(Follow Tom Spousta all week for real-time coverage of the Masters. Tom has written about golf for USA Today, the New York Times and other national publications.

7:34 The Masters doesn't disappoint, and Sunday's duel across the Cathedral of Pines has several subplots and history-making possibilities wrapped around it. Kenny Perry can become the oldest to win the Green Jacket. Angel Cabrera, who stared down Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods and won a U.S. Open at Oakmont, has fired three rounds in the 60s; nobody in Masters history has shot four scores in the 60s. Perry and Cabrera have recent history on their side, too ... the champion in 17 of the past 18 years has come from the final group, with only Zach Johnson as the exception in 2007.

Woods and Phil Mickelson are 7 strokes behind, but are playing together, and the roars they cause could roll across Augusta National and shake even the strongest nerves of groups behind them. Will it be Furyk who rallies? Stricker who charges? Or someone else?

Once again, it's a drama that only the Masters can script.

7:07 Kenny Perry never faltered. Had it under control all the way. It's him and Cabrera in the final group Sunday, and Perry has a chance to become the oldest Masters champ. He's the oldest to lead a Masters third round at 48 years old; previous oldest 54-hole leader was Raymond Floyd, who was 47 in 1990.

6:46 Looks like we're going to have the ultimate pairing Sunday, although it won't be in the final group. Woods and Mickelson going off together for the Masters final round. If Anthony Kim had birdied No. 18, he would have split them up. This should be good!

6:41 Gutty Chad Campbell. Nice comeback after that double bogey at 16. Could've been disastrous. He's had trouble with 17 and 18 in previous rounds.

6:19 Mastersfan, USA ... You're right. But you've got two U.S. Open winners (Cabrera and Furyk) and a British Open winner (Hamilton, although he would classify as a big upset). Then you've got Campbell, who's won the Tour Championship, Perry, who's won the Memorial, Ames who's won the Players Championship. Those are stout victories on those resumes. It's probably going to be a first-time Masters winner. And a good chance it'll be a first-time major winner.

6:12 Stricker has found a groove. He hasn't made a bogey in 35 holes, or since he bogeyed No. 1 in the second round. He's all about fairways and greens, and ask any of his PGA Tour peers and they'll tell you he's one of the game's best putters. Hasn't made a cut in his last three Masters. But he could easily shoot another 67 or 68 and win the Green Jacket.

5:53 Todd M, USA ... Funny you should say that. Perry was asked about it Friday and said he used to have a perfect round textbook swing, but suffered a neck injury in college. His swing changed to the point where he picks up the club instead of rotating it. He's been one of the top drivers on tour for a long time now. "I've never been afraid to hit the driver," he said. "To me, their swings are wrong and mine's right."

5:13 Tiger airmails the 18th green again, but makes a nice par save. Could've been his third straight bogey on the final hole. Shoots 70, he's at 4 under, eight back as of now.

5:05 Perry at 12 under with birdie at No. 10. He's now played 30 straight holes without a bogey. He bogeyed 16 during the first round, but hasn't made one since. He only has two for the entire Tournament.

4:58 The key isn't so much the deficit going into Sunday. It's the number of players ahead of you. If Woods, Mickelson, Furyk, Kim or anybody can keep going, cut the number of hurdles in front of you, that's where they can capture momentum.

4:43 You see that? Tiger thought he missed that birdie putt at 17! He was walking after it. Now he's 4 under, Mickelson at 5 under.

4:42 Woods to 3 under with birdie on 13. Can he do it? He's eight strokes behind. He has to be within six of the lead for him to have a chance on Sunday. Even that might be too much.

4:33 What about Angel Cabrera? His nickname is El Pato (The Duck) and he's just waddling along seemingly under the radar at 9 under ... He can get hot, and he's aggressive with the driver. Just made a great escape from a bunker for par at No. 9.

4:14 The vibe off Kenny Perry's interview yesterday just gave you the feeling he's going to win the Green Jacket. "Everything is a bonus now, it really is," he said about being 48. "I'm just going through each and every day enjoying life. I think I can win. I'm not going out there very casually. I'm still burning inside, wanting to kick everybody's butt." He's in the fairway at No. 8, where birdies have been plentiful. Not sure if I'd bet against him. He's in control, and the Masters lets you make things happen ... making history included.

4:05 PhilFanatic, USA ... Lefty just went bogey-bogey to start the back. He's struggled with 10 and 11 for three rounds. He's bogeyed No. 11 each day and is 1 over on 10. That's four shots on those two holes. He's on 13 tee now. He needs a couple eagles -- or help from the leaders -- the rest of the way.

3:44 Nobody's really going backward. A few bogeys here and there, but everybody is jockeying for position right now. Sergio and Kim are 2 over today and struggling. But we've got Amen Corner and the par 5s on the back nine ... be interesting to see who gets aggressive and tries to make a move.

3:37 Danny G, Ireland and Mike N, United Kingdom ... Did you see that big, sloping, left to right downhill putt Perry just made at No. 4? You might be right ... maybe it is fated. He's 11 under and shows no sign of stress in his game.

3:30 Phil birdies No. 8 and makes turn at 5 under. But he's 5 shots back ... Campbell and Perry both birdie No. 2 and they lead at 10 under.

3:17 Matthew F, USA ... If you're still there, got the info on Harrington's 9 at No. 2. This is rather complicated, but just consider what Paddy had to endure ...

