Another dramatic Sunday looms at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The ornery, tormenting course has taken so much back over two days, and now a brimming Sunday at Augusta National will give everyone everything they could want at the Masters.

There is Angel Cabrera, the unaffected Argentine who brought coffee to the practice range on a sun-splashed Saturday morning and a pack of cigarettes to the interview room. There are three Australians lingering near the lead, swinging against the history of their countrymen’s past failings on this ground.

And then there is the guy who was among the best golfers in the world until he wasn’t, a rib injury slowing the kinetic Brandt Snedeker to a halt until right about now, when he sits tied with Cabrera in the lead at seven-under-par 209 as a rollicking Masters nears conclusion. Away we go.

PHOTOS: 2013 Masters tournament

“I’ve spent 32 years of my life getting ready for [Sunday] and I am completely, 100% sure that I’m ready to handle no matter what happens,” Snedeker said. “I’m going to be disappointed if I don’t win, period. I’m not here to get a good finish. I’m not here to finish top five. I’m here to win.”

It might be nice to focus on winning golf, actually, after zeroing in on slow-play penalties and, barely after dawn broke, Tiger Woods facing disqualification for an illegal drop Friday — called in by a television viewer — that wasn’t actually ruled an illegal drop until Saturday.

The ultimate result was a two-shot penalty and the opportunity to post a 70 that left the four-time champion four shots off the lead.

“It started off obviously different, but I’m right there in the ballgame,” Woods said.

He’s not the only one.

If it seems the 43-year-old Cabrera wins only majors, it’s because he wins only majors. His two PGA Tour victories were the 2007 U.S. Open and the 2009 Masters. He fired a third-round 69 to vault into position for another.

Then there are those rising up from Down Under, with Adam Scott (six under), Jason Day (five under) and Marc Leishman (five under) all vying to vanquish Australia’s ill history at the Masters. An Australian has never won the title.

“Three of us are right there knocking on the door,” Scott said. “There’s no better time to never have to deal with that question again than if you go out and play good tomorrow.”

Snedeker, meanwhile, has top-10 finishes in every major but the PGA Championship. He had three top-10s and a win by early February before his injury.

He spent last week refining spin, working on missing only to the right, working to make a grand re-entrance. A late birdie charge fueled a third-round 69, offering a chance to finish what he could not in finishing third in 2008.

“I have a completely clear focus of what I need to do, a clear set of goals that I need to hit,” Snedeker said. “If I do that, I have a chance to win.”

bchamilton@tribune.com