But three rounds later, the 35-year-old from Sea Island, Ga., is coming down with symptoms that regularly afflict those who covet the green jacket. He hasn't slept well, and missed opportunities are making him sick.

``I've gotten literally physically ill a couple of times on the golf course,'' Love said, ``because I know I'm playing great and I'm not getting the job done.''

Many would've been happy with Love's results Saturday: a 4-under par 68 that pushed his three-round total to a 1-under 215 and thrust him into contention for today's final round.

``I wanted to get back in the hunt,'' said Love, tied for sixth on the leaderboard after an early afternoon storm delay caused a portion of the third round to be postponed until today. ``Usually on a day like today, there's a few good low rounds early.''

Love's 10:30 morning tee time allowed him to finish up early and avoid the whipping wind - which topped out at 42 miles per hour - that affected those who played later in the day.

The two-hour storm delay began when Love was sizing up a 3-foot putt for par on No. 9. It gave him a head start to the clubhouse once the horn sounded.

``I got a good lunch,'' said Love, who finished second to Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal last year. ``I was on the 9th green, so I was the first one into the sandwich line. That's important here, because they're the best sandwiches anywhere.''

Love pushed away from his power lunch, hit his long-awaited par putt, then posted three birdies after the turn to card a 2-under 34 on the back nine.

On the treacherous par-3 12th, he used his 8-iron to get within six feet and putted for birdie. A 3-iron got his approach on the par-5 13th to the green, where he two-putted for birdie to go 1-under - his first time below par since Thursday on the 8th hole.

The lone blemish on an otherwise solid round came on No. 16, where Love missed a five-foot par putt for his only bogey of the day.

``I'm just a little disappointed that I haven't quite finished a round off this week,'' said Love, who bogeyed No. 18 on Thursday and Friday.

Love could be paired with Tiger Woods for today's final round, depending on how the eight players on the course finish up.

``I played with him here one time before,'' Love said. ``We were just laughing on the way about him hitting a driver on 13. He hit it over the trees. I'd like to feed off that, the way he played this golf course.

``I used to think that I could hit it as far as he hits it, and I like to watch that ... You want to get pulled along by that energy.''

And, despite his efforts to take a more light-hearted approach to the Masters, he's had a tough time concealing his determination to win it for the first time.

``It's still very, very hard to control your emotions playing out there,'' said Love, whose other runner-up Masters finish came in 1995 to Ben Crenshaw. ``I want to win this tournament just like any other major, but I want to win this one very badly.''

His desire isn't difficult to notice, even from his 6-year-old son. The two were watching highlights of the previous day's round Friday night when Davis Love IV asked him a question.

``He says, `What place are you in?' '' Love recalled. ``I said, `40th or 50th.' He said, `You were in second last time I watched you. Why don't you stay afterward this year and practice so you can do better?'

``He can feel how much I want it.''