Scottie Scheffler leads Masters by 1 shot on a wild day of movement

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was in the lead and seemingly in control of his game Saturday in the Masters until realizing there was no such thing at Augusta National.

He posed over another beautiful shot at the flag on the 10th hole and was stunned to see it take a hard hop over the green and roll down into the bushes. He made double bogey and suddenly was one shot behind.

“Make another bogey at 11 and all of a sudden I’m probably going from in the lead to a few out of the lead and then," Scheffler said, "you know, things happen pretty fast out there.”

It was so fast and furious that it was hard to keep up.

Six players had at least a share of the lead at one point. There was a five-way tie for the lead early on the back nine. No one was safe. It was like that to the very end.

Scheffler made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 1-under 71 that gave him a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa, the two-time major champion who has largely disappeared from the elite in golf and now is one round away from the third leg of the Grand Slam.

Bryson DeChambeau looked to be on the verge of a meltdown when he drove into the trees right of the 18th fairway, punched out to the short grass and then hit wedge from 77 yards that spun back into the cup for a birdie to sum up a wild Saturday.

“Easier than putting,” DeChambeau, adding that he was joking although there was some truth to that. He three-putted three times on the back nine.

Max Homa has gone 32 holes without a birdie and he was only two behind after a round of 17 pars and one bogey for a 73. Xander Schauffele has gone 25 holes without a bogey, and that goes a long way. He was five back after a 70.

Augusta National didn't need a ferocious wind to be wildly entertaining. The course was tough as ever, with a wind that would have felt scary if not for the day before. The greens made players feel as though they were putting on linoleum floors.

Scheffler was at 7-under 209 as he goes for a second Masters green jacket and tries to extend a dominant stretch that includes two wins on tough courses (Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass) and a runner-up finish in his last three tournaments.

“It’s nice to have that experience, but going into tomorrow, that’s really all that it is,” he said.

Morikawa made two tough pars to finish off a 69 — of those was a long birdie putt that hit the lip and spun 12 feet away. He is the only player to break par all three days at this Masters. Not bad for a someone who only found a swing key on Monday, switched putters after the first round and hasn't had a top 10 since the first week of the year.

“If you asked me at the beginning of the week I’d be one back heading into Sunday, I would have taken that any time,” Morikawa said. “You give yourself a chance with 18 holes left, that’s all you can really do.”

Another shot back was Homa, whose last birdie was on the fourth hole of the second round. He has made 32 pars in his last 36 holes.

Eight players were separated by five shots going into the final round, where the greens are likely to be even faster, crispier and more frightening.

Tiger Woods was not among them. Neither was Rory McIlroy.

Woods, having made his Masters-record 24th consecutive cut Friday, started the third round seven shots out of the lead and hopeful of at least making his massive following think there might be more magic left in that battered 48-year-old body.

Instead, Woods posted his highest round in three decades playing the majors. He shot an 82, the third time he has failed to break 80 in a major, and the first since the 2015 U.S. Open.

"Just hit the ball in all the places that I know I shouldn’t hit it,” Woods said.

McIlroy came to the Masters thinking this might be the year he finally got the last leg of the career Grand Slam. All he could muster was a 71 that left him 10 shots behind with 20 players in front of him.

There were no shortage of challengers.

Ludvig Aberg, the rising Swedish star playing in his first major, was among those who had a brief share of the lead until missing a pair of short par putts on the back nine. He still managed a 70 and was only three shots behind.

Another newcomer to the Masters, Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark, had the lead to himself with three straight birdies around the turn. He celebrated that good fortunate by running off five straight bogeys, putting the ball in the water on both par 5s.

And then there was DeChambeau, who started the third round tied with Scheffler and Homa.

DeChambeau kept making enough birdies to hang around and was only one shot behind until he decided to go for the green from the trees on the par-5 15th. He went well right toward the 17th fairway — the second time in as many days he played a par 5 from two holes — only this one didn't work out so well.

He chunked his wedge and watched it tumble into the pond. He took a penalty drop, pitched on and two-putted for double bogey. And then he three-putted for bogey on the 16th. And right when it appeared to be falling apart, he made his surprise birdie to limit the damage to 75. He was four shots behind.

