2021 Masters leaderboard breakdown: Hideki Matsuyama jumps field to take control with four-shot lead

Looking for his first major championship, Matsuyama played the second nine in a stunning 30

The 2021 Masters leaderboard tightened significantly on Moving Day, and with that tightening, a new leader emerged. Hideki Matsuyama, with multiple top-10 major finishes but no such victories to his name, finished 7 under in a tremendous round to sit atop the board at 11 under, four shots clear of 36-hole leader Justin Rose (-7).

Matsuyama was playing well all day, but after a weather delay of about an hour, he hit an eagle on 15 surrounded by a few birdies to jump atop a talented field. He also avoided disaster on 18 when his wedge out of the sand flew over the green by about 30 feet; Matsuyama saved par and his substantial lead. His 30 on the second nine ties the record for best such score by an international golfer in Masters history, and his bogey-free round was the first by any golfer in this tournament.

Jordan Spieth, who looked poised to make an early run with a birdie on the second hole, was up and down all afternoon, ultimately finishing where he started at 5 under. Justin Thomas, on the other hand, hit rock bottom. After scoring birdie on two of his first three holes, he imploded on the second nine with a triple bogey on No. 13 and bogeys on No. 11 and No. 14. He finished at 3 over for the round despite being one of the top two favorites to capture the green jacket at the start of the day.

Let's take a look at the rest of the Masters leaderboard ahead of final-round action on Sunday.

Watch the 2021 Masters on Sunday with Masters Live as we follow the best golfers in the world throughout Augusta National with Featured Groups, check in at the famed Amen Corner and see leaders round the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live free on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App. Also available on Paramount+.

1. Hideki Matsuyama (-11): Currently carrying the second-longest active streak for rounds at or below par, Matsuyama is prepared to put an ending on a Masters story that began with him as the low amateur back in 2011. While other golfers struggled with Augusta National in tough scoring conditions, Hideki thrived and proved doubters wrong with a putter that has let him down in the past in majors. But before we start writing the storybook ending, that putter has to stay hot -- or at least not be a liability -- for 18 holes on Sunday. The hard and fast greens got significantly softer Saturday afternoon after rain in Augusta, and Matsuyama benefited more than anyone. What happens if they are firm and fast again Sunday?

T2. Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, Will Zalatoris (-7): All in all, probably the right round for what Rose needed to do in order to stay in the hunt to win. A long par putt on 18 saved an over-par day and kept him at even for the second straight round. Now, due to Matsuyama's incredible second nine, there's more pressure to go low on Sunday after Matsuyama matched Rose's Thursday performance for best round of the week. Paired with Matsuyama, Schauffele turned in another classic third round at a major championship, firing a 4-under 68 to move up the leaderboard into striking distance. The challenge will be, as it has been in the past during his small sample size of major contention, following up that strong Saturday with an equally strong Sunday as he has some strokes to make up in order to win. Schauffele has seven top 10s at majors since 2017.

Leishman was steady on Saturday, never falling below the 5 under score he had to start the round. An eagle on No. 15 gave him his 2 under for the day as he scored par on his final three holes. Zalatoris was paired with Rose and was similarly steady, finishing with par on his final three holes.

6. Corey Conners (-6): It was a great start for the 29-year-old Conners, who scored an eagle on No. 6 and three birdies on the first nine. He dropped two of those shots on the second nine but registered two birdies over his final five holes to get back in striking distance looking up on some significant talent atop the leaderboard.

7. Jordan Spieth (-5): The round was extremely Spieth-y in providing the kind of highlights and lowlights that make up the ride on the Jordan-coaster. Playing even par might have been a good enough score if he was only chasing Justin Rose, but the tournament has changed drastically since then thanks to Matsuyama's incredible round. Spieth missed a (relatively) easy birdie putt on 18 that would have made him feel a bit better. Instead, he must turn on the jets Sunday as he has in the past at Augusta National. On a day when it looked like he was set to make a run for another green jacket, instead, he may not have done enough to truly be in contention now six shots back of the leader.

CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with scores, highlights and analysis from the Masters. Check out a more detailed leaderboard and our complete viewer's guide.

