THE MASTERS : Lehman Proves He’s No Lemon : Golf: Non-winner makes 50-foot putt on No. 16 and shoots 69 for one-shot lead over Olazabal.

Something is wrong with this picture. Here, on the eve of golf’s annual coronation in one of its most prestigious tournaments, stands a commoner. A golfer who was so down on his luck that he accepted a job as a club pro at Wood Ranch in Simi Valley. A man who has never won on the PGA Tour.

Of course, as Tom Lehman will find out today, there are 18 more holes to play. So, maybe this picture is nothing more than a playful illusion, created for the amusement of those who worship Augusta National.

Lehman posted a three-under-par 69 on Saturday to give him a seven-under-par 209 and a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Masters. Sitting dangerously in second is Jose Maria Olazabal, who equaled Lehman with the day’s low round of 69. Two shots back is first- and second-round leader Larry Mize, who shot an even-par 72.

Tom Kite is another shot back at 212, tied with Jim McGovern and Ian Baker-Finch at three under. Tom Watson is alone at two-under, ending the list of golfers who seemingly have a chance at this year’s green jacket.

Disappointing rounds were turned in by Greg Norman, whose 75 puts him at 215, and Chip Beck, whose 75 has him at one-over 217. Dan Forsman, who shot a 66 on Friday and was one stroke out of the lead, shot a 76 on Saturday.

Lehman played on the tour in the early 1980s with little success. He knocked around every imaginable mini-tour there was. “When you’re in Riverton, Wyoming, you know you’re in Riverton, Wyoming,” he said of those days.

A few years ago, he was interviewed for the job as golf coach at the University of Minnesota, his alma mater. “I probably would have taken the job, except they wanted me to rent cross-country skis at the pro shop in the winter,” he said.

In 1987, he accepted the job as pro at Wood Ranch but stayed for only eight months, picking up his pursuit of making it big on the tour.

Lehman has never won a tour event, with his best finish a second last year at the Hardee’s Classic in Coal Valley, Ill. Last year, his final-round 68 at the Masters left him a four-way tie for third, six shots behind winner Bernhard Langer. Today will be the first time he has been in the final group to tee off on a Sunday.

When asked what he knew about Lehman, Olazabal said: “You don’t need to know a lot about a person shooting seven under, because that’s all you need to know.”

Lehman will get known a lot sooner if he has any more putts like his 50-footer with the 20-foot break on the par-three 16th.

“As I was walking up to the green, I started to think about 1991, when Mark McCumber made that same putt,” Lehman said. “Tom Watson has made that putt, too. . . . I was just trying to get it up on the ledge and let it come back down a bit. Obviously, I wasn’t trying to make it. I just wanted to get it close.”

Close in this case was the bottom of the cup. It was one of five birdies he had on the day, three of them on par fives. On the 500-yard 15th hole, he was on the back edge with a driver and nine-iron.

“The hole was downhill, downwind, down everything,” he said trying to downplay the feat.

Lehman had only two bogeys, one on the treacherous par-three 12th, when he lipped out a putt, and on the 18th, when he missed a seven-footer for par after coming out of a greenside bunker.

His bogey on the final hole left him a bit disappointed, but overall he said he had nothing to complain about.

“There were times today when I was walking up to the green and people were cheering that I was getting a little water in my eye,” he said.

Olazabal had a chance to lead, but on the 13th, the par five that ends “Amen corner,” he hit his second shot short into the green and it spun back into Rae’s Creek. The bogey dropped Olazabal into a tie for first.

Olazabal had two spectacular holes, getting an eagle on the eighth after hitting a three-iron 240 yards to within six feet of the hole. He also knocked the ball to within two feet on the 10th hole for a birdie.

The wind was causing havoc for the third consecutive day with gusts up to 25 m.p.h. Olazabal thought it worked to his benefit.

“We’re used to playing in similar windy conditions in Europe,” he said. “The more you play in it, the more you get better.”

Mize, he of the 140-foot chip shot in 1987 to win, likes his chances.

“I had a tough day out there,” Mize said. “I was up and down, so I’m pleased to have a 72. I just wanted to put myself in position to win on Sunday, and I have.”

Mize also rationalized losing the lead.

“I’d just as soon be leading, but I don’t mind being two back. Leading can be a lot of pressure.”

The person most likely to come out of the pack on the final day is 44-year-old Tom Kite, who has shot steady rounds of 69-72-71. If it wasn’t for a misplayed approach to the 17th green, he would have had a bogey-free round.

“I had a good solid round with not a lot of the putts going in,” Kite said. “I burned the edges all day, yet I’d be hard-pressed to tell you that I putted poorly today.”

Kite believes his experience could work in his favor.

“I’m a little better than I used to be at handling the pressure and accepting missed putts,” he said. “Winning the U.S. Open (in 1992) makes everything easier. Knowing that I won it and won it under difficult circumstances makes a difference.”

Perhaps the most difficult circumstance that Lehman will face today is walking up to the first tee and realizing he has a chance to win the Masters.

“Who thought a kid from Minnesota would be leading?” Lehman asked. “I didn’t.”

Neither did anyone else.