Big names relegated to longshots Sunday

While plenty of attention will be given Sunday to those players at the top of the leaderboard, the big names lurking as many as 10 shots back might deserve a long look, too.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Seven shots behind going into the final round of the Masters? Feeling hopeless about your chances? Well, you probably should.

Just two players in Masters history have made up seven or more strokes in the last 18 holes to claim the green jacket: Jack Burke Jr., who came back from eight strokes to win in 1956, and Gary Player, who rallied from seven back in 1978.

To make matters a bit more depressing, just once in the last 18 years has the Masters winner not come from the final group Sunday. Take a bow, 2007 winner Zach Johnson.

But look at the leaderboard going into the final round of the 2009 Masters. Let your eyes drift down a little, say, perhaps to the players who stand at 4 under, tied for 10th. See any familiar faces?

Sorry, Tiger, you can't hide down there. Neither can you, Lefty.

Just two of the top 18 players on the third-round leaderboard have ever won at Augusta National, and both are lurking at 4 under. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson -- who'll be paired together Sunday for the 22nd time, and just the second in the final round of a major ('97 PGA Championship was first) -- have a lot of ground to make up, and history obviously doesn't favor their chances.

But as former Masters winner Nick Faldo said late in Saturday's CBS telecast: "I promise you, all the 4s feel like they have a great opportunity."

And as Mickelson noted: "I don't think I'm out of it by any means. I think I need to shoot a 64 or 65 and that may give me a very good chance ... I think there's a low round out there."

They are longshots, to be sure. But in a week in which Player made his final appearance at a major, calling it quits after a record 52 Masters starts, perhaps someone will stage a goosebump-inducing rally in his honor Sunday.

Here's a quick look at a few of the notable contenders going into the final round:

TIGER WOODS (4 under): In his four wins at Augusta National, he never started the final round without at least a share of the lead. And he has not produced a final round in the 60s in his last seven Masters starts. So we shouldn't expect Tiger to win his first major since returning from reconstructive knee surgery 10 months ago, right?

Well, certainly not if he can't improve his putting; he three-putted twice on Saturday, and his 92 putts through 54 holes puts him in the bottom 10 of that category. And then there's his swing. "I fought it yesterday," Tiger said Saturday afternoon. "I fought it today."

If he's having the same fight on Sunday, then he won't be fighting for the lead.

PHIL MICKELSON (4 under): In his two Masters wins, Mickelson led after 54 holes. In his 15 previous Masters starts, he has shot a final round in the 60s just three times. But he'll need to keep driving the ball better; he's hit less than 62 percent of fairways, putting him in the bottom 10 this week.

"The driver is going to be the key (Sunday) because I'm going to have to attack a lot of pins," Mickelson said.

ANTHONY KIM (4 under): He made a Masters record 11 birdies in Friday's second round; twice, he put together strings of four consecutive birdies. On Saturday, he made five birdies. Like most players, he's tearing up the par 5s; he's 16 under on those holes.

Obviously, he knows how to produce birdies in bunches at Augusta National. He may be the wild card on Sunday. If he gets hot again, and avoids the bogeys, then a 64 is in his reach.

"If I get the ball rolling, I'm still not counting myself out of it," Kim said.

But this is his first Masters. If he's in position on the back nine, the pressure will be the biggest hurdle he'll face.

SEAN O'HAIR (4 under): Has sandwiched a pair of 68s with a second-round 76, O'Hair is probably feeling like he has some momentum thanks to five birdies in his final 11 holes Saturday. Only Nick Watney and co-leader Kenny Perry have hit more greens in regulation this week than O'Hair, who is finding the greens at a 77.78 percent clip.

"You could definitely have somebody catch on fire," O'Hair said about Sunday. "I don't think you're really going to have those 28, 29, 30 rounds on the back nine, but you'll probably have a couple of guys shooting 3-, 4-, maybe even 5-under par on the back nine if they catch fire."

HUNTER MAHAN (4 under): The par-4 11th hasn't been kind to Mahan. He double bogeyed it in the first round, and doubled it again in the third round. Take those four shots away and he's sniffing around the top of the leaderboard.

Still with an outside chance thanks to that first-round 66, Mahan thinks he's close to putting it all together.

IAN POULTER (4 under): He carded a 4-under 68, his lowest round of the week, on Saturday ... and wasn't happy about it, with some poor shots on the front side and missed chances on the back.

Poulter was in the hunt a year ago going into Sunday before a final-round 78. Maybe he can make up for that lost opportunity Sunday. But he's not optimistic.

"I think seven shots might be a push," he said.

LEE WESTWOOD (4 under): The veteran Englishman has been consistent, with all three rounds either under or even par. But his 2-under 70 on Saturday was "as bad as it could have been," he said, noting that he missed three short putts and also had a three-putt. His 97 putts the first three days is the most of any player in the field.

In 33 career rounds on Augusta National, Westwood has only two rounds in the 60s, and nothing lower than the 68 he shot in the third round of 1999 when he had his best Masters finish (T6). He's not the kind of birdie machine that will be needed Sunday.

NICK WATNEY (4 under): Three three-putts on Saturday's front nine put a damper on Watney, who ranks in the top 20 in putts per round on the PGA TOUR. But he was bogey-free on Saturday's back nine, and carded an eagle, thanks to a 30-foot putt, to help give him a shot Sunday.

"I need an Anthony Kim type of round," he said.

CAMILO VILLEGAS (3 under): Wouldn't seem to have the kind of putter to make a run Sunday; he has 93 putts this week and ranks 155th on TOUR in putts per round.

VIJAY SINGH (3 under): The 2000 Masters winner has been flying under the radar this week, and he's never shot lower than 69 in his previous 13 final rounds here.