Spieth leads, Monday qualifier Cook close at Shell Houston Open

Two young guys are at the top of the leaderboard after three rounds of the Shell Houston Open.

One is 21 years old; the other is 24. One is ranked fourth in the world; the other 993rd.

Jordan Spieth leads at Golf Club of Houston by a shot at 14 under par, charging into the lead after a Saturday round of 5-under 67. Three players trail him by a shot, including University of Arkansas product Austin Cook, who fired a composed 2-under 70 considering this is just his second-ever PGA Tour event.

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Cook has played most of his tournament golf this season on the Adams Pro Tour, a mini-tour where Cook has raked in $ 3,185 in 2015. He earned a spot in the field by shooting 64 to share first place in the Monday qualifying tournament, where four spots were up for grabs in the final PGA Tour event before the Masters.

With 18 holes to play, it’s still a long shot that Cook, who led outright at multiple points throughout Round 3, can become just the second Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour in the last 29 years. However, if Cook can maintain the poise and precision he showed for all but one hole on Saturday, he has a chance at a life-changing win. A victory on Sunday would get Cook into the Masters and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. He’d pull into the top 100 in the world. If Cook’s going to get the job done, he may well have to block out everything that hangs in the balance — including the leaderboard.

“It’s hard not to notice it,” Cook said Saturday. “I was not trying to not look at them because they’re everywhere and pretty big. You’ll notice your name up there.”

For Spieth, there’s pressure to win, but it’s much different. Spieth won last month in Tampa and twice to end 2014. It’s not so much about racking up wins as establishing momentum heading into the Masters. Spieth led on the front nine on Sunday a year ago before Bubba Watson took charge and won a second green jacket in three years.

Despite being three years younger than Cook, for Spieth, Sunday is about setting up for a week from now, taking the next step.

“Ideally when I looked back to preparing the best way I could for the Masters, I wanted to get into contention as much as I could prior, to have as much experience and to limit those nerves and feel more comfortable each time,” Spieth said Saturday. “And today was as comfortable as I’ve ever been with the lead on a weekend, which feels really good. Tomorrow I’ll certainly have nerves. Hopefully give myself a chance to win.

“If that works out, then that will take even more confidence into next week.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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