Amy Sancetta/The Associated Press Phil Mickelson chips out of the sand early in his third round. Mickelson overcame this early trouble to shoot a 69 for a share of the lead with Chris DiMarco as he bids for his first major championship. Click photo for larger image. More on 2004 Masters Tournament: Commentary: There's no buzz, just zzzzzzzs with Woods out of contention Woods finds trouble in third-round 75 YOUR 2004 GOLF SEASON GUIDE

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It is a day known for a hunt, and Phil Mickelson is ready. The object of his desire is a green jacket. There will be no eggs. Unless he lays one.

Mickelson has never won a major championship. Nor has he ever been the leader heading into the final round of a major. But there he is, sharing the lead with Chris DiMarco after three rounds of the 68th Masters, looking to shed a burden the size of Godzilla.

"The nice thing is, I'm not trying to chase someone down, having to force things, having to make birdies and get off to a quick start," Mickelson said.

Mickelson shot a bogey-free 69 yesterday to share the lead at 6-under 210 with DiMarco, who has been flawless for three days at the Augusta National Golf Club except for a four-hole stretch on the back nine during the second round.

They had a two-shot lead on England's Paul Casey, who broke some of Mickelson's scoring records at Arizona State, and a three-shot margin on Ernie Els, K.J. Choi and former Masters champion Bernhard Langer.

DiMarco, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, has been a Masters leader before. He led after each of the first two rounds in 2001, only to shoot 72-74 on the weekend and finish tied for 10th. But there he is, tied with Mickelson, after a bogey-free 68.

"I like it around this course," DiMarco said. "It suits my eye really well. Phil and I are really good friends, and it will be a lot of fun [today]."

Mickelson and DiMarco will be paired in the final twosome and will tee off at 2 p.m. Starting times have been moved up by nearly an hour because thunderstorms are predicted for the afternoon. The biggest thunder, though, might come from the pro-Mickelson gallery.

"Every time I play with Phil it's like that," DiMarco said. "I played with him in Phoenix in the last round and it was a little pro-Phil there."

Mickelson has won 22 PGA Tour titles, second among active players to Tiger Woods. But only two players in history have won more tour titles without a major -- Harry Cooper (31) and Macdonald Smith (24).

Mickelson has led major championships before, but never after three rounds. He was the first-round leader at the 1995 Masters, '99 U.S. Open and 2003 PGA Championship; and the second-round leader at the '96 PGA and the '99 Open.

His best chance to win came in the '99 U.S. Open at Pinehurst when he finished second to Payne Stewart, who one-putted the last three holes, including the winning 15-footer at No. 18. Mickelson also finished second by a stroke at the 2001 PGA to David Toms, who set the major championship scoring record (266).

	Dave Martin/The Associated Press Chris DiMarco: Prepared for the butterflies on Sunday. Click photo for larger image.

"I'm much more at ease than I have been in the past," Mickelson said. "I don't feel that anxiety. I haven't felt it all year. I'm very confident I'll drive it well, hit the proper distance, and I'm very confident in my putting. It's been a nice change."

It's unlikely Mickelson and DiMarco will have to worry about Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 player who shot 75 and is one of six players at 3-over 219. The group includes Justin Rose, the leader after each of the first two rounds, who shot 81.

"Even when I was out in front and I've been leading, anything can happen," said Woods, who hasn't won a major since the 2002 U.S. Open, when he beat Mickelson by three shots. "You think that way because there's so much danger out there on that back nine, especially the holes that have been lengthened. They are playing a little bit more difficult."

Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden had the day's best round -- 5-under 67 -- to get to 1 under, just five shots back. His only mistake came on the final hole, when his approach landed in the greenside bunker and led to a bogey. Otherwise, Jacobson was near perfect, making six birdies, including a two-putt from 35 feet at the par-5 13th.

"I think this course and the British Open suits my game," said Jacobson, whose best finish on the PGA Tour is a tie for fourth at the Honda Classic. "There's less rough and I can create more shots. I like to create shots around the green."

Casey, 26, won twice last year on the European PGA Tour and finished 10th two weeks ago at The Players Championship. His third-round 68 included a stunning 7-iron to 10 feet from the deep fairway bunker at No. 18 -- the same spot from which Scotland's Sandy Lyle made birdie to win the 1988 Masters. Casey only managed a par, but it kept him two shots from the lead.

And reminded him how much he wants to win the Masters.

"This is the one, second to the [British] Open, I wanted to win as a kid," said Casey, who broke the Pac-10 Conference championship scoring record in 2000, held by Woods. "You stayed up late as a kid, when I was 10 or 11, watching Sandy Lyle get in that bunker on 18, and I got 7 iron in my hand. That's what Sandy had in his hands back in the '80s."

DiMarco bounced back from a poor back nine Friday, when he shot 40, to keep pace with Mickelson. And he did it quickly, making birdies at Nos. 2 and 4 and adding a 3-footer at No. 14, a 440-yard par 4 that has yielded just one other birdie in the third round. DiMarco has made just two bogeys and a double bogey in three days, and they all came during a four-hole stretch Friday on the back nine.

"It takes away from having to go for certain pins," DiMarco said about being in the lead. "You can still play aggressive, but you can also play very smart because you know you don't have to birdie every hole."

After finishing third each of the past three years at the Masters, Mickelson spent his practice sessions trying to discover ways to save strokes around Augusta National. And he did that several times yesterday, at Nos. 6, 13 and 18, when he used his putter instead of chipping from off the green. At the final hole, Mickelson made a 6-foot comeback putt to save par to ensure his portion of the spot atop the leader board.

Mickelson has held or shared the third-round lead in 13 PGA Tour events during his career, winning nine. His final-round scoring average at Augusta is 71.4.