ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2001 - Birdie run gives Woods third-round lead

Associated Press
Saturday, April 7

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A sudden burst of birdies for Tiger Woods. A late charge from his nemesis, Phil Mickelson.

Just like that, the stage was set for a thrilling conclusion to one of the most remarkable Masters ever.


	Phil Mickelson birdied his final two holes for a 69, making him the only player with three rounds in the 60s.

At stake for Woods is the grandest achievement yet in golf -- the first clean sweep of the four professional majors.

"Just to have the opportunity to do it is going to be a lot of fun," Woods said.

What better person to try to stop him than Mickelson, who already has halted two of Woods' amazing streaks and is poised to shed the burden as the best player in the world without a major championship?

"I desperately want this," Mickelson said. "I've been dreaming of this day."

With three straight birdies down the back stretch Saturday, Woods emerged from a pack with a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke lead at 204, not a bad position for a guy who is 24-4 worldwide when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

Mickelson bogeyed with a three-putt from 6 feet and took a double-bogey by trying a flop shot from the razor-thin grass on the 14th green. Still, he showed no quit, making birdie on the last two holes for a 69 and a spot in the final pairing.

"I wanted to be playing with him," Mickelson said.

As the sun fell on a dramatic afternoon at Augusta National, Woods stayed on the practice green with coach Butch Harmon, fine-tuning the most important part of his game for the most important 18 holes in his young but brilliant career.

The curtain rises Sunday on perhaps the most anticipated day in golf -- a matchup between No. 1 and No. 2, and so much more.

Mark Calcavecchia and Chris DiMarco, University of Florida alums who use a bizarre, clawlike grip on the putter, were two strokes out of the lead. Another shot back were two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els and David Duval, who has his fourth straight chance to win the green jacket.

Woods, who won the final three majors last year, starting with his record romp in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, has won four of the last five majors.

"I think it's time for him to share," Mickelson said.

Round three at a glance

Leading: Tiger Woods, after a 68 that put him at 12-under.

Following: Phil Mickelson, after an up-and-down 69 that he finished off with a birdie on the last hole, is one back. Second-round leader Chris DiMarco and Mark Calcavecchia are another shot back.

Chasing: Ernie Els, David Duval and Angel Cabrera are three shots behind at 9 under.

Top two: The final pairing of Woods and Mickelson on Sunday matches the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the world.

Rookie's ride: DiMarco is trying to become the first Masters rookie since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the tournament.

Streak breaker: Mickelson was the one to break Woods' streak of six straight wins last year in San Diego. He also came from behind in the final round of the Tour Championship to beat him.

Going low: Saturday is usually a day where par is difficult. It wasn't on this day, with 28 players under par and the field a combined 11-under for the day.

Quoteworthy: "He's got four or five major wins. I think it's time for him to share." -- Mickelson on Woods.

Mickelson already has handed Woods his share of misery. Just 14 months ago, he stopped Woods PGA Tour winning streak at six with a gutsy win in San Diego. In November at the Tour Championship, it was Mickelson who ended the streak of 19 tournaments in which Woods turned a 54-hole lead into a victory.

But he has never beaten Woods while paired with him.

"I have to strive to reach a different level of play, and I have to be able to attain it," Mickelson said.

Woods showed how Saturday, and all it took was about 20 minutes to go from a two-stroke deficit to control of The Masters.

Angel Cabrera, the power hitter from Argentina, was at 12-under and seemingly in control until El Pato -- The Duck -- ran into a problem with water. His approach rolled back into the pond on the par-5 15th and he took double-bogey. He had a 70, and was tied at 207 with Els and Duval.

After Mickelson flopped on his risky flop shot over a massive hump on No. 14, he three-putted from 30 feet and also fell out of the lead.

DiMarco, the Masters rookie who withstood the pressure most of the day, hit two poor pitches for bogeys and also dropped back.

Woods had no such problems.

After a two-putt birdie on the par-5 13th, his approach into the 14th stopped 4 feet from a birdie, and he followed that with a delicate chip behind the 15th green to within 2 feet for his third straight birdie and the lead.

Unlike his romp through Augusta four years ago, when he won by a record 12 strokes, Woods will have a host of challengers trying to stop him.

"The caliber of guys atop that leaderboard is real interesting," Woods said.

There were a dozen players within five shots of the lead, four of them past major championship winners, two others ranking in the top eight in the world.

"Even being three or four shots behind going into the final round, you're still in there with a chance to win," said Els, who had a 68. "Tiger being Tiger, he's not going to back down. But there's a lot of talent on that leaderboard."

Duval, who had a cortisone shot last week to alleviate tendinitis in his right wrist, had a 70 and will be paired with Els.

"To heck with having a chance to win," Duval said. "I want to win the golf tournament."

That's a turnaround from the praise heaped on Woods, starting last June at the U.S. Open when he won by a record 15 strokes in the toughest test of golf.

Woods followed that with an eight-stroke victory in the British Open, and a thrilling playoff to win the PGA and become the first man in 47 years to win three straight majors.

No one has ever won four straight professional majors. That's what awaits Woods at a Masters that has been slowly building toward a dramatic conclusion.

There could be no better final pairing.

Mickelson has won five times over the past 14 months, more than anyone except Woods. But he has never proved himself on golf's biggest stage -- the majors. The closest he came was two years ago at the U.S. Open, but he missed crucial putts on the final three holes and finished second to the late Payne Stewart.

"This is not just a major," he said. "If you win, you become a part of the history of the game."

Woods is already there, with a chance to achieve something never done in the modern era of golf.

DiMarco still has a chance to become the first player to win in a Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

Calcavecchia has a chance to erase bad memories of Augusta. In 1988, he was poised for a playoff and possibly a green jacket until Sandy Lyle made birdie from a fairway bunker on the 18th to win.

"I have the capabilities of shooting a good score tomorrow," said Calcavecchia, a frequent practice partner of Woods.

Then he looked ahead to Sunday and the man he is chasing, whom he called the "chosen one" after Woods won the British Open at St. Andrews to complete the career Grand Slam.

"He's in the best in the world," Calcavecchia said. "He has that going for him, which is nice."

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