TIGER WOODS SAID he planned to get up at no later than 4am on Sunday as he bids to end his lengthy major drought by claiming a fifth Masters title.

Woods is firmly in contention for the third major in succession after shooting a third-round 67 at Augusta to share second with Tony Finau on 11 under, two behind leader Francesco Molinari.

Almost 11 years have passed since Woods last claimed one of golf’s premier strokeplay prizes, at the 2008 US Open, and he is ready for an early start ahead of round four, with the final group set to go off at 9.20am local time due to the threat of afternoon thunderstorms.

“I’ll wake up around 4am, maybe 3.45 am… Start the process of getting this body ready and get after it,” said the 14-time major champion.

“Usually the reward for playing hard and doing all the things correctly is you get a nice little sleep in come Sunday, but that’s not going to be the case.”

Woods was one over through five holes on a day when three players shot 64 and revealed he told himself to “just be patient” before reeling off three straight birdies starting at the sixth.

A further three gains came in the space of four holes on the back nine as the 43-year-old briefly moved into a share of the lead and completed his best round at Augusta since 2011.

Asked what he had executed well, Woods replied: “Everything. I drove it well and hit my irons well. I made some putts. I just let the round kind of build.

The goal today was to start at six [under] and make sure I got to double digits and I was able to do that.”

Woods was a final-day contender at The Open and US PGA Championship in 2018, losing out to playing partner Molinari in the first of those events.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention here, but then again the last two majors count for something,” he added.

“I’ve been in the mix with a chance to win major championships … and that helps.”

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