Augusta: Lee Westwood knows better than most that anything can happen at Augusta.
And no, he is not simply taking succour from the most famous Masters turnaround of all, when Nick Faldo overhauled a gap of six to Greg Norman in 1996 to win by five and seal English golf's grandest day.
Instead, Westwood is drawing deeply upon recollections of last year.
Having led by five midway through the third round, he found himself reeled in by Phil Mickelson in less time than it took to appreciate the bucolic scenery.
Mickelson was on an irresistible tear that evening, covering the decisive stretch from the 13th to 15th in two eagles and a birdie to leap one stroke clear.
"I know as well as anybody how quickly leads can evaporate," Westwood said.
"I was going down 11 with a five-shot lead and about 40 minutes later I was one behind."
Critics
The Westwood of 2011 requires little persuading as to his abilities on the greatest stage. Critics, Faldo among them, might regard his fleeting stay in the number one spot as spurious — unsupported as it is by a major victory — but he is almost never out of the shake-up on these auspicious weekends.
He will brook no argument about a run of results between the Turnberry and St Andrews Opens, where he came second or third on four out of five occasions.
Westwood said: "It's part of the value of being experienced that you are very patient and expect the unexpected."
Disgruntled by his initially slow progress here, Westwood knew he had to tap into extra reserves to keep up with Rory McIlroy. "I decided at the start of the day that, instead of Saturday being my moving day, I'd better make it Friday," he said after his second round of this year's tournament.
Par three jinx
"I made more of the par-fives and didn't make too many mistakes. As well as Rory has played, you don't want to get too far behind."
One flourishing in Westwood's wake was Luke Donald, trying desperately to end the jinx that no winner of the Masters par-three contest has prevailed in the main event in the same year.
His fine performance, including a round three 68, raised £21,000 for Japanese earthquake relief, after he had promised to donate £3,000 for every birdie.
Donald, who said he had been impressed by Ryo Ishikawa's decision to donate his entire year's wages to the same fund, said: "I felt that it would be a good thing to do and I was happy to help out. I'm a little bit out of pocket now, but it is for a good cause."
scores
Third round:
204 - Rory McIlroy (NIR) 65-69-70
208 - Angel Cabrera (ARG) 71-70-67, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 69-71-68, K.J. Choi (KOR) 67-70-71, Jason Day (AUS) 72-64-72
209 - Adam Scott (AUS) 72-70-67, Luke Donald (ENG) 72-68-69
210 - Bo Van Pelt (USA) 73-69-68
211 - Bubba Watson (USA) 73-71-67, Ross Fisher (ENG) 69-71-71, Fred Couples (USA) 71-68-72, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 69-69-73, Tiger Woods (USA) 71-66-74.
