Augusta (AP)—Lee Westwood kept his cool even as Augusta National
thundered with too many cheers to count.
Phil Mickelson made consecutive eagles with three shots. Fred Couples chipped in for eagle ahead of him. Ricky Barnes chipped in for a birdie behind
him. Tiger Woods got into the act with three straight birdies to keep his name
high on a star-studded leaderboard.
Saturday at the Masters sounded an awful lot like Sunday.
“You couldn’t figure out who was doing what because there were roars
happening simultaneously throughout the course,” Mickelson said. “I
thought
that it was really a fun day to see the leaderboard change.”
Westwood made sure there was no change at the top.
With his best chance ever to win that elusive major, Westwood made
only one
bogey and finished with a tough par for a 4-under 68 to take a one-shot
lead
over Mickelson into the final round of a Masters that keeps getting
better.
“I think I’m ready,” Westwood said.
By the look of the names behind him, he better be.
Westwood, No. 4 in the world and among the best without a major, was
at
12-under 204. He will be in the final group with Mickelson, No. 3 in the
world
and the sentimental favorite at Augusta given his turbulent year at home
with
his wife and mother battling breast cancer.
Right in front of them will be Woods, No. 1 in the world and playing
as
though five months of a humiliating sex scandal never happened. He
finished with
a 3-foot birdie on the last hole for a 2-under 70, putting him at
8-under 208
along with K.J. Choi, who also had a 70.
“I think that’s what everybody wants to see,” Westwood said.
“Everybody
has missed Tiger on the golf course the last five or six months, and
he’s up
there. Phil is up there. You’ve got 4, 3 and 1 in the world. It’s a good
leaderboard, I think.”