>McIlroy on the brink of history with Masters lead

>

Fourteen years ago, Tiger Woods finished the third round of the Masters. A fresh-faced kid with the weight of enormous expectations on his shoulders had obliterated the field, shooting 7-under 65 to take a nine-shot lead going into the final round of his first major as a professional.

The next day, Woods extended his lead by three more shots in a victory lap of a round which crowned him king of the sport.

Nearly a decade-and-a-half later, Woods may abdicate the throne to a new wunderkind whose name means “red king.”

With a third-round 2-under 70, Rory McIlroy carries a four-shot lead into the final round of the 2011 Masters.

McIlroy withstood an early charge from playing partner Jason Day, who briefly took the tournament lead away from him with a two-shot swing at the par-4 fifth hole. He managed to go out in even par – steady enough to keep the lead as the Aussie faded quickly from view.

The second nine was not without peril, though. McIlroy dropped a shot at the 10th hole to reach his lowest mark of the day. But like an old pro, McIlroy made easy birdies out of the par-5s at Nos. 13 and 15.

Then, McIlroy finally was rewarded on the greens for an outstanding three days of ballstriking. Excited by the moment, McIlroy hit a beautiful hook around a tree in front of him with a wedge from 155 yards. Facing a lightning quick 33-foot putt from the back of the green, McIlroy hit it with perfect speed. The ball dived left at the end and into the hole for a rousing birdie to get to 12-under.

Immediately, the putt conjured images of the silver anniversary of Jack Nicklaus‘ 1986 win at 46 years of age. Yes, sir, it did.

Of the putt, McIlroy said, “It was great, because I had been waiting on a putt to sort of drop all day and for it to drop there, it was great timing.”

Twenty-five years ago, a putt just like that gave Nicklaus the lead. McIlroy saw the tape of that win for the first time in preparation for this tournament, as well as oft-viewed footage of Woods’ maiden Masters win.

After becoming the youngest player to take a share of the 18-hole lead on Thursday, McIlroy said he has extensively studied tape of Woods’ win from 1997.

He said Thursday, “I could nearly tell you every shot Tiger hit in ’97.”

If McIlroy is to win on Sunday and become the second-youngest champion in the 75 playings of this event, there is a good chance youth will commit his four rounds to memory. McIlroy acknowledged it, albeit indirectly, after his third round.

“[Woods has] done so much more for the game than I ever could or will, breaking down barriers,” McIlroy said. “But a win for me – personally, it would be huge.

“And for the game of golf, it would be nice, as well.”

He plays Sunday with Angel Cabrera – the only player in the top eight with a major championship win. It’s of no mind to McIlroy, playing while wearing blinders.

“It doesn’t matter who is beside me to be honest,” McIlroy said. “As I said before, all I can control is myself and my own golf game, and that’s it.”

The greats of the game who were in this position on Saturday at a young age predict triumph for the Ulsterman. Woods was a winner in ’97, as well was Seve Ballesteros, whose 54th birthday was Saturday, in 1980. McIlroy, well aware of the bittersweet occasion, tweeted birthday wishes to Ballesteros.

Though McIlroy does not lead by nine shots like Woods did in this spot 14 years ago, but he very well could be. McIlroy has missed putts inside of 15 feet throughout the week, but especially in the last 27 holes. Had more putts dropped for the Ulsterman, he could easily be ahead of the pack by more than nine.

While he says a four-shot lead is not safe on this course, McIlroy has found a way to make himself seem like a lock on Sunday. Nevertheless, he will feel some butterflies Sunday afternoon at the first tee – as he says he should.

“It’s natural to get nervous. If I wasn’t nervous in the first tee tomorrow, there would be something wrong.”

If he can get past the initial nerves and repeat what he has done to this point, McIlroy will look sporty in an Irish green jacket.

“I’m not getting ahead of myself. I know how leads can dwindle away very quickly. I have to go out there tomorrow, not take anything for granted and go out and play as hard as I’ve played the last three days,” McIlroy said. “If I can do that, hopefully things will go my way.”

>Tiger Woods spotted with new kitten

>

Tiger Woods didn’t exactly search far and wide to find his new galpal. The former golden boy of golf reportedly is hooking up with Alyse Johnston, the 22-year-old daughter of IMG bigwig Alastair Johnston, who has a compound in Woods’ Florida ’hood.

Alastair worked with Tiger back in 1996, when he negotiated a $60 million deal for the disgraced golf great to rep Nike. Alyse, BTW, would have been seven at the time.

The couple were spotted frolicking on Tiger’s 155-foot yacht (named “Privacy”) last week, but it’s not clear when the two started dating. However, we do know Alyse has been hanging around her pop’s estate in Windermere, Fla., because she was cuffed in nearby Orlando in October on suspicion of driving under the influence. The charge was later downgraded to improper lane change, a traffic infraction.

A golfer herself, Alyse is training for the LPGA, the New York Post reports. She also played volleyball for the University of New Hampshire in 2007 when the team made it to the America East semifinals.

>Sabbatini’s 66 gives him five-shot lead

>

After making consecutive birdies, Honda Classic leader Rory Sabbatini stood in the rough along the sixth fairway, complaining to a PGA Tour official about a delay in play and wondering what had become of the group just ahead of him.

The strange interruption could have halted Sabbatini’s momentum. Instead, after a long wait, he hit an iron 200 yards to within 10 feet of the pin, one of his better shots among the 66 Saturday that gave him a cushy lead.

Sabbatini will enter today’s final round at 9-under 201, five shots ahead of Jerry Kelly and 2009 winner Y.E. Yang.

The wait at No. 6 occurred when Kelly, playing two groups ahead of Sabbatini, lodged a shot in a palm tree. A photographer’s zoom lens was used to identify the ball as Kelly’s, allowing him to avoid being penalized for a lost ball.

The inspection took time, so the twosome behind Kelly played through. Meanwhile, Sabbatini and playing partner Kyle Stanley waited and wondered how they had caught up with Kelly.

“It was a little bit of dazed and confused,” Sabbatini said. “We’re like, `OK, where did he come from?’ And we’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”

A South African who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, Sabbatini’s known for his feisty manner and candor on any topic – even Tiger Woods – but nothing has riled him up this week, and he tried to look at the delay as something positive.

“Actually, I think maybe that might have helped me slow down a little out there,” he said. “It allowed me to back off a little bit and kind of refocus again. So I think that was a good thing.”

Yang birdied the last two holes for a 3-under 67 and moved into a tie for second with Kelly, who shot a roller-coaster 68. Gary Woodland also had a 68 and was fourth, six shots behind. Second-round leader Stanley had a 74 to drop seven strokes back.

Sabbatini, who changed putters this week, made birdie putts of 2, 40, 12, 18 and 18 feet.

“I’ve been putting well all year, I just didn’t feel like I was making anything,” he said. “Sometimes just changing the look of things, changing the feel of things, can kind of just spur something.”

With his new mallet-style putter, Sabbatini had the lowest round for the second day in a row after tying the tournament course record with a 64 Friday.

Sabbatini has won five PGA Tour titles, most recently at the 2009 Byron Nelson Championship.

Given the tough course and conditions at PGA National, Kelly doesn’t consider his five-shot deficit insurmountable.

“It’s catchable in three holes,” he said. “You never know what three holes they may be. You’ve just got to play solid, get some birdies, and you never know.”

Lee Westwood, who fell to No. 2 in the rankings this week behind Martin Kaymer, was tied for 30th at 4 over after a 75. Westwood must finish alone in third or better to regain the top ranking next week.

First-round leader Spencer Levin was tied for 16th at 2 over after a 73.