Charley Hoffman is the closest man to ruining a wire-to-wire Masters win for Jordan Spieth, and he said the runaway leader is inspiring him.
Spieth is five shots clear of Hoffman at Augusta after shooting a second-round 66, and the pair will play together on Saturday as they go toe-to-toe for the green jacket.
Hoffman, who was tied for 27th in 2011 in his only previous Masters appearance, said watching Spieth career away on the leaderboard enhanced his game, as he posted a four-under-par 68.
"I played better today, drove it better except the last couple of holes," he told Sky Sports.
"It [Spieth's low round] actually helped me. It keeps you aggressive out here. I knew he was going deep so I had to keep shooting at pins."
Hoffman added: "You're watching one of the best players in the world play good golf right now.
"You obviously can feed off him. Hopefully I can try to catch him."
If Spieth was not already feeling comfortable with his lead through 36 holes, then Hoffman's recent third rounds should leave the youngster content.
Hoffman has not posted a third round in the 60s since January's Humana Challenge, and started the weekend at the Texas Open with a 79 and the Houston Open with a 74.
"I can't say why I played bad on Saturday the last couple weeks," Hoffman said.
"I felt comfortable [but] got off to a couple bad starts, bad breaks those Saturdays."