AUGUSTA, Ga. - Record scores on the white boards at Augusta National Golf Club.
Ground-shaking roars for Tiger Woods along the back nine on a Saturday at the Masters.
Francesco Molinari blocked out the buzz during a delirious third round in which nine players shared space atop the leaderboard. He emerged with another rock-solid round that looked spectacular only on his scorecard but was good enough for a two-stroke lead after 54 holes at the year's first major tournament.
Molinari ran off four straight birdies on the back nine for a 6-under-par 66 that moved him to 13-under 203 and kept Woods, Tony Finau and everyone else at a short arm's length going into a Sunday unlike any other at the Masters. Everyone will have an early start because of storms forecast for this afternoon, with threesomes going off the first and 10th tees and the leaders set to tee off at 9:20 this morning.
That puts Woods, tied for second with Finau, in the final group at the Masters for the first time in 12 years.
Molinari, a 36-year-old Italian, played with Woods on the final day of the British Open last summer at Carnoustie Golf Links and outplayed the 14-time major champion amid a crowded leaderboard for his first major victory.
This is different.
This is Augusta National, where the gallery that cheered louder with each third-round birdie by Woods made it clear they were aching to see the four-time Masters winner slip a green jacket over a red shirt for the first time since 2005.
"He obviously loves this place, and he's playing great golf," Molinari said. "So I'm aware that it's not going to be easy tomorrow, and like I said, I can just do my best."
Woods has not played in the final group at a major since he gave up a two-shot lead to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship. He got there Saturday with three straight birdies on the front and finished with three birdies over his last six holes for a 67, his best score at the Masters since the final round in 2011.
Joining them will be Finau, playing this year on two good ankles after a self-inflicted injury a year ago. He was part of a history-making Saturday as one of three players to shoot a 64.
It wasn't enough to rattle Molinari, who doesn't get excited easily - whether he's cradling a claret jug or going 5-0 in the Ryder Cup, as he did last September in France. His strategy doesn't change in any environment: try to hit the ball squarely, play smart, avoid bogeys. It's working so well that Molinari goes into the final round having gone 43 consecutive holes without a bogey.
"A lot of guys are playing great. I wish I only had to worry about him," Molinari said of Woods.
Another shot behind and alone in fourth was Brooks Koepka, who has won three of the past six majors and had a 69 despite four bogeys.
Woods has won all 14 of his majors when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round. He brings momentum to this major, having contended in the past two.
"It's been a while since I've been in contention here," Woods said. "But then again, the last two majors count for something. I've been in the mix with a chance to win major championships in the last two years, and so that helps."
Molinari knows what kind of atmosphere Woods brings to a major. Woods briefly took the lead in the final round of the British Open last year, but Molinari never flinched, playing bogey-free for the big victory.
Augusta National might sound different than a tough links course along the North Sea of Scotland.
This is where Woods first captured the attention of the sporting public when he set 20 records in winning the first of his four green jackets in 1997. This is the gallery that has longed to see him recapture the past, especially after four back surgeries that only two years ago left him hobbling up the stairs, wondering if he would play again.
Woods, who closed the 2017-18 PGA Tour season with his first win in five years, has looked as good as new in Augusta - even for a 43-year-old who hasn't won a major title in nearly 11 years.
"I'm just thankful to be able to come back here and play again," Woods said.
Former Baylor School and University of Georgia golfer Keith Mitchell, who made it to the weekend in his Masters debut, followed his opening 72 and second-round 74 with another par round - but one in which he made par on just three holes. The 27-year-old Chattanooga native rode a roller coaster of birdies and bogeys, making seven of each and heading to the final round tied for 50th at 2 over.
Woods joined the chasing pack on a day when going neutral meant losing ground. The 65 players combined to go 80-under par, at 70.77 the second-lowest scoring average in Masters history.
When he rolled in a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th, and the massive gallery rose to their feet with yet another ear-splitting roar, Woods became the ninth player who had at least a share of the lead Saturday. Molinari, playing in the final group, kept right on rolling.
"I hit the ball a little less well than yesterday," Molinari said. "But I holed some really good putts at 4 and 5 to save par. I can only be happy about today. It will be an exciting day tomorrow."
No one figures to be as excited as Finau, who turned his ankle celebrating a hole-in-one in the pre-Masters par 3 contest last year at Augusta National. He still managed to tie for 10th in his first Masters.
He nearly holed a 4-iron on the par-5 eighth Saturday on his way to a record-tying 30 on the front nine.
Because of the change in starting times, Finau gets to play alongside Woods - his golfing hero.
"As a kid, I always wanted to compete against him I've dreamed of playing in the final group with him in a major championship," Finau said.
Webb Simpson, who also shot a 64, joined Ian Poulter (68) at 9-under, four shots out of the lead, tied for fifth and very much in the picture.