Masters 2012 Leaderboard: Players Who Are Ready to Surprise on Day 3

The usual suspects are all lurking and ready to make a run this weekend at the Masters.

Rory McIlroy. Phil Mickelson. Tiger Woods. They're all around, some closer than others.

But a quick look at the leaderboard reveals that after the co-leaders at five-under, there are another 10 golfers who are just two strokes or less behind.

Anyone could leave Sunday with the Green Jacket. 

Here's a look at some lesser talked-about names to pay attention to as we head into the final two days at Augusta. 

Fred Couples

Putting him on this list may be cheating because he's already five-under and tied first. But remember, he had a similar run here last year before dropping off and he's 52 years old. There's a good chance no one expects him to keep his current lead.

Excuse me for believing in a little magic.

Couples' last and only Major win came exactly 20 years ago right here at the Masters. If anyone else winning makes a better story, I'd like to know who. 

It's not like he's playing bad, either. Couples' putting, in particular, has been fantastic. He finished his last 12 holes of Day 2 bogey-free and he's going to be tough to beat.

Sergio Garcia

El Nino might just be one of the best golfers to have never won a Major. He's finished fourth at the Masters, third at the U.S. Open, second at the Open Championship and second at the PGA Championship.

Ouch.

Well, quietly, it looks like Garcia is on his way to yet another close call. He put together a brilliant four-under on Friday and quietly sits in third place after moving up 26 spots.

No one is talking about Garcia, who would be in first place if it weren't for his mess-up on No. 18 yesterday. 

Don't be surprised if El Nino puts together a good third round and jumps into the lead. Sunday, on the other hand, is a different story.

Peter Hanson

Call it a gut-feeling, call it a fandom towards Swedish golfers, call it whatever you want.

But if you cut Hanson's tournament so far into four nine-hole rounds, he's been terrific in three of them and god-awful in one.

In order, he has gone one-under, three-under, one-under and then three-over to end his day on Friday. If he can avoid the double-bogies—he had two of them yesterday—he will be in good shape.

I expect Hanson to get back to the way he's been playing for the majority of this tournament and make a run at the lead today.