Scheffler didn't escape the craziness. He reached 8 under quickly by chipping in across the green on No. 1 and making a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 3. But all it took was two holes to make it feel like his head was spinning.

What saved his day was a 7-foot par putt on No. 12 and then a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th that dropped on its final turn and elicited rare emotion from Scheffler.

“C'mon, baby!” he yelled when the putt dropped.

“Things got a little dicey in the middle,” Scheffler said. “On No. 10, I hit what I thought was a decent shot 8 feet from the hole and it wound up in the bushes. I did a good job of staying patient.”

He'll need another dose for Sunday, even with the experience of winning a Masters. Two years ago, he had a three-shot lead going into the final round and spent the morning in tears as his wife gave him soothing words of confidence.

Now his wife is home in Dallas expecting their first child at the end of the month. Scheffler brought in his best friends from home to stay with him.

“I didn’t want to be in the house all by myself this weekend. Didn’t really seem that exciting to me,” Scheffler said.

There's plenty of that inside the ropes.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Xander Schauffele hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Ludvig Aberg, of Sweden, hits from the fairway on the 17th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, waits to play on the seventh hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Max Homa walks over the Byron Nelson Bridge on the 13th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Max Homa hits from the bunker on the 18th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after chipping in for a birdie on the 18th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after chipping in for a birdie on the 18th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tiger Woods walks on the second hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Collin Morikawa waves after making a putt on the eighth hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Collin Morikawa waits to play on the 18th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Collin Morikawa celebrates after a putt on the 17th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Scottie Scheffler celebrates after an eagle on the 13th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Scottie Scheffler hits from the pine straw on the 10th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Scottie Scheffler celebrates after a birdie on the 18th hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Scottie Scheffler hits from the fairway on the first hole during third round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Tiger Woods hits from the fairway on the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Sepp Straka, of Austria, Phil Mickelson and Tony Finau walk on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Thursday, April 11, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jason Day, of Australia, shields himself from blowing sand on the 18th hole during second round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Friday, April 12, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Scottie Scheffler keeps over Rae's Creek on the 13th hole during second round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Friday, April 12, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Stocks are sharply higher on Wall Street Friday following a government report showing job growth rose modestly in April, a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to take a bigger toll on the world’s largest economy.

The S&P 500 was 1.4% higher in morning trading and on track to erase its losses for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 535 points, or 1.4%, as of 9:58 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite climbed 2.2%.

The nation’s employers added 175,000 jobs last month, down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March. It was also well below the 233,000 gain that economists had predicted. April’s average hourly earnings also rose less than expected. The report suggests that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive streak of rate hikes may finally be cooling the pace of hiring.

“The demand for labor is slowing, which will eventually ease inflation pressures, giving the Fed some leeway to cut rates later this year,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial. “Slower payroll growth and fewer hours worked imply the economy is slowing at a measured pace. This jobs report is consistent with the soft landing narrative.”

The U.S. economy is in a tight spot, where the hope is that it remains strong enough to stay out of a recession but not so strong that it worsens the already stalled progress on inflation.

Stubbornly high readings on inflation this year pushed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to say on Wednesday that it will likely take “longer than previously expected” to get enough confidence about inflation to cut interest rates.

The Fed’s main interest rate has been sitting at its highest level since 2001, and cuts would release some pressure on the economy and financial markets.

After coming into the year forecasting six or more cuts to rates in 2024, traders are now largely betting on just one or two, if any, according to data from CME Group.

Treasury yields in the bond market mostly fell following the jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.50% from 4.59% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.79% from 4.88%.

The market's gains were broad Friday, with technology stocks accounting for much of the rally. Apple jumped almost 7% after announcing a mammoth $110 billion stock buyback. The tech giant reported late Thursday that it posted its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the outset of the pandemic.

Expedia Group slumped about 17% after the online travel company beat Wall Street targets but lowered its full-year bookings guidance because its Vrbo rental unit has been slow to recover from its migration to Expedia’s platform.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX gained 0.7%, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4% and London’s FTSE 100 added 0.5%.

Markets in Tokyo and mainland China were closed for holidays. The Japanese yen strengthened slightly against the dollar.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders pass by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, with several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai closed for holidays. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, with several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai closed for holidays. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader smiles near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)