rounded out golf’s new Big Three with McIlroy and Spieth.

McIlroy, who looked to be in a league of his own just two summers ago, is now chasing the others.

That, of course, is a bit annoying for the 26-year-old from Northern Ireland.

“I’d be lying if I said those two guys having success doesn’t motivate me,” McIlroy said. “I don’t want to be left behind. I want to be part of that conversation. I’m clinging on at the moment. A few wins will change that.”

He’s not lacking for confidence at Augusta National, a place where he took a four-stroke lead to the final round in 2011 only to throw it all away with a closing 80. He’s finished in the top 10 the last two years but hasn’t really been a serious contender, leaving the Masters as the only major absent from his resume.

“This is one I wish I had caught earlier,” McIlroy, showing the impatience of youth. “You would think that this is a golf course that I can definitely win on. I know that. I just haven’t quite been able to get myself over the hurdle.”

Only five players have captured the modern version of the Grand Slam.

McIlroy is eager to join the exclusive club – the sooner, the better.

“I feel like I’ve got everything I need to become a Masters champion,” he said. “But I think each and every year that passes that I don’t, it will become increasingly more difficult. So there’s no time like the present to get it done.”