Masters Scores 2012: Breaking Down the Leaderboard on Championship Sunday

The final round of the 2012 Masters will not display Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy at the top of the leaderboard. Phil Mickelson, though, has gotten hot at the right time.

The year’s first major at Augusta National has come down to a handful of golfers seeking their first green jacket, and another who has three in his closet.

This year’s standings heading into Sunday is more crowded than a Hunger Games premiere. Nine golfers are within six strokes of the lead; four were in the same position in one of last year’s majors.

It will be a race to the finish on Sunday, here’s the leaderboard heading into the final day:

Rank            Player            Today       Thru       To Par          

1            Peter Hanson            -7            F            -9                                    

2            Phil Mickelson           -6            F            -8                                      

3            Louis Oosthuizen      -3            F            -7                                       

4            Bubba Watson          -2            F            -6                                 

5            Matt Kuchar              -2            F            -5                                     

T6          Hunter Mahan          -4            F            -4                            

T6          Padraig Harrington   -4            F            -4                                 

T6          Lee Westwood         E            F            -4                             

T6          Henrik Stenson       -2            F            -4                           

10          Paul Lawrie              E            F            -3

You can check out the rest of the Masters standings at ESPN.com

1. Peter Hanson

Mickelson may be Round 3’s lead story, but Hanson was the king of Moving Day.

The Swede earned the trophy for yesterday’s best round, scoring a 65 on the day. His was just as good as Mickelson on Augusta’s back nine, and when the camera starting showing up, he put on a show for them with birdies on both 17 and 18.

Hanson has never been in a final group for a major. He’ll need another spectacular round to ward off Mickelson and others close behind.

Hopefully, for Hanson, ignorance is bliss. Then a name none of us saw coming will complete the fairy tale.

2. Phil Mickelson

Who else would be the favorite heading into Sunday?

Lefty was in prime form on the Moving Day’s back nine, especially when he caught fire with an eagle on No. 13. He followed that performance with an encore: birdies on 15 and 18. Phil went bogey-less the entire round en route to a 66.

If Lefty has some magic left, he will join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers with four green jackets. Now that’s some esteemed company. 

The world will be watching, Phil.

3. Louis Oosthuizen

4. Bubba Watson

5. Matt Kuchar

6. Four players at -4

There are more than a few looking to steal the thunder from Sunday’s final group.

The front nine has not been kind to Oosthuizen thus far, but if he can get to the Amen Corner unscathed, he has the low score to hang around all afternoon.

Watson and Kuchar both have gone deep into major tournaments recently; they both will be aggressive in their final-round approach.

Scouting the bunch hanging around at four under par, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington could be potential party crashers. Westwood has a knack for top-five finishes in majors, while Harrington is validated by three major championships. 

Should be an interesting Sunday at Augusta National. As for tomorrow's champion, it could be anybody's guess.