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This isn't over yet. As Justin Ray notes, "Players with a 54-hole lead of 4 or more at #TheMasters have won 11 times in 15 opportunities." We are five year's removed from Danny Willett's victory in 2016 and this year marks the 25th anniversary of Greg Norman's infamous meltdown that led to Nick Faldo's third green jacket. Hideki gets four shots over four players. The T2 crew consists of Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, Justin Rose and Will Zalatoris. If it's not Hideki then it is more likely than not one of those four. Take note that Jordan Spieth did lose approximately 2.44 strokes putting today, look for a bounce-back there. Will this be a Hideki coronation or can someone g low and steal it from him? I'll be hooked to every shot regardless. 

Jacob Hallex
April 10, 2021, 11:52 PM
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"I sat in my car looking at my cell phone." That's how Hideki Matsuyama killed time during today's weather delay. Tomorrow the 29-year-old golfer looks for his first career major and the first ever men's major for a Japanese-born player. Today we saw Hideki shoot what only could be described as a "ball-striking fiesta". He'll have a sizable cushion as he looks for a well-deserved major victory. A week ago Tsubasa Kajitani won the Augusta National Women's Amateur, will another Japanese player be victorious at Augusta National tomorrow?

Jacob Hallex
April 10, 2021, 11:34 PM
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@JustinRayGolf via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 11:06 PM
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@GOLFonCBS via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 11:03 PM
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Impeccable stuff from Matusyama here down the stretch. He's matched Justin Rose's opening round of 65 and bested it as the first bogey-free round of the championship all week. At -11, Hideki will be able to pick and choose his spots on Sunday afternoon as he looks to win his first major championship at the place where he was the low amateur back in 2011. We entered the day talking about Rose, Spieth and JT, but we're leaving with all eyes on Hideki

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@FirstCutPod via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:59 PM
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@GOLFonCBS via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:48 PM
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Another birdie for Hideki! This is an all-time kind of performance from Matsuyama here on Saturday, somewhat mirroring what we saw from Justin Rose on Thursday. While the rest of the field is struggling, Matsuyama is thriving. His strokes gained against the field are going to be through the roof by the end of this round, as no one can match the gear that Hideki has found here on moving day, pushing the lead to -11

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@JustinRayGolf via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:43 PM
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@GOLFonCBS via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:35 PM
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Hideki Matsuyama is six under par in his last 10 holes. I repeat, six under across his last 10. The man is on fire and on the verge of taking this tournament by the throat here on Saturday afternoon. There's still so much time and plenty of evidence to suggest that converting this success into a win will be difficult, but on a day when so many have struggled to score it's incredible what Hideki has been able to do.

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@JustinRayGolf via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:32 PM
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@JustinRayGolf via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:32 PM
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@GOLFonCBS via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:31 PM
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@FirstCutPod via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:24 PM
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@GOLFonCBS via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:24 PM
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@JustinRayGolf via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:23 PM
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@GOLFonCBS via Twitter
April 10, 2021, 10:22 PM
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Rose gets to -8 first with a birdie at the par-3 12th, then Matsuyama pushes the lead to -9 by buying that short eagle putt at 15. This is incredible theater, as we cut straight from Matsuyama's eagle to Spieth barely missing a birdie putt at No. 13. If Spieth and Leishman -- both still at -5 -- don't get it going soon they're going to be left in the dust by the group at the top of the leaderboard.

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Hideki just stuffed his approach shot on 15 to six feet. He'll have that for eagle to take a two-stroke lead, and a mere birdie moves him to -8 in the solo lead. Incredible stuff from Matsuyama, and not a total considering his long streak of under-par rounds here at the Masters (second only to Jon Rahm's 14 straight rounds at or below par).

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I wonder if Justin Rose would benefit from not being able to finish today. His swing is starting to get a little loose, and the miss is starting to trend more and more to the right. He was able to tighten things up on Friday when similar issues popped up, but if this continues there's going to be either a big number there for our 36-hole leader or missed opportunities to pick up strokes against not only the chase pack but the co-leaders (which include his playing partner Will Zalatoris).

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Will Zalatoris picks up a birdie at No. 10 and I think it's worth taking some time to celebrate how our Masters rookie has fared in this spot. He's lined up with the 36-hole leader in the final pairing of Moving Day and he's hasn't flinched, dropping three birdies on the card to offset two bogeys and give him one of the few under-par rounds from the final groups. The former Wake Forest star did get to play Augusta National prior to this tournament debut, but you can tell he's soaking up everything and trying to learn as much as possible to better his chances for success.

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