Late bloomer Max Homa hopes to handle the pressure at The Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Three players enter the third round of The Masters tied for the lead — Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa.

I wrote about DeChambeau’s wild ride here.

Scheffler made six straight pars in high winds to remain at 6-under.

DeChambeau and Scheffler were collegiate stars and have won majors.

Homa, 33, is more of a late bloomer, and is trying to prove he can handle major championship pressure.

He’s played in 18 majors. He’s missed the cut nine times. His best finish: Tied for 10th at last year’s British Open.

Of course, that was the last major in which he played, so he may be figuring this out.

Saturday, he shot a 71 in tough conditions to position himself for a run at his first major title.

Homa played alongside Tiger Woods, and the two put on a show — Homa with brilliant shot-making, Woods by grinding his way to a record 24th straight made cut at The Masters.

Woods on Homa: “Well, he’s got all the talent in the world. I got a chance to play with him at the Open Championship at St Andrews, and his ball flight, as solid as he hits it, it’s just a matter of time before he starts winning in bunches.

”I saw it up front; he doesn’t really mis-hit shots. That’s something you just have to do around this golf course.’’

Former Gopher Erik van Rooyen made the cut with a four-over 76, leaving him at three over for the tournament. He said these were the toughest conditions in which he’s played.

How windy was it? When putting on the 18th green, a number of players had to turn their backs to avoid having their faces pelted by the sand flying out of the greenside bunker.

Homa and DeChambeau will tee off in the final pairing at 1:45 p.m. Central. Scheffler will play with Nicolai Hojgaard at 1:35.

Van Rooyen will play with Will Zalatoris at 10:55 a.m.