Alison Hutchinson: Westwood is on top going into the final day

The 25-year-old's six-under-par round gave him a 13-under total of 203, with playing partner Justin Leonard of the USA moving into second place.

Westwood equalled the tournament record with a 65 on Friday and maintained his momentum with birdies at the first two holes. He added four more during the remainder of his round to boost his hopes of becoming only the fifth man to win on his debut appearance in the invitational event.

"In all aspects, my game was good. The fairways here are the best I've played off all year," he said.

"My philosophy has been that if I'm not between clubs, then I'll go for the flag. That's how players like Price and Langer have done well here in the past. If I win, it'll be nice to say I've beaten 11 of the top 12 players in the world."

World number one Tiger Woods collected five birdies in a 67 to share third place with Nick Price on nine-under but it could have been even better, with half a dozen putts just failing to drop.

"I never thought I'dsay this, but I'm really disappointed shooting a 67. If you look at it today, it could really have been a 62, even a 61. I just didn't get any breaks," said Woods.

He finally got the better of the 471-yard 8th after double bogeys in the first two rounds when an excellent drive helped set up a birdie opportunity which he did not waste.

"I've hit one on the left, one on the right. I was lucky to hit one down the middle this time," Woods added.

Collated totals: