THERE’s a very European feel to the top of the Masters leaderboard after round three.
Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia share the lead and they will be the final pair to tee off at 7:45pm on Sunday night.
They’ll be chased by two hungry Americans with Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth in the penultimate pair.
The action gets underway at just after 3pm – scroll down for all the tee times.
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What it’s all about…the famous Masters flag
How are the pairings decided?
Groupings are traditionally announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Players are placed in groups of three for the first two rounds, with pairings and times the result of consultation among the club’s tournament committee members.
Those committee members exercise full authority, and have complete discretion to group players as they see fit.
The committee does not divulge any trade secrets about the process; they don’t discuss it at all. But it’s definitely not a random draw.
Are there any traditional pairings?
There is one Masters pairing that is the same every year: The reigning US Amateur champion (if he’s still an amateur) plays rounds one and two with the defending champion of The Masters.
But if the reigning US Amateur winner turns pro prior to tournament he forgoes his spot in The Masters.
Are there any other major considerations surrounding the pairings?
Both the needs of television broadcasters and of the fans – known as patrons – are taken into account.
For example, the two biggest stars in the field are likely to play at opposite ends of the draw, playing the morning and evening respectively to guarantees that at least one of them will be playing during television coverage.
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Sometimes the committee will indulge itself with “theme” groups. In 2009 one of the early round groups was comprised of three young hotshots, Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa.
The committee might group three former champions together, or three winners of other majors, or three golfers of the same nationality. But most of the tee times won’t have such a clear connection between the golfers within them.
Tell me about tee time intervals and the number of golfers in the pairings?
First and second round groupings include three players, and tee times are 11 minutes apart.
For the final two rounds, after the cut, pairings comprise two golfers (unless weather delays create the need to stick with three-man groups), and tee times are 10 minutes apart.
How about the third/fourth round pairings?
The better a golfer’s score, the later his tee time. The golfer in last place after two rounds tees off first in round three; the golfer in first place tees off last. The same thing applies in the fourth and final round.
What if players are tied?
Say six golfers tied for the lead the third and fourth round pairings, tee times are based on the order in which those six golfers posted their scores. Among those six tied players, the one who posted the score first (the first one to finish his previous round) will tee off last among that group of players.
The one who posted the score last will tee off first among that group of players.
Sunday tee times
15:05 Ernie Els (SA)
15:15 Marc Leishman (Aus), Larry Mize
15:25 Andy Sullivan (Eng), Bernd Wiesberger (Aus)
15:35 *Curtis Luck (Aus), James Hahn
15:45 Adam Hadwin (Can), Louis Oosthuizen (SA)
15:55 Ross Fisher (Eng), Daniel Summerhays
16:05 Kevin Kisner, Byeong Hun An (Kor)
16:15 Brendan Steele, JB Holmes
16:25 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Emiliano Grillo (Arg)
16:45 Stewart Hagestad, Daniel Berger
16:55 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Brian Stuard
17:05 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Branden Grace (SA)
17:15 Steve Stricker, Hideki Matsuyama (Jap)
17:25 Jason Day (Aus), Justin Thomas
17:35 Bill Haas, Phil Mickelson
17:45 Pat Perez, Russell Henley
17:55 Brandt Snedeker, Brooks Koepka
18:05 Jason Dufner, Fred Couples
18:25 Kevin Chappell, Jimmy Walker
18:35 Jon Rahm (Spa), William McGirt
18:45 Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy (NI)
18:55 Paul Casey (Eng), Soren Kjeldsen (Den)
19:05 Lee Westwood (Eng), Thomas Pieters (Bel)
19:15 Adam Scott (Aus), Charl Schwartzel (SA)
19:25 Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman
19:35 Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth
19:45 Justin Rose (Eng), Sergio Garcia (Spa)