Masters Saturday Live Blog

12:30 - Here we go, CBS is on the air and Phil Mickelson is making a move according to Jim Nantz. He's even par! Wow, who would have thought level would constitute moving up the board at Augusta.

12:38: We see Mickelson hitting into 13 from 220. What's with the cart trails all over the fairway?

12:39 - The Butler Cabin fireplace is looking better each day! Someone's been scrubbing since Thursday when it was noted here that the mantle was a tad seared.

12:46 - Wetterich nearly chips in from behind No. 3 green and now it's headed down the hill in front of the green. Oh this is going to get ugly.

1:00 - Just to give an idea how brutal the wind is: the par-5 8th hole is averaging over par and it's the third easiest hole!

1:11 - Was there a cart race out there this morning? Every fairway has cart tire streaks on every hole?

1:12 - Tiger looks steady over the 7 footers, making his second in a row before heading to 12 tee. So what time is he leading this by?

1:19 - As tough as things look, someone at GolfDigest.com notes that Nick Seitz has written about an even tougher Masters day when no one broke par.

1:20 - Stenson eagles 13, lifts his arms up sarcastically and Peter Kostis says it's the first eagle there since Thursday morning.

1:22 - Tiger bogies 12, which, frankly, looks like a good score in this wind. Then drops a big loogey on the green. But hey it's not in the cup!

1:25 - The 3rd round scoring average is now at 77.05!

1:29 - Ah fun. Tiger's trying to decide whether to go for 13 in two. Stevie is shaking his head. Kostis says 248 to the hole, 213 to the front. The lie looks awful. It's into the wind. He's laying up. Wonder if he goes for it with short grass under his ball? Ouch, the layup goes right at the patrons.

Kostis says something really, really good: "There used to be a bunch of different ways to route your ball around this golf course and I would say 20 or 30% are gone now due to the second cut and the trees that have been planted. And this is one of those situations."

1:35 - Tiger sticks wedge on 13. Kostis says "how good is that?" Scary good on that downhill lie. I say he's leading by 5:04 EST.

1:40 - The wind chill is up to 47 degrees! Fun!

1:55 - Mickelson nearly holes his approach on 18 but +6 is pretty far back...so far!

2:10 - Jerry Kelly moves to even par, as Tiger stalks his super long eagle putt on 15. And yes, I'm awake again.

2:14 - Phil says some water was put on the greens, helping out early in the round. "It's tough to be aggressive today." And he says he "knows" the winning score will be over par.

2:20 - Appleby lays up on 13 after waiting for the leaf blower gang to clean up No. 13. Kostis says it's getting really cold, but Jerry Kelly's still in short sleeves.

2:22 - Just looking at the tee times and it looks like the rounds are taking about 4:40. Hey but the scoring average is down below 77 again!

2:25 - Appleby hits a beautiful little low burning wedge into 13 that gets up to the top tier, then rolls back, only reminding us how amazing Tiger's shot was.

2:29 - Jerry Kelly putts just off 10 green, but at least the wind is dying down. He three putts to go to even par, so now it's just Appleby under par.

2:34 - Justin Rose birdies 12 to go -1 on Amen Corner for the week. All pars to this point.

2:35 - Tiger tries a wacky cut out of the trees on 17 and as Faldo notes, why because he leaves himself on the "top side" of that green. Faldo says it looks like one of Seve's old finishes when he knew he'd hit it left.

2:40 - Tiger stares at his bunker shot for an eternity on 17, finally hits. Are the bunkers furrowed? Some of those rake lines look seriously wide. He falls to +2 and some of his mid-round momentum seems lost.

2:42 - Vijay knocks it in the water on 12. Well, at least he can smell the flowers from 12 green to 13 tee.

2:44 - CBS shows Geoff Ogilvy's eagle on 13. Interestingly, according to the scoreboard, he's through 14 holes now, and has teed off on 15. A little behind! 

2:49 - Ogilvy dumps two in the water on 15. Damn.  I almost wonder if today's hole is impossible to get close to with any shot there? Oh wait, Appleby hits an incredible shot to within 10 feet from the left side of the fairway.

2:52 - Wow, Tiger flubs his approach to 18 from 154 yards. Perhaps even he is human and worn out by the grueling conditions? Na, the wind is back. He does not get up and down, finishes +3, still in great position.

3:02 - Tiger is interviewed by Bill Macatee. Not in a good mood.  

3:09 - With the final group on pace for a round just under 5 hours, will CBS stay on until the completion of play? I still don't understand why they sent them off at 3 based on the pace the first two days as well as the forecast. 

3:16 - Rose lays up on 15 with a hybrid. The half full grandstand patrons are rivetted! Seriously, where have all the fans gone?

3:24 - Appleby is in the front bunker on 7...for his 17th hole tee shot. Wow. You could see it hit the face of that super steep bunker. And did he hurt his wrist? Or is it just so bloody cold that it hurts that much. Option 2.

3:28 - Justin Rose birdies 15 to go to +1.  

3:29 - Vijay's shielding the wind with his umbrella. Tiger's in his wind pants according to Nantz. Oh joy! 

3:30 - Verne Lundquist says it's suddenly become calm on 16 for the first time today. Is that in reference to the two empty grandstands?  Wow, never seen that on a Saturday.

3:32: Appleby triples 17. We get one of our rare worm cam shots. Sheesh those greens are wickedly fast. He moves to +2 and Justin Rose is your new leader. Oh and CBS says the highest 54-hole score ever was even par by Nicklaus and Jacobs in 1966.  

3:39 - And now Vaughn Taylor is leading. Oh yeah, CBS has to stay on until the completion of play!  Zach Johnson nails a difficult downhill slider on 15 for birdie, while Vijay salvages what could have been a disaster to stay at +5!  And they all are having so much fun!

3:51 - I've given up trying to track the antics on 17. It's clear that the green remains the hole's greatest defense and the trees need to go.  

4:13 - Yes, I've officially lost interest. Need to regroup over a hot meal because it's very cold here in Santa Monica today. Didn't reach 65! Ugh. Until tomorrow...