Immelman loses, then takes back his Masters lead; Tiger makes move

"I was curious like everyone else -- what did Tiger shoot today?" he said.

It was the first time in a dozen rounds at the Masters that Woods broke 70, but he had reason to expect much more. The third round began under a light drizzle and was stopped for 40 minutes when storms rolled through. That made the course soft and long, the greens receptive. With no wind, it was ripe for a charge.

But all Woods could muster was one birdie putt outside 10 feet. Two other birdies came on par 5s when he was putting for eagle, another with a wedge inside a foot on the 17th. Woods missed four straight putts inside 15 feet on the front nine that could have turned his fortunes, and an 8-foot birdie on the par-5 15th.

"This is the highest score I could have shot today," Woods said. "I hit the ball so well and I hit so many good putts that just skirted the hole. But hey, I put myself right back in the tournament."

Six shots is a lot to make up in the final round at the Masters. No one has done that since Nick Faldo beat Greg Norman in 1996.

His hope might come from the inexperience atop the leaderboard. Woods was the only player within seven shots who has won a major.

"There's such a long way to go," Immelman said. "There are so many great players out there. If I rest on a two-shot lead, I'm not going to do very well. I've just got to have positive thoughts and give it my best shot."

Gary Player is the only South African to win the Masters, the last of his three victories coming 30 years ago.

Immelman's lone mistake came on the par-3 fourth, but he was solid the rest of the afternoon and surged ahead with two spectacular shots and one incredible break.

He hit a low pitch across Rae's Creek that hopped once and skidded to a stop 2 feet behind the cup for birdie on the par-3 13th for the outright lead. Then he went two shots ahead with an 8-foot birdie on the 14th.

It all looked as though it might wash away on the 15th in a moment reminiscent of Fred Couples in 1992, when a tee shot on the par-3 12th was held up by a blade of grass. That break carried Couples to his lone major title.

Immelman hit a sand wedge that spun back, caught the slope and rolled quickly off the front of the green. Perhaps there was just enough rain to keep the slope soft. The ball slowed to a trickle, then stopped. One more turn, and it would have been in the water.

"I was begging for it to stop as soon as it could," Immelman said. "I knew there was a chance it was going to go in the water. I must say, I couldn't quite believe it when it stayed up."

He chipped to 5 feet and saved par.

Behind the clouds was a front that was expected to send temperatures into the low 60s and bring 20 mph winds, the scariest conditions on a course where even a breeze can play tricks.

That might be what Woods needs to keep alive his fading hopes of a calendar Grand Slam.