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Woods sets
up last day duel with Mickelson
Tiger Woods
fired a four-under 68 on Saturday to grab a one-shot lead at 12-under-par
204 heading into the final round of The Masters. The World No. 1
will be paired on Sunday with second-ranked Phil Mickelson, who
battled back from a double-bogey with birdies at the final two holes
for a 69 and a three-day total of 11-under 205.
Woods, who
posted wins in his last two starts at Bay Hill and The Players Championship,
is seeking his third straight victory after getting off to a slow
start this season. More importantly, the 25- year-old superstar
is on the brink of becoming the first player in history to hold
all four professional major titles at the same time.
Woods, the
winner of The Masters in 1997 and the PGA Championship in 1999,
captured the U.S. Open and British Open in 2000, making him the
youngest player and only the fifth golfer in history to complete
the career Grand Slam. Woods added a fifth victory in a major with
a successful title defense at the 2000 PGA, leaving him a second
green jacket short of four-in-a-row.
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Tiger
Woods after missing a birdue putt on the 16th. Allsport.
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"I haven't really
thought about it," Woods said. "I'm kind of thinking about my swing
right now."
Among the handful
of players standing in his way is Mickelson, the man who brought
to a halt Woods' streak of six consecutive victories at the Buick
Invitational in February 2000. Mickelson's triumph in the Tour Championship
later that year ended Woods' streak of 19 straight PGA Tour victories
when holding at least a share of the lead entering the final round.
"I've been
able to go head-to-head with [Woods] and come out on top a few times,"
said Mickelson, who became the first player since Fred Couples,
Ray Floyd and Craig Parry in 1992 to shoot in the 60s in each of
the first three rounds at The Masters.
"I do have
the confidence I can prevail tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the
challenge.
"He's got four
or five major wins," he added. "I think it's time for him to share."
Another sub-70
round on Sunday will make Mickelson the only player to shoot all
four rounds in the 60s, but Mickelson would probably settle for
a 70 if it were enough to secure him a Masters title.
"I desperately
want this. Very much so," said the 30-year-old lefthander, an 18-time
PGA Tour winner in search of his first major championship. "I have
been preparing, not just this past year, not just this past 10 years,
but since I was a little kid, picking up range balls at a driving
range so I could practice as much as I needed to, dreaming of this
day."
Chris DiMarco,
making his first appearance at Augusta National this year, began
the third round with a two-shot lead but bogeyed two of the last
four holes Saturday for an even-par 72 and a share of third place
with Mark Calcavecchia, who shot 68. DiMarco's total of 10-under
206 tied the 54-hole record for a Masters rookie, matching the mark
set by Brian Henninger in the 1995 event.
Argentina's
Angel Cabrera, who notched two birdies around Amen Corner to top
the star-studded leaderboard for a time at 12-under, suffered a
disastrous double-bogey at the par-five 15th, then closed with a
bogey to finish at nine-under with a 70. Also tied for fifth place
are top-10 ranked players Ernie Els, who carded a second straight
68, and David Duval, who turned in a third-round 70.
Cabrera pulled
his relatively unfamiliar name atop the standings after sinking
a 15-foot putt at the par-three 12th and chipping to four feet at
the par-five 13th for back-to-back birdies. However, his second
shot at 15 found the water and he needed two chips and two putts
to get down for a seven.
Moments earlier,
Mickelson followed up a birdie at 13 with a double-bogey of his
own at the par-four 14th to fall to nine-under par. His approach
there landed left but rolled down off the front right of the green,
and his subsequent attempt at a flop shot stopped on top of the
ridge running through the putting surface. He walked off with a
six after three-putting from 30 feet.
The player
who would ultimately benefit from the series of mistakes was Woods,
who collected his third birdie in a four-hole stretch at the 14th
for a share of the lead at 11-under with his playing partner DiMarco.
When Woods added another birdie at 15 to go to 12-under, DiMarco
missed a six-foot putt to save par after a poor drive at the same
hole, his bogey dropping him to 10-under and leaving Woods alone
with a two-shot edge.
Although DiMarco
managed to knock a seven-iron to five feet to set up a birdie at
the par-three 16th, he three-putted 17 to finish where he started
at minus-10.
"My goal tomorrow
is to be a little more aggressive on the par- fives," said DiMarco,
who was two-over for the day on the long holes. "I tried to play
the smart way and it got me a little bit today."
Mickelson returned
to 10-under with a 15-foot birdie putt at the 17th, then pulled
to within one of Woods by holing a 10-footer at the last.
Woods two-putted
for par at each of the last three holes, lipping out a 15-foot birdie
try at the 18th.
"Tomorrow,
Phil and I have a wonderful chance, but you can't go out there and
think it's just Phil and myself," Woods said. "If you look at that
board, there are some guys who have won some serious tournaments
around the world, and it's going to be a lot of fun."
Mickelson agrees.
"I don't think
Tiger or I will approach tomorrow as match play. If you look on
the board, there are some guys behind that are incredible players,
that are going to have an opportunity to get out 40 minutes in front
of us, make a run, make birdies early, and all of a sudden, before
we tee off we could be trailing."
Rocco Mediate
put together a bogey-free, six-under 66 to vault from a tie for
20th into joint eighth with Kirk Triplett at eight- under par. Mediate's
score was the low round of the day and his personal best in 19 rounds
at Augusta National.
Spain's Jose
Maria Olazabal, the Masters winner in 1994 and '99, finished round
three tied for 10th at seven-under with Brad Faxon, Steve Stricker
and two-time U.S. Open champ Lee Janzen. Germany's Bernhard Langer,
who nabbed green jackets 1985 and '93, sits six shots off the pace
with Jim Furyk.
Darren Clarke
of Northern Ireland made it to nine-under par with five birdies
and one bogey through 14 holes, but double-bogeys at the 16th and
18th sent him reeling back to five-under for the tournament.
Defending champion
Vijay Singh, who is nine shots back at three- under, shot a one-over
73 Saturday to snap his PGA Tour-leading streak of 34 rounds at
par or better. Woods owns the best current streak with 21.
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