AUGUSTA – Chris DiMarco could be known as golfer who had a nice pro career, earned some nice coin and won a few tournaments. Or he could be known as one of the greatest golfers of our time. His legacy could be decided today over the final 27 holes of the 69th Masters.

To be considered one of the game’s greatest, you have to beat the greatest and DiMarco has that opportunity today when he tries to hold off a fast-charging Tiger Woods in what shapes up as a marathon Masters Sunday.

Lucky for DiMarco, he’ll have a four-stroke lead when the third-round resumes this morning with the final round to follow. Woods, the three-time Masters champion, used the first dry day of the tournament to shoot 11-under-par over 26 holes to climb into contention. At 9-under par, he trails DiMarco, who leads at 13-under.

Woods will resume his third round today on the 10th fairway. DiMarco, playing in the group behind Woods, will be on the 10th tee box. Twenty-seven holes to the green jacket.

“It’s going to be fun,” DiMarco insisted. “I’m looking forward to it. I’ve got a lot of great players behind me that are trying to win, too. I’m going to have to keep the foot on the accelerator for sure.”

Nothing in DiMarco’s resume says he’ll be able to handle the pressure if Woods turns up the heat. To this point, his biggest contribution to Masters history was the read he gave Phil Mickelson on the final hole of last year’s memorable championship. The 54-hole leader in 2004, DiMarco ballooned to a 4-over 76 that Masters Sunday, his final two putts on the 18th green coming along the same line his playing partner, Mickelson, would use to drain an 18-foot birdie to win his first major championship.

DiMarco insists he learned a lot from his collapse and Mickelson’s surge to victory, lessons he’ll use today.

“I watched how it was to win,” DiMarco said, recalling Mickelson’s charge. “If anybody had the best seat in the house it was me. Phil had fun. He was laughing and he was getting pumped up, he was getting the people involved, and he was being very aggressive and that’s what you have to do. Going out and trying to hold on to a lead isn’t going to do it. You have to go out and step on it.”

DiMarco, born on Long Island and raised in Florida, is familiar with being on the leader board of major championships, but he is painted as someone who suffers from a tight throat when championships are on the line. His final round average here is 74.3.

After his fiasco at the 2004 Masters, DiMarco worked his way into the final group of the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole that could have earned him a victory. Then he lost a three-man playoff to Vijay Singh.

DiMarco also had the 36-hole lead in the 2001 Masters. But he went 72-74 on the weekend and finished tied for 10th; Woods, meanwhile, went on to win his third Masters. What happened in 2001 and 2004 are why he welcomes his earlier start today even if it means, playing 27 holes.

“I won’t have to sit around all morning like I did last year,” DiMarco said. “It’ll be a good thing in that aspect.”

Hold off Woods and win today, all will be forgotten and DiMarco will be viewed as one of the great golfers of our era. Lose again, and he’ll be viewed as a good player who was never good enough.

Master-piece

Here’s how Chris DiMarco has fared through the first 2½ rounds of the Masters:

Holes: 45

Birdies:14

Pars: 30

Bogeys: 1