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 You are in: Special Events: 2001: US Masters 
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 Saturday, 7 April, 2001, 23:50 GMT 00:50 UK
Brown: Woods looking good
Phil Mickelson
"Mickelson could do it" says BBC Sport's Ken Brown
BBC Sport's Ken Brown says that Phil Mickelson could beat Tiger Woods, the leader after three rounds at the US Masters in Augusta, but he's not betting against the world's best golfer.

Tiger Woods is once again at the top of the leaderboard - he seemed to cruise there.

His game is very sound - and he makes much fewer errors than the others.

He played some great golf and had a run of birdies from the 13th to the 15th which gave him that space at the top of the leaderboard.

People have said he has not played his best golf at this tournament, but I think it was only the first day where he seemed ragged.

On Friday he played pretty well and in this round he was much the same.

Augusta is a funny course though - sometimes you can't aim your ball for the hole, you have to play some percentage shots.

The course has been playing pretty well for most of the top golfers, but Woods' huge advantage is his artillary.

He has been the longest driver this week - he's ten yards longer than the next man, Angel Cabrera.

The pins are tucked away on most of the greens and it is so much easier to get there with an eight or nine iron, which is what Woods is doing quite often.

He has complete confidence in his game and is putting pretty well.

In second place is Phil Mickelson and he and Woods go back quite a bit.

Mickelson is a good enough player to win. He has had three rounds in the 60s - and even after some horrendous putting problems on the front nine, he didn't get rattled.

And I think the birdie at the 18th was very important. It's been a good week for him.

I wouldn't bet against Woods but he is beatable - Mickelson ended his run of tournament wins last year at the Buick Invitational Open so he knows he can do it.

The other challenge may come from David Duval.

He is still there and if he goes round in 65 or 66 he has a good chance.

He has a great record at Augusta with some good finishes there during the last three years.

He knows it's a great opportunity.

But Woods is such a good frontrunner - in 20 of his 26 tournament wins, he has led from the front and he's obviously not frightened to win.

For a time it seemed Angel Cabrera would be the overnight leader.

But he was very unlucky with his shot at the 15th. It was a yard from being perfect but ended up in the water. But that's the nature of the Augusta National

It was ultimately a bad day for Darren Clarke, and it was a terrible shame after how hard he'd worked hard.

At the short 16th he was four yards to the right of the pin but in a bunker.

He then tried to play a shot which was a little too cute and ended up three-putting for a double bogey.

As for the final round think the greens are going to be a bit softer - although you can never tell what will happen.

It's all set for a most dramatic final day.


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