Snedeker, Cabrera share Masters lead as Scots fade

“I feel like a duck on a pond,” said the 32-year-old from Nashville, as he tried to convey the sense of nervous excitement that is coursing through him with the season’s first major now heading towards its final stretch. "I might seem calm on the outside but I'm going a mile a minute. The heart's beating a mile a minute on the inside. I’ve done a good job calming those nerves the first three days. Hopefully I can do it again tomorrow."

On moving day at the Masters, Snedeker made a significant thrust and pieced together a superbly assembled three-under 69 for a seven-under 209 which left him tied at the top with the 2009 champion, Angel Cabrera.

Before the Masters began, Snedeker admitted that he would gladly give up all of his PGA Tour titles – five of them – in order to win the green jacket. Three birdies in four holes from the 13th yesterday kept Snedeker on course for that maiden major title.

With a win and three other top-three finishes in his first four events this season, Snedeker was one of the hottest players on the planet until a rib injury derailed the express. He missed the first two cuts of his comeback, at Bay Hill and Houston, but he’s found his form when it matters here at Augusta.

The Masters tends to come alive on the back nine on Sunday and Snedeker can certainly feel confident about the challenges that lie ahead. His calm, considered approach has been rewarded on the inward half and he has covered that stretch in six-under-par this week.

“This is a golf course that's baiting you into making mistakes,” said Snedeker, who shared third in the 2008 Masters on his professional debut.

“It's baiting you into going after a pin when you shouldn't go after it. And that's the one thing I've learned around here is that you just gotta pick your spots. When you have a good number and a good feeling you can be aggressive. Rest of the time you've just got to kind of shift away and wait for those opportunities to come along."

Cabrera, who surged into contention on Friday by picking up birdies on four of his last five holes, conjured another late rally to keep himself in the hunt for a second green jacket with a 69.

Holding the lead on seven-under through 11 holes, the 43-year-old leaked shots at 12 and 13 as the wheels began to shoggle but he steadied things with a birdie at 16 before draining another crucial putt on the last to complete the salvage operation. “In 2009, I was nervous, anxious,” he said. “But now I'm very comfortable. I know what I've got to do tomorrow to be able to get the win.”

Adam Scott knows what he needs to do, too. Doing it, though will be easier said than done in what is set to be a tense, tormenting tussle.

Scott waltzed in with a three-under 69 to lurk just a shot off the pace and give himself another opportunity at plundering that so far elusive major crown.

The memories of his epic Open collapse at Lytham last July, where he bogeyed the last four holes to allow the Claret Jug to slip through his clutches, remain fresh in the mind but Scott is not one for dwelling on the past.

“If I’m in the same position as I was in the Open then I’ll be trying to finish the job,” said the 32-year-old Australian, who tied for second in the 2011 Masters. “It’s going to take a great round, a career round. It’s a career round that makes a champion.”

The final day is shaping up to be a real Australian day. Marc Leishman kept himself in the mix with a 72 for 211 to share fourth alongside his countryman, Jason Day, who surrendered the lead with a stumble over the finishing line.

One birdie and 15 pars had him riding high but a short putt for par horseshoed out of the hole on the 17th and he made another bogey on the last in a 73 for his 211 tally.

Tiger Woods, penalised two strokes following a controversial rules incident which came to light after his second round, clung on the coat tails of the leaders with a 70 for 213.

“The day started off differently, obviously,” said Woods, who shrugged off the incident with a birdie on the opening hole. “But I’m right there in the ball game with a great shot to win this championship.”

Bernhard Langer, celebrating the 20th anniversary of his second Masters win in 1993, and Steve Stricker struck another blow for the elder statesmen by moving into the top-10 but the young gun that is Rory McIlroy, who had been making quiet but effective progress at two-under after 36-holes, saw his hopes of an assault on the leading pack thwarted with a ruinous 79.

The 23-year-old’s card was strewn with the debris of a pair of not so magnificent sevens at the 11th and 15th as the world No 2 racked up his worst score in the Masters since he imploded to closing 80 when in charge of the 2011 tournament.

As far as the small Scottish contingent left in the field was concerned, moving day only went one way; backwards.

Paul Lawrie, who clambered up the order with a battling 70 to make the cut on Friday, slipped to a 75 which was concluded by a trio of bogeys at 16, 17 and 18. He had his chances, mind you, but the familiar gripe about his putting dominated his post-round analysis.

“To shoot three-over is unbelievable, I played magnificently,” he said. “As normal, it was the putting. I misjudged the speed of God knows how many. I must have missed seven or eight putts inside 12 feet for birdie. You just can’t do that. It’s like a football team that has 15 shots on target and don’t score a goal. They’re going to lose 1-0, it’s a guarantee. The more it goes on the worse it gets.”

As a diehard follower of the fortunes of Aberdeen, Lawrie knows a fair bit about misery on the football pitch.

His fellow Scot Sandy Lyle, who made the cut for the first time since 2009 with solid opening cards of 73 and 72, had a day to forget as he struggled to a turbulent 81 which also included three bogeys on the last three holes and dropped the 1988 champion down to second last.