2014 Masters tee times and pairings for Saturday's round

Thanks to Bubba Watson, the cut at the Masters chopped the field just about in half, with 51 of 97 players making it through to play the weekend at Augusta. Earlier in the day, before Bubba went on his five-straight-birdies streak and pushed the leading number to 7-under, it was looking like more than 70 guys would make the cut via the 10-shot rule. But Bubba's run adjusted that 10-shot threshold from about 6-over being safe to 4-over being the last players in, and 47 ending up packing their bags early.

The field of 51 is smaller than we almost always get for the final two rounds of a tournament so there's plenty of flexibility for the tournament committee when it comes to setting the schedule. The forecast for perfect weather the entire weekend also helps, and there should be no disruptions in play or a need to move tee times up to try and race any storms.

Saturday's third round will start on the first tee at 10:15 a.m. ET, with Rory McIlroy, the last player to sneak through the cut at 4-over in the final group on Friday night. Rory needed to hit about a 5-foot putt on the final green, and after a day full of bad breaks and unlucky bounces, the Ulsterman rolled one true in the Augusta gloaming to stick around a couple more days. With the odd number of players left, he'll be out solo but it's likely he asks for a noncompeting marker -- someone who the club calls in to play alongside a player to keep the general rhythm and pace to a round that they expect and covet.

The honors for this at Augusta usually fall to Jeff Knox, a local who is also a member at ANGC and a really good player that can competently keep up with the pros. Last year, Knox got to play with Bubba and Keegan Bradley on the weekend, and now he's probably going to play with Rory McIlroy in the biggest golf tournament in the world. That's not a bad gig.

McIlroy, of course, will be done before the leaders ever leave the locker room or driving range. At the bottom anchoring the tee sheet is Bubba Watson, the leader by three, who will get Australian John Senden at 2:45 p.m. Senden was not even in the field a month ago, but a come-from-behind win on Sunday at the Valspar Championship in Tampa punched his ticket to the season's first major. He matched Bubba with the round of the day, a 4-under 68 to settle at 4-under for the tournament. This is certainly the biggest stage for Senden, who has been around for awhile and is now in the best position to deliver a second straight win for Australia.

Senden may be in the best position at the 36-hole mark, but the best bet and Aussie horse to ride is Adam Scott. The defending champion will be out in the third-to-last pairing of the day at 2:25 p.m., and it is a heavyweight duo. Jordan Spieth's birdie putt on the 18th, the last stroke of the day, pushed him back to 3-under and a date with Scott on Saturday. These are the two guys everyone's pushing as the biggest challengers for Bubba, but they'll need to get to work early on "moving day" at Augusta.

Saturday at The Masters

• Watson charges to top of leaderboard • Scott and Spieth are late challengers • Mickelson and Garcia miss the cut • McIlroy nearly takes out Scott • Fred Couples channels 1992 • Hole-by-hole breakdown • Drop in TV ratings with no Tiger

One group ahead of Scott and Spieth is Fred Couples, the ageless ace of Augusta who is in his usual position on the first page of the leaderboard. The 1992 winner has been playing on the senior circuit for a few years now, but he continues to take advantage of that lifetime invite to the Masters by competing with the young bombers on a course he knows so well. Unfortunately, if trends hold, this is about the time the magic runs out for Freddie, as his back and age have prevented him from keeping the momentum rolling through the final 36 holes. We'll see if he can keep it up on Saturday, playing with Jimmy Walker at 2:15 p.m.

Moving day is always fun at Augusta, with the course punishing mistakes but still setting up birdie chances for players farther down the board. A three-shot lead by Watson is not exactly insurmountable, given that Bubba's prone to the blow-up hole. He could quickly come back to the field and open it up for anyone in the second half of the tee sheet. TV coverage is set to start at 3 p.m., so the final groups of the day will have almost their entire rounds covered by the CBS cameras -- a change from the first two days.

Here's the tee sheet for Saturday at Augusta (all times Eastern):