Day to forget for Matsuyama as he slips with a 79 at The Masters

Hideki Matsuyama had a round to forget after he returned with a seven-over-par 79 in the third round of The Masters to slip to tied-48^th place with his four-over-par 220 total.

Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters Champion, had staged a comeback with a 68 in the second round after opening with a 71 at Augusta National. However, the 33-year-old could not replicate his form as he marked his card with five bogeys and a double bogey.

“Overall, it did not go well for me today. I got off to a decent start with a good par on the first hole. But compared to yesterday, I couldn’t quite figure out what adjustments to make, and that made it difficult to score.

“I was not in a good position on the leaderboard. So, I took a more aggressive approach on the 13th, hoping to make a birdie and regain some ground. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and I made another bogey there. I’ll reset and do my best to play well tomorrow,” said Matsuyama.

Rory McIlroy will be the player to catch as he reached the summit of the leaderboard, holding a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau after carding a 66.