Russell Henley shot a career-best 65 on Saturday at the Masters and moved into a tie for the lead among the Georgia alumni still chasing a green jacket. Henley, a henley golfer through and through in Augusta terms, stood at 6-under 210 after a round built on control: he hit 11 of 14 fairways, needed only 25 putts and avoided a three-putt for the first time this week.
He said the conditions were calm and that he felt he hit his irons well, gave himself plenty of birdie looks and made some key par saves, leaving him “extremely pleased.” The round was the kind of clean scorecard that can change a tournament late, especially at a course where mistakes tend to linger and good shots are rewarded without much forgiveness.
Sepp Straka stayed in the mix too, shooting a 3-under 69 to reach 2-under 214. He hit seven fairways and needed 28 putts, finishing his second straight round without a three-putt. Straka said Saturday was definitely his worst round, but he was able to make enough putts to keep moving.
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Brian Harman provided the day’s biggest rebound. He opened with a 79 on Thursday, was 10 over par after a bogey at No. 4 in the second round, then recovered to shoot 69 and followed that with a personal-best 67 on Saturday. Harman will start the final round at 1 over par, and his run back into relevance came after a week that could have gone the other way in a hurry.
Harman said he believes in himself and that he knows his game is always right around the corner, even if it is hard to keep saying that without much evidence. He said he has 15 years to show that “right around the corner” is usually pretty good, added that it was nice to see a couple of good rounds around Augusta, and said he is trying to catch lightning there one year. He also said the four former Bulldogs are friends, but he is trying to beat everybody, not just the guys from Georgia.
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Harris English, meanwhile, shot 71 for the second straight day and was tied with Harman at 215. Georgia had more former players in the field than any other college program, and all four former Bulldogs — Harman, Henley, English and Straka — made the cut and entered the final round under par. Oklahoma State had three former players remaining, while Texas, North Carolina, Cal, UNLV, UCLA and Wake Forest each had two.
For Georgia’s foursome, Saturday turned into proof that there was no single path through Augusta. Henley’s precision, Straka’s putting, English’s steadiness and Harman’s recovery all pushed them into Sunday with a chance still intact. The one certainty is that the final round will be less about school pride than one last test of whether any of them can turn a strong week into a finish that lasts.
