Masters 2012 Leaderboard: Lee Westwood Resurrects His Chances in Third Round

A crazy second day at Augusta took some of the heat off Lee Westwood as he fell from the top of the leaderboard, but on Day 3 he rolled right back into contention with some early success.

After shooting a first-round 67 on Thursday, Westwood sat atop the leaderboard at five-under, but a mediocre second round set him back. On Day 2, he parred the front nine but had a bogey and a double-bogey on the back to end the day with a one-over 73.

It was a disappointment after such a strong showing in the opening round, but Westwood didn't let it faze him heading into Day 3. He birded the second hole and parred the other six to sit at one-under through seven, good enough to be back in the mix at four-under overall.

Matt Kuchar was the latest surprise to surge into contention on Saturday, moving into first place at six-under after birdying three holes on the front nine. He shot a 71 in the first round and a 70 in the second.

A big surprise for many has been Rory McIlroy's play in the third round. After a steady climb on Day 2, he seemed poised to shoot farther up the leaderboard, but struggled in the early going on Saturday and really started to fall apart toward the end of the front nine.

He started the day at four-under, but double-bogeyed the first hole on Saturday—the same hole he double-bogeyed to start off the tournament on Thursday—then bogeyed the fifth and double-bogeyed the seventh, ending up at one-over par.

Tiger Woods' struggles continued on Day 3, as he shot a 72 to remain three-over, good for 40th place on the leaderboard.

So, as some predicted, the two favorites to win at Augusta—Woods and McIlroy—are floundering while Westwood, who entered the tournament ranked third in the world, proves that he should have been included in the conversation.

Without much time left for Tiger and McIlroy to bounce back, it looks like Westwood could be the one to have the last word this year.