The moment the golf world has been waiting for – not long after it collectively doubted it could ever happen – is tantalisingly close. Tiger Woods, seeking a first win for five years after waves of personal and professional turmoil, will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake. Woods’s 80th PGA Tour success, if it comes, will unquestionably be his most significant.

Woods’s 12-under-par aggregate sees Justin Rose and a resurgent Rory McIlroy as his closest challengers. A Saturday 65 for Woods was the lowest in the 30-man field. More significant is his position at the head of affairs; history tells us Woods does not slip up from here. In the present, however, he has the pressure attached to looking to secure such a long-awaited success.

Day three saw traces of vintage Woods. Starting in a share of the lead with Rose, the 14-times major champion rattled home birdie putts in six of his first seven holes. His advantage stretched to five before a loose tee shot at the par-three 9th triggered a bogey. Rose, who made a bogey at the opening hole as Woods converted from 30ft for a birdie, was amongst those battered by a Tiger tsunami. Woods’s putting was imperious, his driving – such a problem earlier in this comeback run – wonderfully accurate.

Rose’s bogey at the 14th as Woods tapped in for par afforded the 42-year-old a lead of five. There was woe for Woods two holes later after an approach shot missed the green to the right and a subsequent flop shot failed to reach the putting surface. Woods departed the 16th green having taken a bogey five, in itself a consequence of an outstanding second chip. Rose’s birdie ensured a two-shot swing. Woods, though, was to earn himself more breathing space before stepping from the final green.

McIlroy’s 66 was his best round of the week. It affords him a Sunday tee time with Woods for only the second time. On the occasion of the first, at the 2015 Masters, neither player was in contention to win. McIlroy is a threat to Woods, all right; the Northern Irishman prevailed at East Lake in 2016. “All I can do is worry about myself,” said McIlroy. “It doesn’t matter who it is I’m playing with. It’s obviously exciting for the golf tournament. It’s exciting for golf in general that he’s up there. But for me, all I can do is concentrate on myself.”

Rose has wider reason to keep Woods within view. The Englishman, recently installed as the world No 1, retains a live chance of winning the FedEx Cup and associated $10m bonus even if he falls short at the Tour Championship.