Kenny Perry is a man on a mission who is running out of time. That the 48-year-old desperately wants to win the 73rd Masters Tournament can be seen in his determined look, self-confidence and, most of all, by how he's been playing.

Co-leader Kenny Perry (left) shakes hands with Chad Campbell after their round. Perry says he's eager for today's challenge. (Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff)

Perry continued to stay atop the leaderboard at Augusta National Golf Club, firing a 2-under-par 70 on Saturday to share the 54-hole lead with Argentina's Angel Cabrera, who shot 69.

They are at 11-under-par 205 through 54 holes.

"It's going to be a big test for me," Perry said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm looking forward to see what I got. This may be my last time to have this kind of opportunity."

A victory today would change the perception of Perry, who would not only become the oldest Masters winner, but the oldest in major championship history.

Jack Nicklaus is the oldest Masters champion at age 46; Julius Boros, the 1968 PGA Championship winner, is the oldest major championship winner at 48 years, 4 months. Perry is 48 years, 10 months old.

A victory today would also give Perry his first major championship to go with 13 PGA Tour victories.

"We've got 18 holes to go, and I'm in a great spot," said Perry, who has never finished in the top-10 in eight previous Masters. "I've got something that I can achieve that will move me up another notch on the totem pole on the PGA Tour.

"I go from a good player to maybe people start thinking I'm a better player than just a good player," Perry said. "I'm never thinking I'm a superstar, but most people who talk about me say I'm a nice guy and I'm a good player, and that's about all you hear. So maybe things will change; I can change that attitude tomorrow."

Perry and Cabrera's 11-under 54-hole total is the same total Trevor Immelman had last year heading into Sunday. With more favorable weather conditions and a golfer-friendly setup this year, the leaders know it's going to take a much better round than the 75 that Immleman shot last year to win it.

Cabrera and Perry will go off at 2:35 p.m. this afternoon with history on their side.

Seventeen of the previous 18 winners have come out of the final pairing. The only exception was Zach Johnson in 2007.

Perry and Cabrera have a host of players on their heels. Seven are within six shots, headed by Chad Campbell, who is two shots off the lead despite an untidy finish.

Campbell, the first-round leader and the second-round co-leader with Perry, played his final three holes in 2-over to shoot 72.

Former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk (68 on Saturday) is three back; Steve Stricker (68) is four back; and Rory Sabbatini (70), Shingo Katayama (70) and Todd Hamilton (72) are five back. Tim Clark (72) trails by six.

Then come the big guns seven shots back. They include four-time champion Tiger Woods (70) and two-time winner Phil Mickelson (71), who are paired together and go off at 1:35 p.m.

The biggest comeback in Masters history is eight shots, by Jack Burke Jr. in 1956.

Woods has never won any of his 14 major championships by coming from behind after 54 holes.

"There are quite a few guys that have a shot at it," Perry said.

Most of them don't have the kind of front-runner reputation Perry does. Of the 16 times Perry has been the leader or co-leader of a tournament after 54 holes, he's won nine times. What's more, as he's gotten older, his winning percentage has increased. He has won eight of the past 10 times he's been the leader after three rounds.

Padraig Harrington, who had a nine on No. 2 and still shot 73, likes the chances of Perry, who he says "has a lot of form leading from the front."

"This golf course sets up perfect for him," 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir said of Perry. "To me his game is kind of made for this place."

It took what Cabrera called a "spectacular" round Saturday to claim a share of the lead. He played the back nine in 2-under 34 to become the only player in the field to break 70 in all three rounds. He opened with a pair of 68s.

"I'm lucky enough to be in very good position," Cabrera said through a translator. "I haven't been in this position very often. I'm going to try to make the most of it tomorrow."

This won't be the first time Cabrera and Perry have played together. The stakes were never this high before, though.

"I've played with Kenny several times already, and he's a great competitor," Cabrera said. "I'm sure he's feeling very well about what he's doing at this point."

Not really, at least not early Saturday. Perry said he didn't have his "A game" at the start but was able to "settle down and get into the round."

Perry didn't want to talk about what winning the Masters would mean to him.

"I'll answer that question tomorrow night if I actually get that jacket," he said.

Cabrera already has a major championship. He won the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Perry's best shot came at the 1996 PGA Championship, which he lost in a playoff to Mark Brooks in his native Kentucky after a poor finish.

"I wish I could redo that one over," Perry said. "That one stings. That one is still with me today. I've carried it a long time."

After two years that featured few final-round fireworks because of a tough course made even tougher by the weather, today is shaping up to be a shootout like the days of old.

Perry said the back nine "is where it's going to happen."

"You could definitely have somebody catch fire," said Sean O'Hair, who had 68 and is among the group seven shots back. O'Hair believes players could go as low as 5-under on the back nine.

Unlike the past two years, the weather forecast calls for high temperatures and winds of no more than 12 mph.

Since Woods' Masters debut in 1995 as an amateur, he has won a green jacket at least every four years. This is the fourth year since his last win in 2005.

He's coming off his biggest PGA Tour comeback at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. But that was five shots.

After finishing his round well before the leaders finished, Woods said if Perry or Campbell shot at least 2-under in the round, they would "almost put it out of reach" for him. Perry did shoot that 2-under round.

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.