Rose blossoms to put pressure on leader Spieth

Justin Rose produced a stunning burst of scoring to take advantage of a late blunder from Jordan Spieth and set up a thrilling final day of the 79th Masters at Augusta National.

Rose was two-over par after five holes of the third round but played the remaining 13 in seven under, holing a bunker shot on the 16th as he reeled off five birdies in the last six holes.

And with Spieth carding a double bogey on the 17th, the American's seven-shot lead had been drastically reduced, although the 21-year-old still set a new 54-hole scoring record at the Masters.

At 16-under par, Spieth broke the record shared by Ray Floyd and Tiger Woods by a single shot to lead by four from 2013 US Open champion Rose, with three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson a shot further back and Charley Hoffman on 10 under.

World number one Rory McIlroy and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods sit in a five-way tie for fifth, albeit 10 shots off the lead after matching rounds of 68.

Spieth's halfway total of 130 had not only set a new Masters record but also equalled the lowest 36-hole total in major championship history and, at 14-under, was the lowest in relation to par in any major.

The world number four was the fourth player to have a five-shot halfway lead in the Masters after Herman Keiser (1946), Jack Nicklaus (1975) and Floyd (1976) - all of whom went on to win - with Floyd the last man to hold the outright lead after every round.

Looking to become the second youngest champion ever - he is five months older than Woods was in 1997 - Spieth also became just the second player after Woods to reach 18 under par in the Masters when he carded his seventh birdie of the day on the 16th.

At that point he was seven shots clear of the field, only to take six on the 17th after a wayward drive, poor pitch and three putts, while Rose finished in style with a birdie on the 18th to ensure he would be in the final group on Sunday.

Spieth, who led by two shots after seven holes of the final round last year, said: "Last year definitely left a bad taste and I have been looking to get back here and get some revenge but I have a long way to go still.

"It was weird because I had 24 hours from the time I finished on Friday to teeing off today and that's a long time to sit on a lead like that. I maybe got a little anxious at times but all in all kept it together with the putter."

Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell both had days to forget as they plummeted down the leaderboard.

Clarke hit eight bogeys and just three birdies for a five over par 77 that left him on six over, and two spots off last place.

McDowell fared only one shot better as he bogeyed the 17th and 18th for a 76, which leaves him in joint 51st.

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