The Masters 2024: final round at Augusta – live | The Masters

Is there a score out there today? Yes sir, yes there is, and Tom Kim is setting about proving it. The 21-year-old Korean is making his second Masters appearance, having finished in a tie for 16th last year on debut. He won’t finish so high this year – successive rounds of 78 and 77 have put paid to that – but he’s repairing the damage in sensational style today. Level par for his round through 6, he’s since birdied 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and now 16. He’s seven under so far with a round he could sell to one of the leading contenders for cash money. He’s +4 and not finished yet. A green jacket in waiting? You’d surely think so. Mind you, we said the same about Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Ernie Els, Tom Kite and Greg Norman, so you never can tell.

As for Tiger … well, qualifying for the weekend ensured he’d survived the Masters cut for a 24th consecutive time, a new record. But yesterday’s 82 was an awful struggle, and he’s not been going so well today either. A bogey at 15 when his young amateur playing partner was making birdie; a triple-bogey at the 5th. And yet there’s been a little glimpse of the old magic on 16. After he dumped his tee shot in the bunker at the front, he splashed out 20 feet past the flag, using the slope of the green to u-turn his ball and very nearly tickle it back into the cup, which is at its traditional Sunday location at the bottom of the sloping green. Such a shame it didn’t topple in, because it was vaguely reminiscent of …

… and guess who was sat on a greenside picnic chair watching on? None other than Verne Lundquist, whose IN YOUR LIFE! commentary paired perfectly with one of the greatest moments in Masters history, and who is hanging up his mic after this year’s event. Tiger spots Verne as he walks off the green having tapped in for par and there’s a warm handshake. In your life have you seen anything as sweet as that?

One way or another, there’s going to be a lot of heightened emotion today. So let’s start with one of the most romantic stories of the week. Neal Shipley, 23 years old from Pittsburgh, is the only amateur to have made it through to the weekend, thanks in no small part to a one-under first round of 71. That guaranteed him the Silver Cup and title of low amateur, but if his head hadn’t already been swimming, being paired with Tiger Woods on Masters Sunday would have done the trick. And how he’s performed. He’s level par for his round through 16, having just birdied 15 and nearly slam-dunked an ace on the following hole. What a fine performance by last year’s US Amateur runner-up. He’s +11 overall.

Here we go, then!

Preamble