He put his drive deep in the woods on the left (a minor miracle he even found his ball down in that deep hollow). Hit a tree with his second shot and ball settled against trunk, forcing him to take a penalty drop. He hits his fouth shot into another tree, and ball bounces into the creek (another penalty drop). He finally knocks his sixth shot back into the fairway, puts his seventh shot on the green and two-putts for a quadruple bogey, making a four-footer. He's fighting his way back, now at 1 over through 12 holes.

3:09 Woods just made a bomb at No. 9. Probably at least a 45 footer. He's back to 2 under heading to the back nine.

3:03 Great storylines. Sergio trying to win Green Jacket in the year his mentor, Seve Ballesteros, fights through cancer. Perry trying to become oldest to win Masters or any major. Anthony Kim wins Masters in his first appearance. Or Woods makes the greatest comeback of all time ... so many could play out today and Sunday.

2:59 Sergio chips in for par at No. 3, then makes two for birdie at No. 4. He's at 4 under. Can Sergio make the Masters his first major? Playing partner Furyk makes 2, also, and is 5 under.

2:56 Action heating up now. Mickelson makes a 20-footer to save par at No. 7 ... Woods misses birdie at No. 8, very frustrating par ... Perry pars No. 1. And, of course, Anthony Kim continues his birdie collection with one at No. 2 from the front bunker.

2:50 Perry rips it through an opening in the trees and puts it in the middle of the green at No. 1. Great shot.

2:45 Campbell and Kenny Perry on the tee at No. 1. Perry hooked one into the trees. Almost made No. 9 fairway. He's gonna need to scramble hard for a par.

2:37 Woods missed another birdie chance at No. 7. He's made four straight pars. He really needs to eagle or birdie the par 5 eighth to jump start this round.

2:28 Camilo Villegas made two birdies on the front nine. He's making the turn at 4 under, the first of the leaders to be on the back nine. If he stays hot, he could post a score that puts him among the final groupings Sunday.

2:06 Sachin t, Anguilla ... Tiger just birdied No. 3, the short but tricky par 4. He's never out of it, but there's no margin for error now. He's gonna need some help from the other players. If he starts hitting his driver in every direction, he's in trouble. And that putter of his needs to get on track.

1:53 Mickelson just birdied No. 2, the downhill par 5. He's 4 under now. The patrons were really cheering for him after that par save at No. 1. Might have lit a spark for him. I think his birdie at 18 yesterday was huge coming into the second round.

1:49 David R, Canada ... Good question on Weir., who is 3 over on the round and 1 over for the Tournament. Closest I can figure is he can't hit enough greens to start scoring well. He hit only 8 of 18 greens in the second round, and 10 of 18 in the first. That's not going to get it done on any course, much less Augusta National. He's great off the tee, hits most fairways. His number of putts isn't too high, but he's got to get those irons in gear.

1:45 So what does Phil do a few minutes later? He sprays his drive closer to the adjoining ninth fairway than No. 1 -- almost exactly the same spot Tiger was. But Phil the Thrill opens the blade, plays a big fade through and opening in the trees and somehow puts it on the green. He makes an easy two-putt for par ...

1:41 Tim R, USA ... Just got back after watching Tiger and Phill at No. 1. Tiger really messed up the first hole, taking double bogey. He drilled his drive left in the trees, put his second shot to the right of the green and it looked like an easy up and down. But his chip rolled back into a swale, and he three-putted, missing a 3-footer or maybe even shorter. He just parred No. 2 .... he's at even for the Tournament.

1:06 Woods off the first tee headed down the fairway. He's got his Saturday white shirt with blue stripes and gray slacks. He looks really determined and focused. He doesn't want to go a fourth straight year without a Green Jacket. I think he needs a 66 today to really have a chance Sunday.

1:04 Woods then goes over to the short game practice area, which is on the other side of Magnolia Lane from the driving range. He hit a few bunker shots, chips, and then he took out what looked like a 7 iron and blasted a shot back across Magnolia Lane to the other range! Pretty cool watching Woods aim back over the trees.

1:02 It was a reunion of sorts for golf's former Big Three -- Tiger, Vijay and Phil were all on the practice range together as their tee times approached. Hank Haney was there with Tiger, Butch Harmon was with Phil.Not much chatter, not much with Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley, who were also there.

11:55 Talk about games within the game ... Think there will be some leader board watching out there today? Or just listen to the roars some of these pairings will surely elicit: Tiger Woods tees off at 1:05 with N. Ireland's Graeme McDowell. Two groups behind them are Phil Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy, followed by Vijay Singh and Henrik Stenson. At 2:05 you've got Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk.

11:47 Rory McIlroy birdied No. 2 and is back to even par. He needs to steady things after nearly being DQ'd late Friday. Don't know if you heard or saw the BBC video clip, but on his way to a triple-bogey at No. 18, he failed to get out of a fairway bunker and kicked the sand in disgust. Rules prohibit a player from testing the surface in a hazard before playing a shot. McIlroy later was called back to the club to explain, and Masters officials agreed with him. Had he been penalized strokes, he would have missed the cut. But he's playing, and just parred No. 4.

11:27 It was a stunning flurry of birdies at No. 18 late Friday, which should make for some momentum and intrigue for the third round. Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry, Todd Hamilton, Tim Clark, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Shingo Katayama, Angel Cabrera, Henrik Stenson, Nick Watney and Stephen Ames ALL birdied the final hole. All are tied for 11th or better. We'll see who can carry that into Saturday.

11:19 Here we go, moving day, when the Masters sets the stage for the crescendo you can always count on come Sunday. Expect some fireworks, too ... and after a few years of weather delays, Augusta National has been blessed with perfect conditions for the weekend.