Masters champion admits he was trying not to ’embarrass himself’ on day three at Augusta National

Evidently struggling with a lack of motivation, Schwartzel made several big mistakes throughout the third round.

He made five bogeys and a double bogey, falling to 54th and last place among every player who made the cut.

“You always try. You don’t want to also embarrass yourself,” Schwartzel explained to the media on Saturday evening.

“You want to still and try to play off decent, but it’s hard to play when you’re not in contention, and you are just playing at the back of the field. It’s not the best feeling.”

Schwartzel also made an interesting claim about the difficulty of Augusta National, suggesting it had been unfair to him.

Even though he has won a Green Jacket, the 41-year-old insists the golf course deals players more bad luck than good.

“I’ve had the privilege to have the ultimate happiness,” Schwartzel shared his insight on Augusta after three rounds.

“Not a lot of people will know what that feels like, but this golf course also burns harder than most. I think there’s a big discrepancy between what it gives and what it takes, yeah.

“As I said, I’ve been fortunate enough to feel what that feels like, but the last couple of years, I feel like I played okay, but it’s been taking a lot.

“There are small margins. So many one meter this way or that way, or a couple, and it ends up being a good tournament versus a very average one.”

Schwartzel has one more round to salvage something positive from his week at Augusta, 15 years after his victory.