Moving Day at The Masters started with 22 players within 4 strokes of the lead. By the end of the day there were six.
Francisco Molinari shot a methodical six-under par 66 for a 13-under total and a two-shot lead. Typically, 66s at Augusta National aren’t described as methodical, but the 2018 Open Champion is definitely not typical. When he’s on, he moves around the course with machine-like precision, getting his drives in play, striking solid iron shot after solid iron shot to the green, and making his share of putts. He’s not flashy, but when he’s on he looks unbeatable.
Tied for second are Tony Finau, who had one of three rounds of 64 on Sunday and some “other guy” the golfing world seems pretty excited about. Finau started his round with three consecutive birdies, followed by another at six, and a tap-in eagle at the par-5 eighth to shoot a Masters record-tying 30 on the front side. He birdied both par 5s on the second nine and was solid over a number of par saving putts to finish the day without a bogey.
A bogey is something that Molinari has experienced just once in the tournament. His streak without a blemish is 43 holes. Can he maintain that on Sunday?
The “other guy”, of course, is Tiger Woods. The four-time Masters winner shot a 5-under par 67 which places him two shots behind 
Molinari and also in the lead group. Due to impending thunderstorms Sunday afternoon, tee times have been moved up to Sunday morning. Groupings will be in threesomes, rather than the traditional twosomes, and players will start on the first and tenth tees. With Finau finishing before Woods on Saturday, normal procedure would have him paired with Molinari. The change puts Woods in the group, as well. Will that make a difference? Almost certainly.
Woods started the day relatively slowly with pars on the first four holes. He then made bogey on number five for the third consecutive day. He was five-under, back in the pack, and being passed by young guns left and right. Birdies and six, seven, and eight changed his momentum, started his climb up the leaderboard, and seriously ratcheted up the intensity at August National. Three more birdies on the second nine (13, 15, and 16) got him into the lead group and just two strokes behind Molinari.
There is a buzz in the golf world that only Tiger Woods can bring. With that buzz comes a number of questions. Does Tiger “need” this win? Does golf “need” him to win? Let the debating begin.
What’s not debatable is that when the Big Cat is on the prowl, the intensity goes to another level. He moves the needle like no other player. Molinari is a major champion and a classy player. Finau is a young star with lots of wins in his future. Brooks Koepka is just a shot behind Woods and Finau, and continues to be overlooked despite winning three of the last six majors. They’re all fine players and any would deserving of a green jacket.
With Woods in the mix, however, this is a different story. This is a different Masters. If he’s in the hunt on the back nine Sunday the needle will move unlike anything seen at Augusta National since 1986. If he wins, it’ll break off and lay at his feet as he slips on the green jacket.
