Masters Day 3 Review

Feature post from Matt Dodd. Follow Matt online via Twitter @mattdodd11 or visit his blog at www.mattdodd.com

Peter Hanson will go into the final day at the Masters in the lead after his stunning 65 propelled him to the top.

The Swede’s late surge gives him a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson, who shot 30 in the back nine to give him a strong chance of a fourth Green Jacket.

Louis Oosthuizen (69), Bubba Watson (70) and Matt Kuchar are third, fourth and fifth respectively, one shot behind each other.

There are four players on four-under-par, including Padraig Harrington, Hunter Mahan, Henrik Stenson and England’s Lee Westwood, who shot a disappointing level-par.

Rory McIlroy suffered a set-back with an ugly 77, Luke Donald is now seven-over-par and Tiger Woods is 12 shots off the leader.

It was a somewhat dramatic third round, as Friday’s leaders Fred Couples and Jason Dufner are now well off the pace.

The Leaders

It took the best round of the week to drive Peter Hanson to the top of the leaderboard with an outstanding late surge.

He said: "It felt great. After bogeying the first it was important I made up ground straightaway with a birdie on the second.

"I learnt a lot from Phil and I hope we can play together on Sunday - he's a great guy," he added. "But for now I'm just going to enjoy the moment."
 

The 34-year-old is in unchartered territory as goes into the final round of a major in front, and will feel the hot breath ofthe experienced Phil Mickelson on his shoulder.

The American has laid down the foundations for winning a fifth major championship. The turning point yesterday was perhaps his 25ft eagle putt on the 13th, which seemed to galvanise the 41-year-old.

Mickelson, who is now favourite to win, said: "When I look back at this tournament I'll look at Thursday.

"At some point I'm going to get hot here but I've got to be in a position to move up the leaderboard, not just get into the weekend. The way I fought back Thursday made that possible."

The Hunting Pack

Hunter Mahan, Padraig Harinton, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson are all still in contention tied sixth, but are five shots adrift of Hanson.

A shot behind Mickelson in third is South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who will fancy his chances after lifting the Claret Jug in 2010.

Americans Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar will still have their hopes high as they are six and five under respectively.

Favourites Failing

At the start of the tournament, the hype surrounded the two favourites: Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. And Luke Donald was, of course, a name on everyone’s lips considering he is ranked world number one.

But the three heavyweights have flopped at the 76th masters. Woods and Donald can surely be written off now at three-over and seven-over respectively, while McIlroy needs a small miracle.

The Ulsterman is ten shots behind Hanson after a horrible 77, playing alongside Sergio Garcia, who shot an unimpressive 75.

The pair, who could be Ryder Cup team mates come September, were able to smile at the end and consoled each other with a light-hearted hug at the end of their poor rounds.