Augusta, Ga. — Charley Hoffman led for most of the tournament. Then came the 16th hole, a 170-yard par three. He missed his shot just by a little. It ended in the water, and with it his share of the lead.
“The swing on 16, it happens,” Hoffman said of his double bogey. “It was a bad one. I was able to regroup and make a couple pars coming in. Two birdie looks. But I’m happy. I’m two back. I’ve been playing good golf and I’m really happy with where I’m at.”
Hoffman maintains his confidence.
“If I play my game tomorrow,” he said, “I think I got a good chance.”
Hoffman will be playing with Ryan Moore in the second-to-last group of the day.
Starting the Day
Jason Day had the good fortune to be the first one on the course on Saturday, playing with a marker. He had a round of 69, leaving him three over for the tournament.
“I think that I feel like I can actually play golf again, which is great, when I play like that,” Day said. “I kind of let things go a little bit in the middle part of my round with not really capitalizing on the opportunities I had. Seven and eight especially. But for the most part, birdieing 12 through 15 was pretty good.”
He used exceptional iron play, leaving him short putts for birdie. And, if not for a couple of unfortunate short misses, he would have really tamed Augusta National.
He started with a bogey on 2, missing a two footer. He birdied 3 by making a four footer. Back to a bogey on 4, missing an excruciating eight-inch putt. He followed that up with an 11-inch birdie putt on the par-three sixth.
Then he caught fire. He birdied 12-15, making putts of six feet, 10 inches, six feet and three feet. He gave a shot back on 17 when he mis-hit his second shot, leaving him 17 feet from the pin.
Better conditions
Brant Snedeker had the rare bogey-free round on Saturday as he climbed back to two over for the tournament. He had three birdies for a 69, playing in the morning.
He credits the improvement in the weather.
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Sergio Garcia of Spain celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament in a playoff on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Sergio Garcia is greeted by fiancee Angela Akins after winning the Masters in a playoff.
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Justin Rose, left, congratulates Sergio Garcia on the 18th green after Garcia won the Masters on the first playoff hole.
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Danny Willett, left, the 2016 Masters champion, congratulates Sergio Garciaduring the green jacket ceremony at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Sergio Garcia get help putting on the Masters champion’s green jacket by 2016 winner Danny Willett.
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Sergio Garcia admires the winner’s trophy during the awards ceremony following his victory at the Masters.
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Sergio Garcia reacts after making an eagle putt in front of Justin Rose at No. 15e during the final round of the Master.
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Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia walk over the Hogan Bridge at No. 12 with their caddies Mark Fulcher and Glen Murray during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Justin Rose of England reacts to a putt for birdie on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters.
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Rickie Fowler reacts after a drive on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Sergio Garcia of Spain hits a drive on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters.
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Justin Rose of England plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the Masters.
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Paul Casey of England plays his second shot on the first hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Jordan Spieth plays his third shot from a bunker at No. 10 during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Adam Scott of Australia hits his tee shot at No. 4 during the final round of the Masters.
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Jimmy Walker reacts to his missed birdie putt on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Sergio Garcia hits from a bunker alongside the seventh green during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lets go of his club on the follow through of his tee shot at No. 4 during the final round of the Masters tournament.
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Justin Rose hits his tee shot at No. 2 during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Rickie Fowler lines up his putt with caddie Joseph Skovron at No. 8 during the third round of the Masters tournament on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Sergio Garcia celebrates after making a birdie putt at No. 6 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Charley Hoffman hits his tee shot at No. 4 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Jon Rahm reacts after missing his birdie putt on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters.
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Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Justin Rose makes his club selection at the second tee box during the third round of the 2017 Masters
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Sergio Garcia reacts to a missed putt at No. 12 during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Ryan Moore plays a shot from a greenside bunker at No. 10 during the third round of the Masters.
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Fred Couples olines up a putt on the 16th green during the third round of the Masters.
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Will McGirt watches his bunker shot roll toward the hole on the 17th green during the third round of the Masters.
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Sergio Garcia pitches a shot onto the 13th green during the third round of the Masters tournament.
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Jason Day on the second tee during the third round of the 2017 Masters tournament.
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Phil Mickelson plays his second shot from a bunker at the 12th hole during the third round of the Masters.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Jon Rahm of Spain walk over the Hogan Bridge at No. 12 at Augusta National Golf Club during the second round.
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Jason Day of Australia plays a shot from a greenside bunker at the 16th hole during the second round of the Masters.
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Matt Kuchar and caddie John Wood head toward the second green, where the flagstick is bowed by the wind, during the second round of the Masters.
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Fans get a close-up view of Charley Hoffman hitting an approach shot during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello looks at his ball in the pine straw at the 14th hole during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Si Woo Kim of South Korea plays his third shot at No. 15 during the second round of the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Fred Couples reacts to his birdie putt on the 13th hole during the second round of the Masters.
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Rickie Fowler plays his tee shot at No. 12 during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Charley Hoffman hits a drive on the 18th hole during the first round for the Masters golf tournament.
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Will McGirt hits a drive on the eighth hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament.
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Charley Hoffman looks at his approach on the 15th hole during the first round for the Masters golf tournament .
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Justin Rose of England plays his second shot on the 17th hole during the second round of the Masters tournament.
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Charley Hoffman hits a tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Masters tournament on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club. Hoffman shot a 65 to take a four-shot lead.
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Pat Perez reacts after missing a putt at No. 16 during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.
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Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne, right, leads a moment of silence for Arnold Palmer at the start of the Masters Tournament on Thursday.
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Jason Day plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Dustin Johnson walks off after announcing his withdrawal during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Thomas Pieters of Belgium hits a shot through the trees at the 17th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Caddie Jamie Lane lines up a putt on the second green during the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
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Brendan Steele walks up the second fairway during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.
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American Dustin Johnson walks out of the Augusta National clubhouse after withdrawing from the Masters golf tournament because of a back injury before his afternoon tee time Thursday.
(Tannen Maury / EPA) “Yeah, it’s good to actually have the golf course with manageable conditions today,” Snedeker said. “Even though it’s still tough and in front of you, I was able to kind of miss greens in the right spots now and try and use your experience around here a little bit better.
“The course is perfect. Perfect conditions. We had not a lot of wind, greens are kind of still receptive this morning, so you were able to kind of go out there and be more aggressive than you have been.”
Tiger returning?
Tiger Woods made barely a peep during his early-week visit to Augusta National, attending the Champions Dinner and declining interview requests. Whether he’d ever tee it up at the Masters, or any majors, became debate fodder for golf fans.
Well, the first shred of encouraging news in a while came from Woods’ close friend, Notah Begay, who said on the “Rich Eisen Show” that Woods could return from injury next month.
“Maybe something just after the Players Championship,” Begay said of the May 11-14 event.
What about the U.S. Open event in June at Erin Hills, Wis.? “Oh, it’s a definite possibility,” he said. “That’s probably the event that’s circled on his calendar.”
Woods hasn’t teed it up since reinjuring his back in February.
john.cherwa@latimes.com
@jcherwa
