Hideki Matsuyama produced a flawless seven-under-par 65 as his stunning late blitz earned a four-stroke lead heading into the final round of The Masters.
Matsuyama – chasing his maiden major title and Japan's first in men's golf – made a huge splash on moving day at Augusta, where the 29-year-old seized control following a weather delay on Saturday.
After inclement weather halted proceedings, Matsuyama jumped out of the blocks and gained six shots in seven holes to leave overnight leader Justin Rose in his tracks.
Matsuyama – who birdied the seventh hole on a bogey-free front nine – was red hot following the turn, the five-time PGA Tour champion birdieing the 11th and 12th.
Unstoppable, Matsuyama eagled the 15th before following that up with back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th as he soared to 11 under through 54 holes.
Matsuyama – making his 87th start since his last victory at the 2017 WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational – posted the first bogey-free round this week and his best score in 37 rounds at The Masters.
Xander Schauffele and Marc Leishman also made their moves to join Rose and Will Zalatoris in a share of second spot heading into Sunday's final round.
Runner-up in 2019, American Schauffele improved 10 positions thanks to a third-round 68, which included an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
Leishman (70) – who finished tied for fourth in 2013 – enjoyed a strong finish, with two birdies from his final bogey-free six holes leaving him in a mix to become just the second Australian to win a green jacket after Adam Scott (2013).
The penultimate day did not go according to plan for Englishman Rose, who signed for a second consecutive 72 in Georgia.
It was a mixed day for Rose as the one-time major champion split three birdies and as many bogeys, while American Zalatoris (71) is also seven under overall.
Highlighted by an ace on the sixth hole, Corey Conners posted a four-under-par 68 to be outright sixth, five strokes behind Matsuyama.
Former world number one and 2015 champion Jordan Spieth – who ended his near-four-year title drought last week – will begin Sunday six shots off the pace following his 72.
Another former Masters winner, 2018 champion Patrick Reed, is four strokes further back after shooting a two-under-par 70 to be level alongside Justin Thomas (75) and last year's runner-up Cameron Smith (73).
Rahm sets sights on Ryder Cup but refuses to pay DP World Tour fines
Jon Rahm has no intention of paying the fines dealt his way by the DP World Tour, as he reiterated his desire to play at the Ryder Cup.
Rahm, who starred as Europe beat the United States in Rome last year to regain the Ryder Cup, moved to LIV Golf in February.
The Spaniard's participation in next year's Ryder Cup, which will be held in New York, remains in doubt.
Rahm was slapped with fines for playing in LIV tournaments that clashed with DP World Tour events without having requested permission.
If he does not play in three more DP World Tour tournaments before the end of the season in November, he will not be eligible to play at the Ryder Cup.
However, despite Rahm entering the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, he will be unable to play until he pays his fines, something the 29-year-old does not plan on doing.
"I'm not a big fan of the fines. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen," he said.
"I intend to play in Spain. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing."
Former European captain Padraig Harrington has limited sympathy for Rahm.
"I'm a stickler for the rules," he said.
"I'm friends with Jon but if the rules are written down, that's just the way it is. The Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match. It is the backbone of the European Tour.
"The European Tour doesn't have a lot of leverage to get players to come back across and play here. The Ryder Cup is the carrot that we use to get people to come back.
"It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and the Ryder Cup but if the 12th guy who qualifies by sticking to the rules gets bumped out, he's not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can't forget that person."
McIlroy hoping for 'solution' to latest PGA-PIF talks
Rory McIlroy hopes there will be a "solution" from this week's scheduled talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Tiger Woods is reportedly among a number of PGA Tour representatives in New York for discussions with representatives from PIF, which funds the LIV Golf tour.
Negotiations for a deal that would inject over $1billion from PIF into PGA Tour Enterprises - launched by the tour and Strategic Sports Group as the new for-profit entity - began over a year ago,
McIlroy recently revealed his frustration at the lack of progress, but is hopeful the ongoing issues will soon be resolved.
"I think everyone in the game would love there to be one [a resolution]," the world number three told BBC Sport NI.
"A solution is hard to get to because there are different interests and people want different things. There's going to have to be compromise on both sides but hopefully they're the things they're talking about in those meetings.
"I'm hopeful and hopefully we'll be hear some good news in the foreseeable future where things start to come back together."
McIlroy was speaking ahead of this week's Irish Open at Royal County Down, where he hopes to deal with the pressure of performing on home soils.
"I've had to learn over the years how to manage my week when I come home," he added. "I'm trying so hard to perform in front of the home fans, but then if I push too hard, it's detrimental to my game.
"It's about managing all those emotions and getting lost in my own little world, and not trying to do anything I wouldn't normally do.
"Just go out there and play the best golf that I can and not get too frustrated when things don't go my way. If I can do that then I think I'll be OK.
"It would be extra special [to win here]. After everything that went on this summer and being so close to winning the US Open and being close at the Olympics as well, it would be a nice way to forget about those things and move on."
Ronaldo: 'You cannot rebuild Man United without knowledge'
Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester United "cannot rebuild without knowledge" as he urged Erik ten Hag to take advice from assistant coach - and former Red Devils striker - Ruud van Nistelrooy.
United opened the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham, but then suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.
It is the second time under Ten Hag the Red Devils have lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season (also 2022-23); as many times as in their previous 29 campaigns combined.
United have also scored three goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have so far this term (two goals, 5.2 xG), the biggest such difference for any team in the Premier League.
Ten Hag was recently joined in the dugout by compatriot Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 in 219 appearances at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2006.
And Ronaldo - the scorer of 145 in 346 games across his two spells - thinks the Red Devils will benefit from the wisdom of people with prior experience and knowledge of the club.
"[As the] Man United manager; you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the Premier League or Champions League," he told former team-mate Rio Ferdinand on FiveUK.
"You've to say: 'maybe we've not got the potential, but we're going to try'. You have to try!
"If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy, maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there [like] Rio, Roy Keane, [Paul] Scholes, Gary Neville, Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."
United return to action this weekend away at pointless Southampton, against whom they are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League visits since a 1-0 defeat in August 2003.
The Red Devils have also lost just one of their last 30 Premier League matches against promoted sides, winning 15 of their last 17 such games.
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