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Jordan Spieth holds his nerve heading into Masters final round

Clutch putt on 18 maintains four-stroke lead after double bogey threatened to derail challenge; Rose and Mickelson in pursuit

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Jordan Spieth and his caddy bump fists after holing out on 18. Photo: AFP

Jordan Spieth stumbled under the weight of leading the Masters, but salvaged par with a clutch closing 10-foot putt to set a 54-hole record and maintain a four-stroke lead.

The 21-year-old Texan’s dramatic finish to a two-under par 70 third round Saturday at Augusta National gave him a 54-hole Masters record of 16-under 200 and partly eased the sting of a double bogey at 17.

“It was really big. It was huge. It was one of the bigger putts I’ve ever hit,” Spieth said. “I was very frustrated.”

Speith, who settled for second last year in his Masters debut after leading on the front nine on Sunday, made four birdies in five holes to reach 18-under and led by six with two holes to play.

But a poor tee shot led to his setback at 17 and an approach well right of the green at 18 forced an aggressive chip that Spieth admitted would likely fail four times out of five.

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