Masters Leaderboard 2018: Saturday Score Updates and Tournament Predictions

The leaders of the 2018 Masters don't tee off until 2:30 p.m. ET, but there is already a buzz circling Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. 

Before Patrick Reed tries to replicate his incredible second-round performance, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are attempting to move closer to even par from the morning pairings.

Mickelson is 14 shots behind Reed, while Woods is 13 back of the leader, but that won't stop the gallery from finding something to cheer for before the battle at the top of the leaderboard begins.

Reed is joined by Marc Leishman in the final pairing, while Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson headline a pack of players lurking right behind the leading pair.

You can follow all of Saturday's action at the Masters in Bleacher Report's third-round live blog.

Saturday Leaderboard

Patrick Reed (-9) 

Marc Leishman (-7)

Henrik Stenson (-5)

Rory McIlroy (-4)

Jordan Spieth (-4)

Dustin Johnson (-3)

Justin Thomas (-3)

Full leaderboard can be found here.

Tournament Predictions

Rory McIlroy Leads After the 3rd Round 

The gap between Reed and McIlroy is five shots, but it will close quickly as the front nine eats up the leader.

In addition to early struggles by Reed, who comes back to pack after two rounds in the 60s, the players underneath him on the leaderboard, like McIlroy, make early birdies to announce their presence.

When he earned his best finish at the Masters in 2015, McIlroy used a third-round 68 to move into contention behind Spieth, and he followed that up with a 66 in the final round to earn fourth place.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

McIlroy showed glimpses of his potential at Augusta this week during the opening round, as his 69 was overshadowed by Spieth's 66.

While most of the game's top players struggled with the conditions Friday, McIlroy kept a steady hand and improved his total score by a stroke with a 71.

With eight birdies and four bogeys through two rounds, McIlroy displayed the on-course discipline that is required of a Masters champion.

Look for McIlroy to take advantage of the opening three holes, as he recorded three birdies in that stretch to start the tournament.

As long as he keeps his round in tact entering the back nine, the 28-year-old has a chance to replicate his form on holes 13-15, where he is four-under for the tournament.

A strong closing stretch mixed in with the inconsistency of other golfers should put McIlroy on top entering the final round.

Cameron Smith Becomes Saturday's Surprise Star

Australian Cameron Smith is a part of an unheralded pairing Saturday, as he plays with Charley Hoffman, who held the first-round lead a year ago.

While some players have bounced up and down the leaderboard, Smith applied consistency to his first two rounds, as he shot 71 Thursday and 72 Friday.

Smith is far from the sexy pick to shoot up the standings and go head-to-head with the likes of McIlroy and Spieth, but the third round has been his best set of 18 holes on the PGA Tour this season.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The 22-year-old, who is 45th in the World Golf Ranking, has four third-round performances of 69 or lower in 10 events.

In addition to his impressive Saturday form, Smith came into the Masters with a fifth-place finish at the Dell Match Play, which was his second-best placing of the season.

With few eyes on Smith due to the presence of high-profile players in the groups starting after the 22-year-old, he catches many people by surprise to earn a spot in the top 10 entering Sunday.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from PGATour.com and Augusta.com.