Angel Cabrera remained in contention to become the first Argentinian winner of the Masters Tournament despite a shaky start to his final round at Augusta National.
Kenny Perry held a one-shot lead after parring his opening six holes, while Phil Mickelson had roared up the leaderboard by completing the front nine in a sensational 30 strokes.
Cabrera, looking to secure a second major title following his success at the 2007 US Open, birdied the third hole to take the outright lead at 12 under par, before dropping shots at four and five to fall one behind playing partner Perry.
Chad Campbell was alongside Cabrera on ten under following a birdie at the third, while Mickelson was also within one of the lead thanks to his incredible early onslaught.
Playing alongside Tiger Woods, the man he is looking to replace at the head of the world rankings, Mickelson claimed four birdies in his opening six holes.
The 38-year-old then produced an astonishing shot from the light rough on the right of the seventh fairway, drawing the ball around the trees to within three feet of the hole and subsequently claiming another birdie to move to nine under.
And there was more to come at the par five eighth, as the two-time Masters Tournament champion claimed a sixth birdie of the day.
Woods, meanwhile, was still in the hunt himself, with a sensational eagle at eight taking him to seven under.
Further down the field, England’s Ian Poulter remained on his overnight score of four under after following a birdie at the fifth with a bogey on the next hole.
Playing partner Lee Westwood birdied the first to move to five under, but a double bogey at seven saw him slip back into a tie for 16th.
Elsewhere, Sandy Lyle was continuing his fine week, the Scotsman two under for his round and three under for the tournament with five holes still to play.
And Justin Rose bounced back from double bogeys on nine and 11 with two wonderful eagles on 13 and 15, to leave him on two under with three to play.
Ross Fisher was the first man to break 70 on the final day, the Englishman carding six birdies in a 69 which took him to a creditable one under aggregate on his Masters Tournament debut.
"My theory this week was to try and get the ball in the right spots and hole a few putts,” he said. “I think I did that pretty well.”
Fellow countryman Paul Casey followed Fisher into the clubhouse with a 69 of his own, his first sub-par round of the tournament, to end on two under par.
Casey was also willing to take positives from the week, saying: “I have learnt a lot and it is a golf course you learn something from every time you come here.”
Defending champion Trevor Immelman finished on the same score as Fisher and Casey after also completing his tournament with a 69.
And Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was another player on two under after ending his first week at Augusta in sensational fashion.
The teenager looked set to finish way down the field following an outward nine of 39, but he responded with five birdies on the way home to post a fine 70.
Australia's Aaron Baddeley went one better with a 69 which left him on four under overall, the same score as playing partner Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez carded a 73 to finish on six over for the tournament, while Argentina’s Andres Romero posted a second successive 77 to tie for 49th and last place on ten over.
