Olympic Men's Golf 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Score, Highlights and Reaction

With just 18 holes of golf remaining at the 2016 Olympics, Justin Rose holds a one-shot lead over Henrik Stenson after a strong 65 on Saturday.   

Marcus Fraser came into the third round holding a one-shot lead over Thomas Pieters, with Stenson hot on their heels. Fraser and Stenson remain in contention heading into the final round, but Pieters fell off the map with a six-over 77. 

Here's the leaderboard after the third round from Rio de Janeiro:

Position	Player	Score
1	Justin Rose	-12
2	Henrik Stenson	-11
3	Marcus Fraser	-9
T4	Bubba Watson	-6
T4	David Lingmerth	-6
T4	Emiliano Grillo	-6
T7	Mikko Ilonen	-5
T7	Padraig Harrington	-5
T7	Matt Kuchar	-5
T7	Gregory Bourdy	-5
T7	Rafael Cabrera-Bello	-5
T12	Kiradech Aphibarnrat	-4

Full leaderboard via NBCOlympics.com. 

Rose was on top of his game right out of the gate, with a birdie on the first hole. He did stumble on No. 2 with a bogey, but he rebounded with two eagles on the next three holes and took the lead at 10 under. 

Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard amusingly pointed out why Rose had suddenly kicked things up a notch:

While he would not be an unlikely winner because he's had success in the not-too-distant past, including winning the U.S. Open in 2013, Rose has not won a PGA Tour event this season and has just five top-10 finishes in 15 tournaments.

As good as he was on Saturday, though, Stenson looks like the favorite to walk away with a gold medal heading into the final round. He finished the third round with a score of 68, which continues his trend of consistent success, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Rickie Fowler put together one of his best rounds of the year on Saturday. The 27-year-old entered the day as a non-factor at four over and needed a miracle if he was even going to get back to par, let alone have any shot at a medal. 

Whatever he changed overnight did the trick, as he carded a seven-under 64 that included a 29 on the front nine. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, it's been a long time since Fowler has had a score that low in an official PGA Tour event:

It's also a stark contrast for Fowler, who elicited all sorts of negative comments for his early-round effort, including this from Dan Jenkins of Golf Digest:

Odds remain against his getting a medal because he's still six shots behind Fraser for third place, but showing he can go this low in a round does inspire confidence that he can get a victory on the PGA Tour before this year ends. 

Another player who shined on Saturday was Bubba Watson, who moved into a tie for fourth place after shooting a 67 that brought his total score to six under par. He did a lot of damage early, with four bogeys in the first five holes, and made it stick by shooting an even-par 36 on the back nine. 

The round was not always smooth sailing for Watson. On the 14th hole with a 30-foot birdie putt, he misjudged the angle of the green, causing his ball to travel about five feet and forcing him to settle for a bogey. 

Saturday's low scores certainly made things more interesting as the quest for medals in golf goes into its final phase. Rose is at the top of the heap thanks to his consistency over the first 54 holes.

Stenson remains hot on Rose's heels and has shown no signs of slowing down, not to mention breaking 70 in 17 of his last 21 rounds. Fraser is right in the mix for a gold, too, though he will need a better effort on Sunday to walk out of Rio with a medal of any kind. 

Fowler proved anyone can move himself back into contention in a hurry. The window is starting to close more rapidly with 18 holes left, so any moves made in the final round will need to happen quickly.