Peter Hanson will be hoping the No. 17 will prove to be his lucky number in a goal of capturing a first Major Championship.
Hanson will take a one stroke lead into the final round of only his second Masters after postig a third round 65 to finish one clear on nine under par from three-time Augusta National champion, Phil Mickelson.
For a third day running Mickelson birdied Augusta’s 18th in a score of 66 for an eight under par tally.
Peter Hanson tips his hat on route to a one stroke lead with a round to play in the 2012 Masters. (Photo - www.europeantour.com)
Former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen (69) is next best on seven under par and with American Bubba Watson (70) in fourth place on six under and one clear of his Ryder Cup colleague, Matt Kuchar (70).
Triple Major winning Padraig Harrington birdied five of his closing six holes, including four in succession from the 14th, in a round of 68 to be tied in sixth place on four under par with England’s Lee Westwood (72), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (70) and recent Shell Houston Open winner Hunter Mahan (68).
Biggest disappointment was the effort of World No. 2 Rory McIlroy who posted a pair of double bogeys in his round of 77 to slide to a share of 32nd place at one over par.
Hanson honours the birth last November of his son, Tim with the No. 17 on all his golf balls.
Tim, and the Hanson’s second child, was born on 17th November , 2010.
“17 is actually my boy Tim’s birthday and he born the 17th of November and in Europe we do the 24‑hour clock so he was actually born 17:17; so 17 minutes past 5:00pm,” said Hanson.
“So in Europe, that turns out to be 17:17 on the 17th.”
Hanson is no strange to playing in Mickelson’s company having played the opening two rounds in the American’s company with the Swede posting a 68 to Mickelson’s opening 74.
Mickelson then turned the tables on Hanson in shooting a day two 68 to Hanson’s 74.
They first met at the 2010 Ryder Cup with Mickelson haning out a 4 & 2 Celtic Manor hiding to the rookie Hanson.
“That was hard, because the day before we played, he actually got the worst Ryder Cup record in the history of wins/losses,” said Hanson.
“He came out so hungry and desperate to win. So he started off with four straight birdies and just killed me by 3 & 2. So I had no chance. (Laughing).
“So tomorrow is going to be tough. It’s a new situation to me. I’ve been up on the leaderboard a few times, but I’ve never led in anything like this, and we’ll see what happens towards the end of the day.
“I know it’s going to be a tough night and just try to do the normal stuff. I’ve got my two kids here and my wife, so just try to stay in the house and cook in, and like I said, I probably won’t be watching a lot of Golf Channel or stuff.
“Just trying to stay away from all that and try to get as much sleep as I can and try to be ready for tomorrow. ”
