The Masters 2019 leaderboard: Tiger Woods two back as Francesco Molinari takes lead into final round at Masters
Relive all the action from Augusta
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Your support makes all the difference.Francesco Molinari surged two shots clear at the top of The Masters leaderboard on Saturday to set up another final round showdown with Tiger Woods for a major title.
It has been an almost flawless Masters for Molinari, who has carded just a single bogey through three rounds. On Sunday, the Italian turned in another error-free effort in the third round, signing for a six-under 66 to top the leaderboard at 13-under.
Molinari, the first Italian to win a major with his victory at last year's British Open, will start in pole position to claim a Green Jacket to go along with his Claret Jug.
Joining him in the last group will be Woods, who also paired with the Italian in the final round at Carnoustie, after the American electrified Augusta National with a five-under 67 that put him on the brink of ending a 11-year majors drought.
The two major champions will be accompanied by Tony Finau, who matched Woods's 11-under total with a dazzling eight-under 64 that featured a Masters-record equalling front nine of six-under 30.
With the forecast calling for heavy rain and thunderstorms late on Sunday officials have decided to send golfers off in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees rather than traditional pairs in an attempt to get the final round completed and avoid a Monday finish to the year's first major.
Lurking one shot further back is twice U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who scrapped his way to three-under 69 to trail Molinari by three.
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Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the third round of The Masters.
Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day and Adam Scott are tied for the lead on a star-studded leaderboard with a certain Tiger Woods lurking ominously one shot back.
Woods brought the roars back to the famed venue with a brilliant four-under-par 68, putting himself on track for a fifth Green Jacket.
Ian Poulter is the leading Englishman a further shot behind while Rory McIlroy, chasing a career grand slam in Georgia this week, is level par and looking for a big move today.
We'll have all the latest throughout the day at Augusta National.
Tiger, who is out just after 7pm our time, rolled back the years yesterday with a handful of clutch putts and some vintage fist pumps.
"I feel like I played my own way back into the tournament," Woods said. "I was just very patient today, felt very good to be out there doing what I was doing. This is now three straight majors that I've been in the mix and so it's good stuff."
Woods shot a 68 and has plenty of big-name company among the leaders, including 48-year-old Phil Mickelson, who didn't have his best round with a 73 on Friday, but is still just three shots off the lead.
"There's nothing better than having a chance going into the weekend at the Masters," Mickelson said. "And that's what I want to focus on and I know that I'm playing well enough."
Leader Board Update: Leader(s) -7
Molinari -7 (67)
Day -7 (67)
Koepka -7 (71)
Scott -7 (68)
Oosthuizen -7 (66)
D. Johnson -6 (70)
Harding -6 (69)
Schauffele -6 (65)
Woods -6 (68)
Poulter -5 (71)
Rahm -5 (70)
Round Three gets underway just after 2 o'clock UK time when Eddie Pepperell tees off in a group of one.
Rory McIlroy tees off just after 4pm looking for a low round to get himself in contention come Sunday and the last of the leaders Francesco Molinari and Jason Day tee off at 7:45pm.
But the pairing of the day is undoubtedly that of Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter who get going just after 7pm tonight.
Here's a look at some of the tee times for the big names:
Tee Times:
2:05pm - Eddie Pepperell
4:05pm - McIlroy, Leishman
4:55pm - Reed, Simpson
5:05pm - Speith, Tway
6:46pm - Kuchar, Mickelson
6:55pm - Rahm, Kizzire
7:05pm - Woods, Poulter
7:15pm - Schauffele, Harding
7:25pm - Oosthuizen, D. Johnson
7:35pm - Koepka, Scott
7:45pm - Molinari, Day
Rory McIlroy had an up and down day yesterday. Some moments of brilliance like is 50ft putt on 16 clashed with unforced errors like the drive that landed in a steward's buggy.
He posted a round of 71, that mixed bogies and birdies a plenty but McIlroy is still confident of working his way back up the leader board.
“I had to really stay patient out there because I wasn't getting any breaks and even after good shots I wasn’t getting rewarded." He said last night, “I was just grinding to try and be here for the weekend. Thankfully I got the ball up and down on fifteen and made a good two on sixteen, then played the last two pretty well, but it was a grind.
“I feel like I played better than the score says but at the same time I think I did well considering what it could’ve been.
“When this golf course gets wet it plays so weird, it’s hard to predict what it’s going to do and there’s a few things out of your control so that’s why I was patient.
“Seven back it’s still right there, tomorrow you go out in 31/32 and all of a sudden you’re right back in the golf tournament. Tomorrow I’ll get out there, shoot a good round and hopefully have something to play for on Sunday. “
A small delay yesterday came courtesy of a looming thunderstorm, there's still a lurking threat of a storm making an appearance but it's a lot lower today. So too is the threat of rain which came in patches on Friday, conditions look set to be good for Saturday at Augusta National.
A fantastic round was had yesterday by Italian superstar Francesco Molinari. He made a bogey-free round of 67 to move to the top of the leader board.
It's a far cry away from his first trip to Augusta where he caddied for his brother Eduardo.
With four wins in the past year, a record haul of five points out of five at the Ryder Cup and becoming the first Italian to win a major at the Open in July Molinari's experiencing a superb purple patch in his form.
Two good rounds could see him add the Masters to his Open title but only four players have ever achieved the feat: Arnold Palmer (1962), Seve Ballesteros (1980), Tom Watson (1981) and Tiger Woods (2001).
It's a good list to be a part of.
Day Three is underway.
Eddie Pepperell (+3) safely negotiates the first two holes making par on both. Behind him Grace (+3) and Grillo (+3) each par the first as Zach Johnson and Takumi Kanaya (A) follow them.
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