BRANDT SNEDEKER FOUND three birdies over his final six holes to cap off a fine third round and jointly lead the US Masters.
The American carded a 69 to sit atop the leaderboard at Augusta National. Angel Cabrera dropped big birdie putts on six, eight and 18 to join Snedeker on -7.
Australian golfer Adam Scott also shot a 69, finishing strong down the stretch, and will start the fourth round from third position at -6.
Scott’s fellow Aussie, Jason Day was on -7 as he stood on the 17th fairway but, 20 minutes later, had bogeyed the final two holes to sit on -5.
Starting at -6, Day opened with three straight pars to stay ahead although he was briefly joined by countryman Marc Leishman. Leishman, joint second overnight, birdied the second, but dropped one at the fourth to slip back to -5.
Matt Kuchar is in sixth place on -4 while Tim Clark, who recorded a round of the day 67, is a shot further back.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, hit with a two-stroke penalty for an improper drop before the round started, opened with a birdie and was at -1 through nine holes, four strokes off the pace. A bogey on the ninth following a poor recovery iron shot will have worsened his mood. He regrouped strong and finished at -3.
‘The wind changed’
Rory McIlroy was within three shots of the lead when he birdied the third hole but he recorded bogeys at seven and nine to drop back to -1 after 10 holes.
The 11th hole mastered the Holywood native, however, as he found the water and had to take a drop. He eventually carded a triple bogey to drop back and had an ugly seven on the par five 15th. He is +5 as he finished on the 18th.
McIlroy looked shell-shocked as he spoke to the BBC following his round. Attempting to sum up his triple bogey, and a duffed chip during the seven strokes, he said, “The wind changed.”
The challenges of Englishmen Justin Rose [Level] and Luke Donald [+2] also faltered on a day when scoring proved tough for most of the field.
Jason Day leads the way. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Phil Mickelson’s hopes were shattered as the three-time former winner slipped out to +8 with a 77, while defending champion Bubba Watson, out first alone, came in with a 70 to get to two over.
Freddie Couples was -5 until a double bogey on seven halted his progress. He eventually finished on Level Par.
Chinese 14-year-old Guan Tianlang struggled to a round of 77 and at +9 was last but one of the 61 players who made the cut.
Additional reporting - © AFP, 2013
