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Masters 2011: Rory McIlroy calm despite Masters lead

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Masters 2011: Rory McIlroy insists he can handle pressure

Rory McIlroy is determined not to dwell on his four-shot lead as he prepares for the final round of the Masters.

The Northern Irishman, who carded a two-under-par 70 in round three, said: "There is still a lot of golf to play.

"I'm not going to think about anything but that first tee shot [on Sunday]. Four shots on this course isn't much."

England's Luke Donald is in contention to be the first winner of the par three tournament and Masters in the same year after shooting a three-under-par 69.

The 33-year-old is determined to overcome the jinx attached to winning the traditional curtain-raiser, which is played over nine par-three holes on the Wednesday before the tournament starts.

"I've still got a great chance," said world number four Donald, who is five shots behind McIlroy on seven under par.

"Anything in the 60s at Augusta is good and I'm in a good place for Sunday."

The World Match Play champion overcame a duffed chip on the par-five 13th, which almost ended up in Rae's Creek, to keep alive his hopes of winning his first major and the possibility of becoming world number one.

"I layed up where I wanted for a simple chip and run and I just duffed it," he added.

"It''s one of those shots I'm going to try and forget about and I was able to put it behind me and birdie 14.

"I would love to have snuck a couple more birdies, but that's how it is. I'm in a good position."

His countryman Ross Fisher also remains in contention after a second successive 71 took him to five under par.

"I'm surprised I'm only five behind," he admitted. "I had in my mind I needed to shoot 67 or 68 because Rory is playing great so to be only five back is great.

"I didn't feel like I played particularly well, but Wobbly [caddie Phil Morbey] said I'd played great.

"It was difficult with the heat - difficult to keep yourself hydrated and make sure your hands weren't slipping on the clubs with the sweat.

"You had to stay patient and take a little bit of extra time and care.

"You want to be aggressive round here, but it is that sort of golf course where if you are overly aggressive you can easily run up bogeys, double bogeys, triple bogeys.

"So I am just trying to stay patient and hitting one shot at a time. Hopefully Sunday can be the day where I can hole some of my putts."

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Masters 2011: Rory McIlroy insists he can handle pressure

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