There is nothing in Trevor Immelman’s resume that suggests that he’s ready to don the green jacket. Let’s face it, despite his obvious talents, Immelman has done little to distinguish himself as a professional golfer. In his five years as a pro, he’s won just twice outside of his native South Africa — once on the PGA Tour.

But on Saturday, the supposed Moving Day, he further solidified his position as the leader at the Masters. The 28-year-old with a Hogan-like swing and seemingly steely nerves, now must be taken seriously as a front-runner. Playing under immense pressure in the Augusta twilight, he birdied three of his final six holes to finish the day at 11 under, two ahead of Brandt Snedeker — but more importantly, still six ahead of Tiger Woods.

Woods mounted a charge, and for a while, it looked as if he was right there at the end. When he walked off the 18th green after a 68 that put him at 5 under, he was merely three shots off the lead. But Immelman’s late birdie binge might have left him with an insurmountable deficit with just 18 holes to play.

In retrospect, Saturday was a lost opportunity for Woods. He missed all sorts of makeable birdie putts that might have helped him to card a 65. While he easily eclipsed Phil Mickelson, who self-immolated with a 75, Woods must not have envisioned that he’d still be stuck in Immelman’s vapor trail.

Few would have. Immelman’s played eight events this year and failed to make the cut in half of them. His best finish in a stroke-play event was a T-40 at Doral. In his previous five appearances in the Masters, he’s broken 70 once — when he finished fifth but a distant eight shots back behind Woods and playoff loser Chris DiMarco in 2005.

But he’s shot in the 60s in all three rounds this tournament and done it with poise. He’s made two bogeys in 54 holes and none in the back nine. Immelman really seems to be enjoying himself strolling around Augusta National this week.

Come Sunday, it will be a matter of controlling his nerves. He’ll have the benefit of being paired with Snedeker again instead of a big-name contender. Woods will be cushioned by another group of relative no-names of Steve Flesch and Paul Casey, so Tiger won’t have the chance slam-dunking him in the group immediately ahead. Finally, with the forecast calling for winds gusting up to 20 miles per hour, going low will be difficult — even for Tiger.

Does this mean that Immelman will become the second South African to win the Masters, a feat that has eluded his more celebrated countrymen Ernie Els and Retief Goosen? Not necessarily. But barring a collapse of Greg Norman proportions, the green jacket is well within his grasp.