Day holds firm in Masters lead

Australia's Jason Day was holding on to the lead in the Masters third round on Saturday, but a packed leaderboard chasing him left little room for error. The 25-year-old, who tied for runner-up here two years ago, parred the first six holes to keep his nose ahead. Playing partner, Fred Couples, the 53-year-old fan favorite who won the 1992 Masters, was also in regulation through six holes, having started the day one stroke back in joint second place. Angel Cabrera of Argentina, the 2009 champion who thrives on the challenges of Augusta National, birdied the third and sixth to move out to five under, while Australian Marc Leishman dropped from six under with back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth. He was on four under, level with Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Adam Scott of Australia and Americans Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker. Top Europeans Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and world number two Rory McIlroy all failed to make up ground on the leader as they reached the turn. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, hit with a two-stroke penalty for an improper drop before the round started, opened with a birdie. But bogeys at the fourth and ninth, wrapped around a birdie at the seventh, saw him reach the turn in level par and still at one under for the tournament, five strokes off the pace. There had been calls from some quarters for Woods, chasing a 15th major title and a fifth green jacket, to be disqualified but the Augusta National Rules Committee deemed that he had made an honest mistake in taking his drop. South Africa's Tim Clark, Masters runner-up in 2006, set the benchmark early on with a five-under 67, having gone out in 31, to get to three-under par. Phil Mickelson's hopes were shattered as the three-time former winner slipped out to eight over with a 77, while defending champion Bubba Watson, out first alone, came in with a 70 to get to two over. Chinese 14-year-old Guan Tianlang, the youngest-ever player in the Masters, struggled to a five-over 77 and at nine over was last but one of the 61 players who made the cut. Source: AFP