Jason Day was remaining upbeat despite two late three putts costing him a share of the lead heading into the final round of the Masters.
The halfway leader showed ice-cool nerves for most of the day as he scrambled time and time again with clutch par putts before the tension took its toll on his closing two holes.
One of three Australians in the mix, 25-year-old Day’s approaches on 17 and 18 left him with putts of 30 feet or more and he was unable to close out an otherwise rock solid round.
Runner-up at Augusta National two years ago and also second at the 2011 US Open, Day took pars on his first 12 holes before draining his lone birdie on the par-5 13th to briefly capture a two-stroke lead.
The Queenslander eventually signed off for a one-over 73 after his late stumble to be five-under for the tournament and two adrift of joint leaders Brandt Snedeker and 2009 champion Angel Cabrera.
But he was nevertheless excited about his prospects.
“Obviously I fell short two years ago but I have a good opportunity to get out there and win my first major, my first green jacket, and to be the first Australian to win it,” Day said.
“Obviously it is a lot of emotions going through my body and I’m really looking forward to an exciting Sunday because I know it’s going to be very, very close.
“The Masters does start on the back nine Sunday but you have to get through the front nine.
“You have to pick your battles. You have to weigh the risk versus reward and that’s what champions do, they pull the shot off at the right time.
“I’m very excited with the opportunity.”