The kid stays in the picture

Golf:You don't get a stampede around Augusta National, it's much too civil a place for that. Yet, as Rory McIlroy continued his quest for a maiden Major title by retaining his lead after the third round, there were significant moves made by the young and the old to make the 21-year-old Ulsterman cast a glance or two over his shoulder heading into the final day.

Angel Cabrera, a champion two years ago, made a move on the traditional moving day. So too Charl Schwartzel, another of the emerging breed of golfing Springboks. And a host of others. KJ Choi and Luke Donald. Jason Day and Adam Scott. Great players, with great expectations – but each of them, for a third straight round, had to take a place in the shadows as McIlroy contrived to strengthen his position as tournament leader.

For sure, the Green Jacket beckons; and for the boy who was first introduced to the sport on the course above the town of Holywood in north Down, on the outskirts of Belfast, and who has grown into a man, his destiny beckons. Yesterday, he demonstrated patience for much of the round and finished majestically with three birdies in his last six holes for a 70, for a 12-under-par 54-hole total of 204.

The upshot? A midway lead of two had doubled to four by the end of the third round, with McIlroy claiming the role of front-runner being pursued by Cabrera, Schwartzel, Choi and Day. And whilst a four stroke lead on that quartet of chasers put McIlroy into a position of strength, history – none more so that Greg Norman’s collapse at the hands of Nick Faldo in 1996 – will remind him that the last leg of the journey is the hardest to make.

Indeed, US Open champion Graeme McDowell – showing the camaraderie which exists between the two Northerners – actually walked a number of holes in the early part of the third round, and then texted a message of support immediately afterwards. “He told me he loves me. I don't know what that means . . . I don't know if that's him or the beer talking. No, it's great to see him out there and I appreciate his support. He's going to know how I'm feeling. He's a Major Champion and he got it done last year at Pebble. Hopefully I can emulate that feeling and get a major myself,” said McIlroy.

On a day when the sun shone to showcase the course in all of its glory, McIlroy had to demonstrate patience as, one by one, a number of players put it up to him. And none more so than the Australian Day, who actually moved ahead of him with a birdie to a bogey on the fifth, and then Choi also made a move which made for a crowded leaderboard.

Patience on this course is a virtue, and McIlroy showed maturity beyond his years by staying focused to the task at hand. And, suddenly, it all turned around for him: he reached the Par 5 13th in two, two putting for a birdie that kick-started a strong run home. There, his playing partner Day – who’d stood on the 13th tee level with him – ran up a bogey from nowhere and, quite dramatically, there was a two shot gap.

McIlroy – a two-time winner in his professional career, in the Dubai Desert Classic in 2009 and last year’s Quail Hollow Championship on the US Tour – added another birdie on the Par 5 15th and, then, produced the shot of his round on the 17th where, after pulling his drive left into the trees, he hit a wedge approach over the trees to 33 feet beyond the pin and sank the birdie putt. In a pose typical of Jack Nicklaus in his win of 1986, McIlroy raised his putter as the ball tracked to the hole.

The congestion which had given hope to many for much of the afternoon had again become a pursuit, with McIlroy driving towards his own destiny.

History, though, is in McIlroy’s favour heading into the final round where he will partner 2009 champion Cabrera in the final group off: only once in the past 20 years has the winner not emerged from the final pairing, and – with a four shot lead – the odds are stacked in McIlroy’s favour.

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

Final round tee times

1530Kim Kyung-tae (Kor)
1540Nick Watney, Ernie Els (Rsa)
1550Paul Casey (Eng), Aaron Baddeley (Aus)
1600Bill Haas, Alex Cejka (Ger)
1610Steve Marino, Camilo Villegas (Col)
1620Gary Woodland, Jeff Overton
1630Rickie Fowler, Robert Karlsson (Swe)
1640Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Sergio Garcia (Spa)
1650Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Dustin Johnson
1700Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman
1710Ricky Barnes, Justin Rose (Eng)
1720Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk
1730Ian Poulter (Eng), David Toms
1750Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)
1800Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood (Eng)
1810Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Phil Mickelson
1820YE Yang (Kor), (x) Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
1830Matt Kuchar, Ryan Palmer
1840Tiger Woods, Martin Laird (Sco)
1850Fred Couples, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)
1900Bubba Watson, Ross Fisher (Eng)
1910Luke Donald (Eng), Bo Van Pelt
1920Jason Day (Aus), Adam Scott (Aus)
1930Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), KJ Choi (Kor)
1940 Rory McIlroy(N Irl), Angel Cabrera (Arg)

Third round scores & totals

(USA unless stated, Irish in bold, par 72)

204 Rory McIlroy(NIrl) 65 69 70

208Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 71 68, K J Choi (Kor) 67 70 71, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 71 70 67, Jason Day (Aus) 72 64 72

209Adam Scott (Aus) 72 70 67, Luke Donald (Eng) 72 68 69

210Bo Van Pelt 73 69 68

211Tiger Woods 71 66 74, Ross Fisher (Eng) 69 71 71, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 69 69 73, Bubba Watson 73 71 67, Fred Couples 71 68 72

212Ryan Palmer 71 72 69, Martin Laird (Sco) 74 69 69, Matt Kuchar 68 75 69, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 67 72 73

213Steve Stricker 72 70 71, Phil Mickelson 70 72 71, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 72 73 68, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 65 73 75, Lee Westwood (Eng) 72 67 74, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 74 70 69

214Ricky Barnes 68 71 75, Jim Furyk 72 68 74, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 73 70, David Toms 72 69 73, Ian Poulter (Eng) 74 69 71, Brandt Snedeker 69 71 74

215Dustin Johnson 74 68 73, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 71 71 73, Charley Hoffman 74 69 72, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 69 73 73, Justin Rose (Eng) 73 71 71, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 69 71 75, Rickie Fowler 70 69 76, Ryan Moore 70 73 72

216Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 70 74, Gary Woodland 69 73 74

217Steve Marino 74 71 72, Jeff Overton 73 72 72

218Bill Haas 74 70 74, Paul Casey (Eng) 70 72 76, Camilo Villegas (Col) 70 75 73, Alex Cejka (Ger) 72 71 75

219Nick Watney 72 72 75, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 75 70 74

221Ernie Els (Rsa) 75 70 76

223Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 70 75 78