Jordan Spieth leads, Rose and Mickelson lurk at Augusta

21-year-old Texan Spieth, who has led the tournament since a dazzling 64 on the opening day, fired a third round 70 to take a four-shot lead into Sunday's finale.

But at several points during the afternoon he led by as much as seven shots, before a double bogey on the 17th combined with late surges by his nearest challengers saw that lead trimmed.

Top of that list was Rose, who birdied five of the last six holes en route to a third round 67 which will ensure he tees off in the final pairing on Sunday - a key indicator of victory, since players have only won at Augusta from further back on a handful of occasions in the last quarter of a century.

Rose's 67 left him at 12 under par, one shot ahead of Mickelson, who also shot 67 - though it could have been even better had he not racked up a careless bogey on 17 with a loose second shot.

Charley Hoffman is one shot further back at -10 after a fine 71 in only his second Masters - and behind Hoffman are Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, both of whom played some sparkling golf but also produced some howlers in their rounds of 68.

Both player the outward nine in four-under-par 32, and both could have gone on to shoot in the low 60s - but both faltered with some very wild shots, Woods in particular scrambling brilliantly as he birdied the 13th despite driving deep into the trees.

That miraculous recovery spurred a fist pump from Woods the like of which has scarcely been seen since he last won at Augusta, in 2005. From 10 shots back it seems hugely unlikely that he will slip on a fifth green jacket on Sunday night, but whatever happens now the 14-times Major champion has shown enough to prove that he still has the game to contend in the biggest tournaments.

And while the event is Spieth's to lose, anything can still happen as world number one McIlroy knows only too well: the Northern Irishman led by four shots going into Sunday at the 2011 tournament, only to implode on the back nine and finish 10 shots behind the eventual winner, Charl Schwartzel.

McIlroy, like everyone in the field bar Spieth, will be hoping that 2015 can provide a similar helping of unlikely drama.

In one key moment, Spieth got up and down from a tricky lie to the right of the green at the 18th, hitting a flop shot nine feet past the hole and nervelessly sinking the putt for a two-under 70 on a steamy Saturday afternoon.

"It was huge," the Texan said of his par save after finishing up with a Masters record total of 16-under 200 after 54 holes. "Just to see one go in after the disappointment there on 17 where I probably should have hit three-wood off the tee."

Spieth, who tied for second at last year's Masters, had been seven strokes clear after sinking a 14-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th but rued his decision to take driver off the tee at the 17th where his ball ended up way left in the treeline.

After hitting his second shot short and right of the green, he faced a very difficult chip from a downhill lie into the grain which he left just short of the putting surface, from where he three-putted for a double.

"We knew 17 was a par hole, driver should never have come out of my bag at that point," said Spieth.

"Not that I'm playing any differently than if I were tied or behind, but it's a downwind hole.

"I was getting a little erratic with the driver and I can hit three-wood, eight-iron in there and have a 20-footer to two-putt. I was very frustrated with that decision, given I don't want decision making to ever cost me in an event like this."

Overall, though, Spieth has produced brilliant golf as he remained in control despite impressive 67s from Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson, and 68s from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

"When I got out there today and saw a couple putts go in, I felt really comfortable," said Spieth.

"That's something in the weekend under pressure that's kind of hurt me a little bit, but recently I've been making a lot of putts.

"Maybe I got a little anxious at times today, but all in all I kept it together with the putter."