Masters 2012: Predicting the Top 10 Lowest Scores

The third round of the Masters is the most important round for many of the golfers in the tournament's field, because Saturday is the time to make a move and distance yourself from the rest of the field.

Jason Dufner and Fred Couples lead the tournament at five-under-par through two rounds, but with the difficulty of Augusta, it's unlikely that these two players will still sit atop the leader board by the conclusion of the third round. 

The final two holes have been very difficult for a number of players, including stars such as Rory McIlroy. Holes 17 and 18 have been a headache because of the accuracy you need to have to be successful on them. There's little room for error off the tee.

Tiger Woods has a real uphill battle in the third round. His three-over 75 on Friday leaves him eight shots back of the co-leaders heading into Saturday. Woods was frustrated throughout the second round after some terrible tee shots prevented him from making the amount of birdies he would have liked.

Let's look at a prediction of what the leader board will look like after the third round.

Third Round Projections

Position	Golfer	Score	Notes
1st	Rory McIlroy	-7	McIlroy will take charge of the field with a great third round
2nd	Bubba Watson	-6	Watson is comfortable on the tee and playing with confidence
T-3	Sergio Garcia	-5	Garcia knows Augusta and is putting well
T-3	Fred Couples	-5	The veteran and former Masters champion is a real threat
T-3	Nick Watney	-5	Watney's all-around talent makes him a threat
T-6	Jason Dufner	-4	Dufner won't be able to maintain his lead on Saturday
T-6	Lee Westwood	-4	Westwood will be a major contender on Sunday
T-6	Henrik Stenson	-4	Stenson must finish his rounds better on the weekend
T-9	Phil Mickelson	-3	Lefty will have a solid round and be a threat going into Sunday
T-9	Miguel Jimenez	-3	Jimenez is a dark horse contender for the green jacket

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