Dustin Johnson is approaching the Masters victory with an excellent third round 65

Dustin Johnson had one arm in the Green Jacket after taking a four-shot lead with a stunning third round at the Masters on Saturday.

Ten players were within one stroke at the start of the round, but Johnson was in a league of his own, mastering every facet of his game when he got away after nearly making his attacking shot for an invading eagle on the par-five seconds.

He didn’t really miss a green until the last hole, where for the only time he had to rely on his nimble short game all day to save par.

Johnson equaled Jordan Spieth’s record low Masters total for the first 54 holes – 16-under-par 200 – while South Korean Im Sung-jae (68), Mexican Abraham Ancer (69) and Australian Cameron Smith (69) were right. at 12-under.

“I swing well, have a lot of confidence in what I do,” said the American. “I was in control of my game and made a lot of really good shots where I looked.

“I will have to do the same tomorrow. I will still have to play a very good round if I want to put on the green coat.”

Only two players have surrendered a larger 54-hole lead to the Masters – Greg Norman (six shots) in 1996 and Ed Sneed (five shots) in 1979.

Rory McIlroy (2011) and Ken Venturi (1956) couldn’t close the deal with four-stroke pillows.

Despite all his talent, world number one Johnson has only one major title to his name, the 2016 US Open, a disappointing performance for a player with all the physical attributes needed for greatness.

A Tiger Woods joint runner-up here last year, he won’t take anything for granted on Sunday, but the final major of an unusual 2020 season is his win or loss.

Seemingly fully recovered from a recent attack of the novel coronavirus, Johnson showed mastery of his trusted power off the tee and had the highest distance control with his irons, a reliable putter icing on the cake.

Johnson’s performance eliminated the odds of many, including Tiger Woods, who started round four behind him but took 12 holes to get his first birdie.

A 72 that left the 15-time great champion adrift 11 strokes, a sixth Masters title a bridge too far.

Number two in the world, Jon Rahm, was another who couldn’t answer Johnson’s genius.

The Spaniard shared the lead halfway with Johnson, Thomas, Ancer and Smith, but came loose in eighth par-five.

He ran into a double bogey after his third shot hit a tree and ricocheted off in an unplayable lie in a bush.

Although Rahm fights back for a respectable 72, he was left with Johnson with seven shots.

Earlier on Saturday, he was one of 48 players to resume the second round at 7:30 am as the tournament caught up after Thursday’s long hiatus due to bad weather.

Pre-tournament favorite Bryson DeChambeau (74) made the cut with nothing and then revealed he felt “weird” and did a precautionary coronavirus test Friday night. It came back negative.

DeChambeau added a 69 in the third round, his hopes of adding a Masters win to his US Open title were gone.

What started with a morning chill in the air gave way to bright sunshine and pleasant November warmth in this unique spectator-free event, played for the first time in the fall.