The British world number three carded an even-par 72 at Augusta, briefly holding a share of the lead, but his momentum stalled with untimely bogeys, one of them after a missed putt from just 18 inches at the ninth.

And Westwood, who trails leader Peter Hanson by five shots heading into the final day, admitted his putting woes could prove costly.

"I didn't quite have it today. I made too many mistakes," he said. "That was a bad bogey at nine, missed a short one left.

"I bogeyed some holes that should have been birdie and missed a couple of short putts.

Control

"But four under with the lead at nine still has a slight sniff, if I get it going early on and make a few birdies. I'm just going to hit a few balls now and find a bit of a swing."

Westwood, who has finished in the top three on six occasions at majors, was especially frustrated by his bogeys at the par-three 12th and the par-five 13th.

"Those were bad bogeys," said the 38-year-old, who led by one shot after shooting a five-under 67 in Thursday's opening round. "One of them you're trying to birdie, the 13th, and the 12th is the easiest flag.

"I wasn't hitting it too solid today which makes it difficult if you haven't got the distance control."

Westwood finished second at Augusta in 2010 and is now hoping to replicate the storming finish displayed by Charl Schwartzel which saw the South African win last year's Masters.

"This golf course gives you a chance if you're playing well," the Briton said. "You've got the par-fives, especially the par-fives on the back nine. They've got the flags set so you can make a couple of eagles."