DiMarco - holds a four-shot lead (Getty Images)

Chris DiMarco takes a four-stroke lead into the final day of the Masters at Augusta - and immediately saw benefits in the fact that he has 27 holes remaining, not the usual 18.

Weather delays on the first two days have put the tournament behind schedule, but DiMarco, yet to win a major, said: "This way I won't have to sit around all morning and wait for seven hours to play."

He knows how big an effect that can have. Twelve months ago he shared the 54-hole lead with Phil Mickelson, but then shot 76.

"I watched how to win," added the 36-year-old American. "I had the best seat in the house and what I saw was that Phil had fun. He also played some very good golf and was aggressive."

Tiger Woods is the player leading the chase, having played 26 holes in a brilliant 11 under par during the day, while DiMarco played the same number in eight-under.

"The course was not playing as difficult as it normally does," said the three-time champion.

"You could feed the ball into the flags and be aggressive. Everybody was aggressive."

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn lies third on eight under par, five behind, and then there is a four-stroke gap to world number one Vijay Singh and Australian Rod Pampling.

European Ryder Cup team-mates Luke Donald and David Howell, who shared the lead with DiMarco at the start of the day, ended it joint seventh and joint 14th respectively.

Donald fell away with a second-round 77, but was then four-under for the 15 holes of his third round he managed before the light went.

Howell was paired with Woods and double-bogeyed the first and bogeyed the third before settling down and grabbing birdies at the seventh and eighth.

Defending champion Mickelson stood alongside Donald, having just bogeyed the 10th in the gathering gloom, while Singh had just bogeyed the ninth.