It was 47 degrees with wind chills even lower at 7 p.m. Saturday as the sun was setting on Augusta National Golf Club.

Vaughn Taylor ()

It felt like the proverbial cold day in hell, and certainly many players thought it was just that; fans, too, considering that the course normally teeming with patrons was practically deserted.

In the middle of all this misery for the duration of one hole, Augusta's own Vaughn Taylor was leading the Masters Tournament all by himself.

"Yeah, I knew," Taylor said of the place he's dreamed of being all his life. "I wasn't watching the board much, but I did know at that time."

With his first birdie of the long day on the 15th hole, Taylor assumed the lead as everyone around him was falling apart.

"I was nervous, but I felt good," Taylor said.

Taylor's status, however, didn't last long, despite the partisan support from the few stalwart fans following him over the closing holes. He lost the outright lead with a three-putt bogey on No. 16. He lost his share of the lead and a place in today's final twosome with a bunkered bogey on No. 17. He lost a little more ground with a third-straight bogey on 18 when his 12-foot par putt missed.

Despite sitting two shots behind leader Stuart Appleby, the Augusta-bred golfer couldn't help but leave the course Saturday night thinking less about the opportunity he has Sunday and more about the opportunity that slipped away with a 5-over-par 77.

"I'm disappointed right now," he said. "I'm really not happy with the way I finished."

That's understandable, but Taylor was not alone. Tiger Woods was disgusted after finishing with back-to-back bogeys. Appleby was furious after butchering the 17th hole with a triple bogey. The 36-hole co-leaders, Tim Clark and Brett Wetterich, shot a combined 19-over.

The carnage was everywhere on a day that CBS commentator David Feherty said was "like being tortured by a beautiful woman."

There's no guarantee today will be much better, and Taylor certainly faces a daunting task.

The last Masters winner to come from outside the final twosome was Nick Faldo in 1990. Playing with Jack Nicklaus in the group ahead of leader Raymond Floyd and John Huston, Faldo shot 69 and won in a playoff over Scott Hoch.

Only four times in the past 29 majors has the winner come from behind after 54 holes. Only twice has that winner come from outside the final Sunday pairing - Geoff Ogilvy in last year's U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and Ben Curtis in the 2003 British Open at Royal St. Georges.

Both Mike Weir at the 2003 Masters and Rich Beem at the 2002 PGA at Hazeltine rallied from the last group.

So Taylor - who is fighting a few Sunday demons of his own this season - has that history and the world's best player to contend with.

"It's disappointing to see Tiger up there," Taylor said of the four-time winner's place in the last group that has produced 16 consecutive winners.

That even Woods has never rallied to win any of his dozen majors came as little comfort.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "He's Tiger Woods, though."

That's the kind of thinking Taylor needs to put out of his mind. Woods' presence in the final twosome at the Masters is hard to ignore. Even Appleby admits he's "never had his way with Tiger Woods."

Taylor can't think that way if he's to give Augusta its second milestone moment at the Masters.

Twenty years ago this week, not many people would have given Larry Mize much of a chance as he stepped to the 10th tee in a sudden-death playoff with two of the game's most imposing giants - Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros. It was Mize who seized the moment, though.

"You never know what's going to happen," Taylor said. "I always think of someone making a back-nine charge. As difficult as it is, it's tough to see that happening. Hopefully, I can pull something special off (today) and see what happens on the back nine."

All Taylor wanted to do at the end of a long day was to settle into his home in Evans, take a hot shower and try to relax. He needs to shake off whatever lingering disappointment there is about his finish and start repeating to himself over and over the words Gary Player told him Friday.

You're a great player, and you can win this thing. You're a great player, and you can win this thing.

"That's probably good advice," Taylor said. "I need to do that tomorrow."

So when 7 p.m. rolls around today, Taylor will be facing a much different scene. The bleachers will be packed. The Masters will be on the line.

These cold days in a place Taylor calls heaven don't come around very often. Maybe Taylor will be able to channel some of that anniversary Augusta magic and take a lead that lasts a lifetime.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.