Updated April 09, 2017 09:58:31

Photo: England's Justin Rose hopes to add the Masters to his Olympic gold medal from Rio. (AP: Matt Slocum)

The Masters is headed for a big finish, with four major title winners in the top-10 going into tomorrow's final round, and Australia's Adam Scott just three shots off the lead.

The star-studded leaderboard provides a string of storylines after the traditional "moving day" at the Masters lived up to its billing — Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia have a share of the lead on 6-under after round three.

Scott shot a second-successive 3-under 69 to move right into contention for a second win at Augusta, but he will have some serious rivals in his way when the final round tees off early on Monday morning (AEST).

Overnight co-leader Charley Hoffman got to 7-under mid-round before stumbling towards the end of his day.

Hoffman dropped a shot on the 14th then double-bogeyed the par-four 17th and to finish at 4-under.

Around him, the big names began to gather.

Past US Open winner and reigning Olympic champion Rose fired a 5-under 67 to take the clubhouse lead at 6-under.

The English golfer dropped a shot on the par-three sixth, before coming home with six birdies in the last 11 holes.

Spain's Sergio Garcia, often named as the best golfer never to win a major, faced some drama in his third round but came through admirably.

Starting the day on 4-under, he struggled to go higher for much of his round.

The turning point came on the par-five 13th, where Garcia mis-hit his approach shot and thought he had hit it into a creek for a penalty, only to discover it had stopped on a steep upslope a few feet from the water hazard.

Photo: Sergio Garcia made a brilliant recovery on the 13th on his way to a share of the lead at Augusta. (AP: Matt Slocum)

He got up and down from off the green for a birdie, then followed up with a birdie on 15, and holed a pressure par-putt on the last to finish at 6-under.

It will be an emotional final round for Garcia, as the day would have been the 60th birthday of famous Spanish golfer and two-time Masters champion the late Seve Ballesteros.

Jordan Spieth - who won the Masters in 2015 and then led by five shots in last year's final round before losing by three after a quadruple bogey on the 12th - is right in the mix after a third round 68.

Spieth could make Masters history here. He trailed the leader by 10 shots after an opening round of 75 - if he goes on to win, he will smash the previous comeback record of Tiger Woods (2005) and Nick Faldo (1990), who both triumphed after being seven shots back after one round at Augusta.

Rickie Fowler is another who has never won a major title, but has come second at the British and US Opens.

He shot a 1-under 71 to make sure he will play in the second-last group in the final round.

Also in the mix are American Ryan Moore (on 4-under for the tournament), and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, who shot a 4-under 68 to move to within four shots of the lead.

It was a mixed day for the Australians.

Scott improved two shots in the opening nine holes, then birdied the par-five 13th but narrowly missed another putt for birdie on the 14th, reeling off five straight pars to finish his round.

The Queenslander looked good from tee to green, and had his chances, but will need his putter to run hot if he is to make a run at the title.

Jason Day also had a good round, shooting a 3-under 69 to lie at 3-over going into the final round.

Western Australian amateur Curtis Luck bogeyed the first hole on his way to a 3-over round of 75. He is on 5-over for the tournament.

Marc Leishman had a solid front nine, but shot 6-over on the back nine, including a triple-bogey on the 15th, for a round of 78 to put him 9-over for the tournament.

Topics: sport, golf, united-states

First posted April 09, 2017 09:24:56