Vijay Singh needed a good third round to get back into contention. He didn't get it Saturday.

The defending Masters champion shot a 73 and stands at 3-under for the tournament, nine shots off the lead. His performance ended a streak of 38 consecutive rounds at par or better.

``I'm a little disappointed,'' he said. ``It was out there for the taking ... I just wanted to go and shoot a decent score. It just didn't happen.''

Singh got off to a bad start when he made bogey on No. 1 en route to a front-nine 37. On the back side, Singh made seven pars, a birdie on No. 13 and a bogey on No. 16.

``I missed a lot of six- and eight-footers. The greens weren't as fast as I thought,'' Singh said.

IN POSITION: David Duval has talked about patience this week. On Saturday, he showed some, shooting a third-round 70. He stands at 9-under par, three shots off the pace.

``You know, it's just taking each step as it comes, and I was faced with a situation earlier where I could have gone backward quick, with (Nos.) 3 and 4, and I ended up making a par and a bogey and could very well have made 5 and 5 and gone bogey, double bogey,'' he said.

Duval was 6-under for the tournament through six holes, but made birdies on Nos. 7, 9 and 10. After a bogey on the par-4 14th, Duval recovered with a birdie on No. 15.

``I feel like I should be a little bit better than I am, score-wise, because I certainly think I've played well enough to be a few shots better,'' Duval said. ``But again, I just think that the place sets up well for me, and I feel like I have a pretty good knowledge of how to play the golf course.''

UP-AND-DOWN ROUND: Angel Cabrera had another roller coaster round Saturday at Augusta National, and poor play on the last four holes cost him a share of the lead.

The Argentinian shot a 3-under 33 on the front, then added birdies at Nos. 12 and 13 to grab the outright lead. But he found the water on the 15th and made double bogey, then bogeyed 18 to finish at 9-under 207. He's three shots behind leader Tiger Woods.

``No, I never considered it,'' Cabrera said when asked if he thought about laying up on No. 15. ``I had 3-wood in my hand. There's always the possibility that you think of that with a 6-iron, (but) it didn't cross my mind.''

TRIPLETT'S DAY: Kirk Triplett shot his second consecutive 70 Saturday and is tied for eighth place, four shots behind Woods.

His day included five birdies and three bogeys. He finds himself in unusual territory heading into the final round of a major.

``Usually I'm cussing by Saturday night of a major,'' he said. ``I really enjoyed it out there. I played with Jose (Maria Olazabal) all three days, and I watched his craft. I've enjoyed it.''

STRESSED OUT: Jonathan Kaye , off in the second group of the day Saturday with Franklin Langham , wasn't happy that his group was put on the clock and timed. If the twosome had enough bad times, they could have been penalized.

``We finished in the exact time we were supposed to, and we were rushed around the whole golf course,'' said Kaye, who shot 74.

Langham, who shot 75, said being rushed cost him ``two or three'' shots.

``Both of us were running around all day like chickens with our head cut off,'' Kaye said. ``It's not too enjoyable.''

Kaye and Langham fell behind the lead group, Bob May and noncompeting marker John Harris, after Kaye made a double bogey on No. 5 and Langham made bogey. They still played in three hours and 46 minutes. The group behind Kaye and Langham never had to wait to hit.

``I think it's appalling to be timed around this golf course when you take one look at the greens,'' Kaye said. ``I played in the U.S. Open last year, and they didn't worry about pace of play out there. I got to the third and fourth hole and had to wait an hour and 15 minutes to hit my shot.''

PLAYING IN PAIN: Chris Perry's week hasn't gone as he envisioned. Perry injured his left knee on the driving range before the second round on Friday. During that round, he slipped on the pine straw at No. 2 and reinjured the knee.

Perry shot a second-straight 74 and is at even-par through 54 holes.

MONDAY AFTER MASTERS: Hootie & the Blowfish will hold its annual Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C. This is the first year the event will be held at Kiawah Island, site of the 1991 Ryder Cup.

Celebrities expected to attend are John Elway, Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, Branford Marsalis, Edwin McCain and members of Sister Hazel. They will be joined by PGA Tour pros such as John Daly, Peter Jacobsen and Lee Janzen.

Proceeds from the tournament will go to junior golf.

TOMS TROUBLES: David Toms shot a gutsy third-round 71 after playing with a stomach bug he caught from his 3-year-old son, Carter, earlier in the week.

``I got sick all night again,'' he said. ``I have a doctor staying with me, but he's an anesthesiologist; he knows nothing about the stomach.

``Once I got on the golf course, I didn't feel too bad. I've only had a piece of toast and a banana in the last 24 hours.''

FURYK'S FINISH: Jim Furyk was 5-under on his round and 9-under for the tournament after birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. Then he gave three shots back on the last three holes to finish 6-under.

On No. 16, Furyk three-putted for bogey. On No. 17, he missed a five-foot par putt. On the final hole, his drive in the woods led to a bogey.

``I'm disappointed in my round,'' he said. ``I have to come out and play well (today) ... I still have to go out and use the same game plan. Whether I'm 10 back or two back, I'm going to attack the course the same way.''