Masters 2013: Early Round 3 Stars Who Will Falter in Round 4

The third round is affectionately known as "moving day" in golf tournaments, as it is generally the day in which the contenders weed out the pretenders. Even so, there are many golfers who turned in impressive performances on Saturday at the Masters but are somewhat stuck in the middle.

A number of players did enough during the third round to improve their standings and make Sunday's final round interesting; however, that doesn't guarantee they'll truly be factors. It's important to play four rounds of great golf in a major tournament, as poor early rounds can easily sink any chance a player may have of contending.

Here are three golfers who impressed many fans with strong play in the third round but won't be able to carry that momentum into Sunday.

Tim Clark

After Tim Clark shot a four-over 76 in the second round and sat at two over par for the tournament, few people believed the South African star would be a factor over the weekend. While Clark still has some work to do in the final round, he definitely put himself back in the conversation when he shot a fantastic five-under third round that moved him to three under for the tournament.

Clark picked up five birdies on the front nine on Saturday, and, although he played even-par golf on the back, he is suddenly a force to be reckoned with. The issue with Clark, however, is his penchant for playing inconsistent golf. Clark had a solid first round, an awful second round and a great third round, so it's impossible to predict how he'll perform on Sunday.

Even though Clark is in the mix, he has a lot of talented players to jump over, and he can't afford to make mistakes. Based on the way things have gone for him this week, it's doubtful he'll be able to maintain the pace he set on Saturday.

Nick Watney

Aside from Clark, the star of Saturday's third round was American Nick Watney. His four-under round put him at one under par for the tournament and gave him some hope heading into Sunday. It's difficult to fathom that Watney has gotten to this point when you consider how badly he stumbled out of the gates. Watney shot a six-over 78 in the opening round and seemed unlikely to make the cut.

Watney bounced back in a big way on Friday, though, as he shot a 69 and came in under the cut line. Watney could have been satisfied with simply making the cut after such a disastrous start, but he played even better on Saturday. Watney's 68 gave him two consecutive rounds under 70, and fans are talking about him as a potential dark horse.

Had Watney simply played even-par golf on Thursday, he would be in contention for a green jacket. At this point, however, he needs his third consecutive fantastic round and help to boot, so it's unlikely he'll make a run.

Bubba Watson

Defending Masters champion Bubba Watson was among the favorites to win at Augusta National this week, but a shaky start put him in a precarious position. The solid lefty opened with a 75 and didn't fare much better in the second round, shooting a 73. If not for birdies on the 15th and 16th holes on Friday, though, he wouldn't have made the cut, and he would have been waiting to hand over the green jacket on Sunday.

Watson will likely still have to do that following the final round, but at least he gets to play in the meantime. Watson appeared to play much looser on Saturday, as he completed his first under-par round of the tournament with a 70. Watson is now two over par for the tournament, although he could have been in a much better position if not for a double bogey on the par-four 11th for the second consecutive day.

Watson is a fan favorite, and it was great to see him actually having some fun in the third round, but he is too far back at this point to repeat as the Masters winner.

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