AUGUSTA (USA): Tiger Woods stayed firmly in sight of winning his fifth Masters golf title despite a bogey-bogey third-round finish on Saturday, while India's Jeev Milkha Singh played one of the smartest rounds of his career to give himself a long shot at the title on one of the chilliest and toughest days in Masters history.

But to do so, Woods will have to do something he has never done before — win a Major when not in the lead or tied for the lead at the end of the third round. All 12 of his previous Major wins have come when he has been in front.

Starting the day tied for 15th, five strokes off joint leaders Tim Clark of South Africa and Brett Wetterich of the U.S., he ended it, after a par-72, one stroke behind Stuart Appleby of Australia, whose 73 gave him the lead at two-over par 218.

Meanwhile, debutant Jeev shot a 76 that looked certain to be much better before he ran into an unexpected late double bogey on the 15th. At the end, he had totalled 223, which was only five shots off the leader.

Sharing second place with Woods at three under was England's Justin Rose.

Making a return

Jeev was tied 16th, a position if he maintains will guarantee a return to the Masters next year. The top 16 and tied are assured of a berth into the following year's Masters.

With most of American media still confused between Jeev and Vijay Singh, there was added mirth in the form of a final day's pairing of Jeev and Vijay Singh.

The costliest part for Jeev was the double bogey at the par five 15th hole. After laying up with his second, his third shot from well behind the water rolled off the putting surface and back into the water hazard guarding the green. That ended in a double. He hung in with three closing pars.

He fired one birdie on 13 and dropped three other bogeys, two from three putts. For the third day running he three-putted 10th.

After three days of torture on one of the most beautiful golf courses in the World, not one player was under par and the tournament had the highest score to lead after 54 holes in Masters history, effacing the even-par total after three rounds set by Jack Nicklaus and Tommy Jacobs in 1966.

More difficult

The fast and furious greens and fairways that had sent scores spiralling on the much-lengthened Augusta National course in the first two rounds were made all the more difficult by unseasonably cold conditions of around 48 degrees Fahrenheit and a biting and troublesome north wind.

The first eight players out in the morning set the tone with no one managing to make par, and the leaders fared no better as Clark and Wetterich were sent toppling from their perch within three holes.

They were not alone in their struggles, as par became the height of ambitions. Only Woods and Appleby were heading in the right direction on the scoreboard.

Woods had to scramble to save par after a wayward approach on the first, but he struck his first birdie at the par-five second.

With confidence surging back into his game, he sunk an 18-footer at the eighth to reach the turn in 34 before bogeying the par-three 12th for the second straight day, this time hitting too long into a back bunker.

Bouncing back

But he bounced back immediately, pitching to six feet for a birdie at the par-five 13th, Two holes later, he had the chance to get back to level par for the first time since the sixth hole in the first round, but three-putted.

Then an errant drive on the 17th resulted in his second bogey of the day followed by another on the last to emulate his poor finish in the first round.

Appleby, bidding to become the first Australian to win the Masters, jumped into the lead with a run of three birdies from the second.

Mickelson struggles

Defending champion Phil Mickelson looked to get a run going when he birdied the second, but he gave that back on the fifth and like those around him it was a struggle to keep to par after that.

He eventually came in with a 73 and was at five-over for the tournament, but insisted he was still in the hunt.

The only sub-par round of a hugely difficult day went to South Africa's Retief Goosen who came in with a two-under 70. — Agencies

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