The 33-year-old left-hander is three shots behind leader Peter Hanson in fourth place after shooting a two-under 70 in the third round.

He dropped off the pace with bogeys at the first and fifth holes but recovered those shots with birdies at the sixth and eighth.

Another blemish came at the 11th but a strong finish with birdies at the 13th, 15th and 18th put him firmly back in the hunt.

"Any time you have a chance to win a major - or any golf tournament - you are excited," said Watson.

"Three shots from the lead around this golf course is pretty close. Anything can happen - you can get hot, you can struggle a little bit so yes it's going to be a good challenge, but good fun.

"I have shot under par every day so far this week so I'm looking forward to it.

"It should be a good challenge tomorrow and that's the main thing - just me challenging myself on the golf course and not worrying about what the other guys are doing."

Louis Oosthuizen was pleased with his third round 68 - and content to be on the shoulder of the leaders at -7.

"I wanted to put myself close to the leaders so I can have a go on Sunday," he said.

"It's a good leaderboard and it will be tough but I just have to stay calm - you have to be patient on this course."