Stuart Appleby had quite a day adjusting to what the Masters Tournament threw at him Saturday.

Stuart Appleby tips his hat to the gallery as he walks off the No. 8 green with a par. He finished Saturday in the lead. He is paired with Tiger Woods for today's final round, and could be the first Australian to win the Masters Tournament. (Andrew Davis Tucker/Staff)

He didn't have the cold-weather gear that fit the 48-degree temperature and winds gusting up to 20 mph when he teed off. So he visited the pro shop at Augusta National Golf Club.

"That was $155 out of my pocket," he said. "Full sticker price. Didn't get a discount."

Appleby started out with three consecutive birdies after his par on No. 1. He was as hot as any player on the course at that point.

"Lots of great iron shots at a lot of tough pin positions," playing partner Bradley Dredge said.

Appleby finished with 73 and the overall lead, at 2-over par after 54 holes. But it could have been three shots better if not for No. 17, where he made triple bogey.

He'll be paired today with Tiger Woods in the final group. The last pairing has produced the eventual Masters champion 16 consecutive years going back to 1991.

Appleby said he is very much aware that the player he's paired with has four Masters wins among his 12 majors. Appleby has just one Top 20 finish at the Masters.

"He won't even know I am there," Appleby said of Woods. "I for sure will know he is there."

Appleby is attempting to win his first professional major.

"It's a pretty full bag, isn't it?" he said. "I've got a big day ahead. I've got a big opponent in front of me in this golf course. I've got a big opponent next to me in Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods is chasing his fifth Masters Tournament victory today. "He won't even know I am there," playing partner Stuart Appleby said of Woods. "I for sure will know he is there." (Chris Thelen/Staff)

"I just want to keep doing what I've been doing the last two days and not make it any bigger than it is. I just want to go out and play golf."

Appleby had never visited the press building at Augusta National to speak with the media before Saturday evening.

The norm is that any player who puts himself near the lead at any point of the tournament meets the media to discuss his round.

"I didn't even know this was here," Appleby said. "I thought this was where the caddies went to go get something to eat."

His chair would have felt a lot more comfortable if he hadn't gotten into trouble off the tee on No. 17.

"There was the one hiccup at 17," he said. "I needed to take a look at where I was at and try to squeeze out a bogey five instead of making something worse out of a very poor tee shot."

Appleby's tee shot went into a greenside bunker on No. 7. His shot out of the bunker hit the lip and fell short of the 17th fairway and landed in the trees. His third shot was shy of the green and landed in the left bunker.

He three-putted from about 12 feet to end up with a triple-bogey.

Appleby said he'd made a habit of "dodging bullets" Saturday, extracting pars out of dire situations. Greedy was the word he used to describe No. 17.

"That was the hole that I let a couple of shots slip for sure," he said. "Overall I felt like there was plenty of holes where I could have let more slip throughout the day. I just happened to bunch one hole up and have a triple."

He said he wasn't interested in any Greg Norman comparisons, even though he would be the first Masters champion from Australia if he can hold on to the lead.

"I think today and tomorrow will be the toughest two rounds of golf in major championship history," Appleby said, "given these conditions and the way the course is playing. That's what I will think about tonight."

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.