Tiger Woods at Masters 2015: Leaderboard Score, Twitter Reaction from Saturday

After a slow start Thursday, Tiger Woods has been putting together a terrific weekend at the Masters. He shot a 69 in the second round and carried that over to Saturday with a 68 to move his overall score to six under par. 

Here's a full look at the leaderboard at the third round of the Masters:

While Woods still has a mountain to climb before getting near Jordan Spieth, this is one of the most encouraging performances in this portion of his career. No one knew what to expect from the 14-time major winner after two months off, so he at least quieted the skeptics for one tournament. 

In fact, ESPN's Jason Sobel pointed out how Woods reminded him of a great player who often does well at the Masters:

In true competitive fashion, Woods said after Friday's round that he wasn't ruling out getting back into the mix for a green jacket, via Kyle Porter of CBS Sports.

"I'm still right there," said Woods. "I'm 12 back but there's not a lot of guys ahead of me. And with 36 holes here to go anything can happen."

It sounded crazy at the time, but a stellar third round pushed him into the top seven when he walked off the course.  

The front nine is where Woods made his money on Saturday, making the turn at four under with a bogey-free 32. His best shot of the day came on the par-three fourth hole, as this video from the Masters' official Twitter shows:

You can tell it is going to be a good day for Woods when the irons are working. The birdie on No. 4 was the third straight he had, with ESPN Stats & Info pointing out it was the first time he did that at the Masters in four years:

ESPN Stats & Info noted Saturdays at Augusta have historically been kind to him:

That being said, it was a surprising performance because it's been so long since Woods has been in this position. Per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel, via Tripp Isenhour of the Golf Channel, it's been nearly 600 days since Woods has finished in the top 10 at a PGA Tour event:

On the 13th hole, Woods appeared to be in trouble when he hooked a drive and consequently used some colorful language in frustration. Sobel then recapped what happened after that:

The fact that Woods not only saved face on the hole but managed to get a birdie with a 20-foot putt is as encouraging as anything he's done this weekend. He would give the shot back on No. 14 with a bogey before getting it back on the next hole. 

Woods finished with a bogey on No. 18 to dampen an otherwise strong round that he can take into Sunday.

Though there are plenty of other potential reasons for Woods' solid performance, it wouldn't be surprising if being paired with Sergio Garcia contributed to it. 

It's no secret Woods and Garcia are very different people. Garcia went so far as to address the topic on Twitter:

After 18 holes of playing together, Woods is in the top 10. Garcia didn't have a bad day at two under par, but he couldn't capitalize on the moment to show that he's playing better than Woods at this point in their careers. 

It's not like Woods wouldn't have been trying had he been paired with anyone else, but it doesn't hurt to have a little extra inspiration to show something on the golf course. 

Whatever motivated Woods for Saturday worked. He now has an opportunity to finish in the top five at a major.

Given where he was at when he took a leave in February, that's significant progress.