Patrick Reed faces one final Masters test

The rain arrived on schedule, but it wasn’t as severe as anticipated and never threatened to stop play at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday.

That might have been about the only thing to slow down Patrick Reed, who added to his lead in the softened conditions at the 82nd Masters Tournament.

He’ll be breaking out his traditional final-round outfit of red shirt and black pants in tribute to his hero Tiger Woods today. He’s worn it for all five of his PGA Tour wins, the last one coming in August 2016.

Reed, who led by two shots after two rounds, is now up by three shots over Rory McIlroy after a 5-under-par 67 in a round that featured eagles on the two back-nine par-5s.

It’s been a new Reed this week at Augusta National, where he missed the cut last year and his best finish in four starts is a tie for 22nd place in 2015. He’d never broken 70 before this week and now hasn’t left the 60s in the first three rounds.

PHOTOS: Reed's Third Round at Augusta

The former Augusta State All-American is 18 holes away from his first major championship, just 10 minutes away from where he played the last two years of his college golf, leading the Jaguars to back-to-back NCAA Division I national titles.

“I think the biggest thing is just going out and playing golf,” Reed said. “I’m trying to not allow the moment to take over me. Really just go out and play some golf and just hit golf shots.”

Reed, who has tied a tournament record by going 13-under on the par-5s through 54 holes, leads the field in birdies (18, to go with two eagles) and is tied with McIlroy for fewest putts (79, with 28 coming Saturday).

“I feel like I’m hitting the ball well enough, I feel like I’m putting well enough. I just need to go out and play the game and not worry about everything else and just play golf,” Reed said.

He is being chased by McIlroy, who led the field with 23 putts Saturday and is taking his fourth crack at becoming the sixth golfer to win the career grand slam (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship).

McIlroy is also trying to become the third consecutive European winner here.

It’s the first time McIlroy has been the final pairing here on a Sunday since 2011, when he carried a four-shot lead into the final round, shot 80 and finished tied for 15th.

PHOTOS: McIlroy's Moving Day

“I’ve been waiting for this chance, to be honest,” said McIlroy, who had five birdies and an eagle while taking advantage of several fortunate breaks Saturday.

McIlroy birdied Nos. 15 and 18 coming in to claim a spot in the final pairing, which is always a good place to be in this tournament. Three of the past four Masters champions have emerged from the final round’s last pairing. Reed and McIlroy tee off at 2:40 p.m.

Rickie Fowler also had 65 and is five shots behind Reed. Jon Rahm, in just his second Masters start, also shot 65 and is in fourth place, trailing by six shots.

Reed is the only one of that group who is not in the top 10 in the world golf ranking. McIlroy is No. 7, Fowler No. 8 and Rahm No. 3.

Reed, who is ranked 24th in the world and famously said he considered himself a “top-five player in the world” after his win at Doral in 2014, would still not move into that class with a win today. It is projected he’d move up to 12th.

Only McIlroy has won a major championship of that group, and he’s got four of them.

“It’s going to be electrifying,” Reed said of today’s final round. “The fans are going to be ready to go, they are going to be ready to cheer for whoever is making putts, whoever is making birdies or pulling off shots.”

Reed is just the 13th player in Masters history to shoot three consecutive rounds in the 60s, and the first since Lee Westwood in 2010. No one in Masters history has done it in all four rounds. The closest calls came when Arnold Palmer (1964), Fred Couples (1992) and Phil Mickelson (2001) shot 70s in the final round.

PHOTOS: Fowler's Third Round

The tournament record of 18-under, held by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, could also be in danger today. Reed could tie it with 68.

McIlroy, who at 28 is a year older than Reed, opened with 69-71 and trailed Reed by five shots after 36 holes.

“I’m closer to the lead than I was starting off the day, which is a bonus, especially when you see Patrick goes out and shoots 67 and obviously played very well,” McIlroy said.

Fowler was two shots off the lead after 54 holes last year, but he shot 76 and tied for 11th. Now he’s five back, but only two players are ahead of him.

“I think the big thing is I’ll need to make some key putts, whether they are for birdie or pars, not to fall further behind, and to really put ourselves in a position to go win this tournament, and that’s on the last nine holes,” Fowler said. “I’m definitely playing this golf course the best I have, ever, as far as how comfortable I am on each and every hole, playing all the holes well.”

Fowler had just 26 putts Saturday, which tied for the second-fewest in the round.

PHOTOS: More Third Round Action at Augusta

“It nice to see that it’s warming back up,” he said. “My putter is typically one of the best clubs in the bag. It went a little bit cold on me the last few months, but the last few weeks, it’s definitely nice to have it back. It’s a big, big help when it’s ready to play. I’m a ways back, but I’m definitely well within striking distance, especially at this tournament.”