Story highlights
Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker are joint leaders of the Masters after three rounds
Former champion Cabrera and Snedeker are one shot ahead of Australia's Adam Scott
Overnight leader, Jason Day tied for fourth with fellow Aussie Marc Leishman
Tiger Woods incurs two-shot penalty for rule violation on Friday and is tied for seventh
Former champion Angel Cabrera and America’s Brandt Snedeker are tied for the lead after the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
The 2009 champion from Argentina and Snedeker, who tied for third at Augusta in 2008, both shot three-under par rounds of 69 to finish on seven under par, one shot ahead of Australia’s Adam Scott, who also shot 69 on Saturday.
After a steady 16 holes, overnight leader Jason Day finished with two bogeys to slip back into a tie for fourth alongside another Australian Marc Leishman (72) with America’s Matt Kuchar one shot further back after posting a 69 earlier in the day.
Despite not having a spectacular day on the course, Tiger Woods still managed to grab the majority of the headlines.
The world No.1 finished on three-under par, four shots off the lead, but began his day not knowing whether he’d be competing at all over the weekend following a rule violation at the par five 15th during Friday’s second round.
Read: Woods penalized two strokes for rules violation
Speculation mounted on Saturday morning that Woods might be disqualified for taking a drop in the wrong place after his ball had ricocheted off the flagstick on 15th green and back into the water hazard at the front.
But having sought an explanation from Woods, the Augusta National rules committee, who described him as “very forthright” and “honest,” concluded that the four-time Masters champion should incur a two-stroke penalty.
Woods ended up shooting a round of 70 and wasn’t firing on all cylinders but is now well placed to mount a challenge in Sunday’s final round.
Read: Teen sensation Guan makes Masters cut
“I hit it all right today. I missed a few putts here and there. I had a few opportunities to shoot a lower score but the finish was huge - the last three saves certainly kept me in the ball game,” Woods said.
Woods is tied for seventh place with South Africa’s Tim Clark whose five-under par round of 67 was the best of the day.
America’s Jim Furyk, Ricky Fowler and Steve Stricker are currently tied for ninth at two-under par alongside England’s Lee Westwood and two-time champion, Germany’s Bernhard Langer.
China’s teenage star Guan Tianlang battled his way to five-over par 77 to leave the 14-year-old amateur nine-over par for the tournament.
Guan’s third round was two strokes better than Rory McIlroy, who played his way out of contention with a disastrous round of 79.
The Northern Irishman’s round fell apart at the 11th where his approach found the water. He walked off having carded a triple-bogey seven. His ball also found water at the 15th which contributed two more dropped shots before bogeying the 16th to leave McIlroy five over for the tournament.
Defending champion Bubba Watson posted a two-under par round of 70 – his best round of the week – to leave him in a tie for 28th on two-over par.