Moving day: Separating the contenders from the pretenders

<p>Make way on the Masters leaderboard. Here come Paul Casey and Bernhard Langer _ and they're bringing Kirk Triplett and Fredrik Jacobson along for the ride.</p><p>Look out below. There go Justin Rose and Jose Maria Olazabal, with Alex Cejka and Charles Howell III right on their heels.</p><p>The Masters may not start until the back nine Sunday, but it started taking shape during the pivotal third round. Never was moving day a more appropriate moniker than this Saturday at Augusta National.</p><p>Now we know the contenders. Now we know the pretenders.</p><p>Rose certainly falls into the latter category. The 23-year-old Englishman led after each of the first two rounds, defying his status as the youngest pro in the field. Alas, he wilted under the bright glare of a Masters weekend, tumbling through the field with a monumental collapse.</p><p>Rose bogeyed the first three holes _ more bogeys than he had in the first two rounds combined _ and it didn't get any better from there. Six more bogeys. Not one birdie. An 81 that tied a tournament record for the worst third-round score by a 36-hole leader.</p><p>Only Lee Trevino, who shot 81 in 1989, was ever this bad.</p><p>"I said to someone that no matter what happens, today was going to be a great learning experience," Rose said. "It's not the end of the world. But it hurts."</p><p>While moving day takes away from some, it gives to others.</p><p>Casey, only three years older than his countryman Rose and playing in his first Masters, opened the tournament with a 2-over 75 but has proven to be a quick learner. A 69 Friday kept him alive for the weekend; a 68 Saturday made him a full-fledged contender.</p><p>He'll begin the final round just two strokes behind co-leaders Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco.</p><p>Casey's pedigree hardly hinted at this sort of performance. In his previous five majors, he missed the cut four straight times before finishing 66th at last year's PGA Championship.</p><p>"I just approached this one different than how I approached majors in the past," Casey said. "I put too much pressure on myself in the past."</p><p>He invited over some family and friends from England, set up a pingpong table at his house and drove up Magnolia Lane one day with the stereo blaring the "Caddyshack" soundtrack.</p><p>"These are events that every professional golfer would dearly love to win," Casey said. "I almost tried too hard. This week, I'm very relaxed. I think I'm approaching things the right way."</p><p>With two green jackets already, Olazabal sure knows his way through the azaleas and Georgia pines. But his local knowledge wasn't very apparent Saturday when the Spaniard staggered to a 79, his worst Masters score since he was a 21-year-old playing the tournament for only the second time in 1987.</p><p>Olazabal's iron play was atrocious _ he hit only eight of 18 greens in regulation _ and he couldn't bale himself out with a putter.</p><p>Not a good combination at Augusta.</p><p>"I missed a lot of irons and gave myself some difficult positions," Olazabal said. "The putting is not working well. That's about it."</p><p>Langer surged into contention for a third Masters title with a 69. He was just three strokes off the lead, giving himself a chance to break Jack Nicklaus' record as the oldest Masters champion.</p><p>"That's the great thing about golf," said the 46-year-old Langer, who is five months younger than Nicklaus was in 1986. "If you stay in shape, work hard on your game, you can still compete. Jack showed it."</p><p>Cejka was still hanging around until the final hole. He hooked his tee shot into the woods and couldn't find it, forcing him to take a stroke penalty and tee off again.</p><p>His fourth shot sailed into the right bunker and he couldn't get up and down, settling for a triple-bogey that left him with a 78.</p><p>Howell, who grew up five minutes from Augusta National, would dearly love to add one of those garish green jackets to his outlandish wardrobe. Not this year. He soared to a 76, the lowlight coming at 11 when he curled his approach into the water and took double bogey.</p><p>"Obviously, I'd like to go out tomorrow and shoot a low score," Howell said. "Gee, I love this place, I love this golf course, I love this tournament."</p><p>Triplett quietly crept into contention. He closed the front side with three straight birdies, finished with a 69 and went to the final day just four strokes back. He's trying to win his first major at age 42.</p><p>Sweden's Jacobson, who barely made the cut after a 74-74 start, was only five strokes back after shooting 67 _ the best score of the day.</p><p>"Certainly, to get in red numbers and shooting the score I did today, I have a chance," Jacobson said.</p><p>That's what moving day is all about.</p>

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