Dustin Johnson takes four-stroke lead

AUGUSTA: World number one Dustin Johnson will take a four-stroke lead going into the final round of the Augusta Masters and is poised to win the tournament he coveted in his childhood dreams.

On Saturday, Johnson came out with a dominant performance as he pulled away with a bogey-free seven-under 65 to lead on 16 under after round three. Sungjae Im of South Korea, Abraham Ancer of Mexico and Australia's Cameron Smith are closest to him at 12 under.

The American golfer, who got off to a hot start with a 65 in the weather-interrupted first round, is the first player in Masters' history to shoot two scores of 65 or lower in the same tournament.

"I put myself in the situation a lot of times. I know what it takes," Johnson was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website.

"I know how I respond in this situation. I'm very comfortable with having the lead going into tomorrow. I've been in this situation a lot of times. I'm looking forward to the challenge. It's still going to be a tough day. I'm going to have to play well if I want to get it done tomorrow," he added.

The 36-year-old is trying to become the fourth player to win a Green Jacket as number one in the official world golf ranking, which debuted prior to the 1986 tournament. Ian Woosnam (1991), Fred Couples and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002, 2005) had earlier done so. IANS

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