FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, April 10th, 2021

NOTES AND QUOTES – LIVE FROM THE MASTERS ON GOLF CHANNEL (THIRD ROUND)

“If Hideki Matsuyama goes on to win, this will be one of the more famous 30s ever shot here…Tomorrow has a chance to be the biggest day in the history of Japanese golf.” – Brandel Chamblee

“With the Olympics coming up in Tokyo this summer, he’s already a rock star, but this would put him in a stratosphere I don’t think anyone can imagine or put into words.” – Justin Leonard on Matsuyama’s importance to Japan if he wins the Masters

“I would say that this felt like a Sunday to me with all the sublime ball-striking.” – Chamblee on the third round

Live From the Masters Final Round Coverage Begins Tomorrow Morning at 9 a.m. ET and Continues in Primetime at 7 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 10, 2021 – NBC Sports presented third round Live From the Masters coverage from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., today and in primetime tonight on GOLF Channel, as Hideki Matsuyama holds a four-shot lead after third round play.

Live From the Masters continues with final round coverage tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. ET and in primetime at 7 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel.

Throughout the week, GOLF Channel’s daily live coverage features more than 55 hours and includes pre-and post-tournament coverage through the final round on Sunday, April 11.

The Masters – Third Round Leaderboard

Player Total
Hideki Matsuyama -11
Xander Schauffele -7
Justin Rose -7
Marc Leishman -7
Will Zalatoris -7

 

On Hideki Matsuyama

Rich Lerner on Matsuyama’s play after the weather delay: “Really the only player who sort of adjusted his strategy. He went pin hunting…Matsuyama with a day to remember.”

Brandel Chamblee on Matsuyama’s back nine: “If Hideki Matsuyama goes on to win, this will be one of the more famous 30s ever shot here and it will certainly go down into Japanese lore as one of the greatest weeks in the history of that game…Tomorrow has a chance to be the biggest day in the history of Japanese golf.”

Justin Leonard on Matsuyama’s round: “It was something else…It’s hard to understand or put into words the amount of pressure that a professional golfer from Japan faces from the media in Japan…They’re just put on a pedestal that we can’t comprehend in the United States. Every time they tee it up, it’s like The Rolling Stones playing at Madison Square Garden…With the Olympics coming up in Tokyo this summer, he’s already a rock star, but this would put him in a stratosphere I don’t think anyone can imagine or put into words.”

On Justin Rose

Leonard: “I think he’s got to feel pretty good about his position…It’s time he can play a little more aggressively, and he’ll need to from the get-go tomorrow. He got off to a great start, so nerves aren’t an issue.”

Chamblee: “I’ve probably been more surprised watching Justin Rose play this week than I have pretty much anybody else because he came in here without any form…It’s almost like he’s turned himself inside out…From five to ten feet, where he’s had a career now of misses, he’s just looked beautiful…I think he’s going to have to draw on psychological reserves tomorrow.”

Leonard: “He still feels like he got it, like he could come away from here with a green jacket, and with the amount of pressure that’s on Hideki Matsuyama, he just may very well do that.”

Lerner: “He’s had a solid career, there’s no doubt…With a win tomorrow, it likely puts him in the Hall of Fame, and it goes from a really good career to a great career.”

On Will Zalatoris

Chamblee: “This guy has never played in the Masters and experience is supposed to get the better of you…and yet he hits a shot like that at the last (hole). You think about all the players that are here, these are the best in the world with enormous amount of experience here, and yet nobody in the entire field managed to hit more greens today than that man.”

Leonard on Zalatoris’ potential: “His poise, the way he’s handled the situations…To watch his game, to see how quickly he’s matured and this meteoric rise he’s made over the past two years, but I feel like he’s not getting ahead of himself.”

On Xander Schauffele

Leonard on Schauffele’s experience contending in past majors: “You get more comfortable, and that’s the hardest thing to do. I wouldn’t say you get completely comfortable, but you edge toward that line. I think for Xander Schauffele, he understands that being uncomfortable is a good spot, because it means it means something…I think there are a lot of players who can kind of take it or leave it, but Xander seems to kind of thrive off of it.”

On the Third Round

Chamblee: “I would say that this felt like a Sunday to me with all the sublime ball-striking…Just from the quality of play and the fact that it was the contrast of the forecast.”

Leonard: “It looked like it was going to be a test of survival today. Then, all of a sudden, with a little bit of break, a little bit of moisture, the wind dies down. All of a sudden, guys went flag hunting.”

–NBC SPORTS–