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Tim Clark in Masters hunt

Augusta - On a day of controversy at the Masters, South Africa’s Tim Clark kept his head down and narrowed the gap on the tournament front runners with the day's best round.

Clark's 67 in Saturday's third round at Augusta National took him to three under par for the tournament, tied in seventh place and just four shots behind leaders Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker.

The day started with controversy, though, as Tiger Woods was penalised two shots for not dropping his ball in line with the flag in Friday's second round.

Masters leaderboard

VIDEO: The Masters Day 3, highlights

Amidst confusion as to which rule should be applied to Woods's infringement, it was questioned why the four-time Masters winner had not been disqualified and former champion Nick Faldo called on Woods to disqualify himself.

Woods, however, did no such thing and played a two-under 70 to stand alongside Clark on three under for the tournament.

But the round of the day clearly belonged to Clark.

After a disappointing 76 in Friday's second round, the South African made a near-complete turnaround, picking up a birdie on the second and then starting a run of four birdies in a row from the fourth. Two further birdies and two bogeys followed on the back nine.

After the disappointment of scoring a 76 on Friday, when his putting let him down, Clark said he had decided not to change anything.

"I certainly did not practice it. I just kind of went home and tried to forget about it," Clark said.

"The worst thing I could have done was to go and practice and grind over it. I just had to kind of let it go."

Clark's score was the highlight for the six South Africans remaining in the competition, as only Branden Grace stayed in the red with a one-under 71. The 24-year-old, who just avoided the cut, played an eagle on the par-five second, but then dropped shots on the sixth, seventh and ninth, and birdied the eighth.

Another bogey and two birdies on the back nine saw him tied for 33rd on three over heading into the final round.

Charl Schwartzel's round was blown apart with a triple bogey seven on the par-four 10th, and although he managed to claw his way back with back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th, he was probably too far off the pace at one over par to mount a serious challenge.

Four-time Major winner Ernie Els was a stroke behind Schwartzel after finishing his round with a one-over 73.

The Big Easy looked strong going out and was lying on two under at the turn after a birdie at the fifth and an eagle three at the par-five eighth. It was his fourth eagle of the tournament.

But three bogeys in a row to end the round took him to two over for the tournament and left him with a lot of work to do to challenge for a top-10 placing.

Rookie Richard Sterne played a three-over 75 to stand at four over for the tournament.

Former champion Trevor Immelman, who began the day on one under, failed to find his rhythm as he played six bogeys and a double-bogey in his round of 78 to settle in a tie for 44th on five over par."

Complete scores on Saturday after the third round of the 77th Masters at par-72 Augusta National Golf Club:

209 - Brandt Snedeker (USA) 70-70-69, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 71-69-69

210 - Adam Scott (AUS) 69-72-69

211 - Marc Leishman (AUS) 66-73-72, Jason Day (AUS) 70-68-73

212 - Matt Kuchar (USA) 68-75-69

213 - Tim Clark (RSA) 70-76-67, Tiger Woods 70-71-70

214 - Rickie Fowler (USA) 72-68-70, Steve Stricker (USA) 73-70-71, Bernhard Langer (GER) 71-71-72, Lee Westwood (ENG) 70-71-73, Jim Furyk (USA) 69-71-74

215 - Nick Watney (USA) 78-69-68, Bo Van Pelt (USA) 71-74-70, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 66-76-73, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP) 68-74-73

216 - Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 78-70-68, Zach Johnson (USA) 69-76-71, Justin Rose (ENG) 70-71-75, Jason Dufner (USA) 72-69-75, Fred Couples (USA) 68-71-77

217 - Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 72-73-72, Bill Haas (USA) 71-72-74, Dustin Johnson (USA) 67-76-74, John Senden (AUS) 72-70-75, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 71-71-75

218 - Bubba Watson (USA) 75-73-70, John Huh (USA) 70-77-71, Ernie Els (RSA) 71-74-73, Luke Donald (ENG) 71-72-75, K.J. Choi (KOR) 70-71-77

219 - Branden Grace (RSA) 78-70-71, Robert Garrigus (USA) 76-71-72, Stewart Cink (USA) 75-71-73, D.A. Points (USA) 72-75-72, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 75-71-73

220 - Jose Maria Olazabal (ESP) 74-72-74, Kevin Na (USA) 70-76-74, Brian Gay (USA) 72-74-74, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 72-74-74, Richard Sterne (RSA) 73-72-75, David Toms (USA) 70-74-76

221 - Lucas Glover (USA) 74-74-73, Martin Kaymer (GER) 72-75-74, Paul Lawrie (SCO) 76-70-75, Trevor Immelman (RSA) 68-75-78, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 72-70-79, David Lynn (ENG) 68-73-80

222 - John Peterson (USA) 71-77-74, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 73-73-76, Scott Piercy (USA) 75-69-78

223 - Peter Hanson (SWE) 72-75-76, Carl Pettersson (SWE) 76-70-77, Michael Thompson (USA) 73-71-79

224 - Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 71-77-76, Phil Mickelson (USA) 71-76-77, Ryan Moore (USA) 71-72-81

225 - Guan Tianlang (CHN) 73-75-77

226 - Sandy Lyle (SCO) 73-72-81

228 - Keegan Bradley (USA) 73-73-82

Pairings for Sunday's final round of the 77th Masters, the year's first major golf championship, at par-72 Augusta National (all times local, six hours behind South African time, USA unless noted):

9:20 am: Keegan Bradley

9:30: Guan Tianlang (CHN), Sandy Lyle (SCO)

9:40: Phil Mickelson, Ryan Moore

9:50: Michael Thompson, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN)

10:00: Peter Hanson (SWE), Carl Pettersson (SWE)

10:10: Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Scott Piercy

10:20: David Lynn (ENG), John Peterson

10:30: Trevor Immelman (RSA), Rory McIlroy (NIR)

10:40: Martin Kaymer (GER), Paul Lawrie (SCO)

10:50: David Toms, Lucas Glover

11:00: Vijay Singh (FIJ), Richard Sterne (RSA)

11:10: OPEN

11:20: Kevin Na, Brian Gay

11:30: Henrik Stenson (SWE), Jose Maria Olazabal (ESP)

11:40: Stewart Cink, DA Points

11:50: Branden Grace (RSA), Robert Garrigus

12:00 p.m.: Luke Donald (ENG), KJ Choi (KOR)

12:10: John Huh, Ernie Els (RSA)

12:20: Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Bubba Watson

12:30: Dustin Johnson, John Senden (AUS)

12:40: Fredrik Jacobson (SWE), Bill Haas

12:50: Jason Dufner, Fred Couples

1:00: OPEN

1:10: Zach Johnson, Justin Rose (ENG)

1:20: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP), Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN)

1:30: Bo Van Pelt, Sergio Garcia (ESP)

1:40: Jim Furyk, Nick Watney

1:50: Bernhard Langer (GER), Lee Westwood (ENG)

2:00: Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker

2:10: Tim Clark (RSA), Tiger Woods

2:20: Jason Day (AUS), Matt Kuchar

2:30: Adam Scott (AUS), Marc Leishman (AUS)

2:40: Brandt Snedeker, Angel Cabrera (ARG)

 

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