Masters leaderboard 2014: Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar jump ahead while Fred Couples charges

The leaders are just a few holes into Sunday’s final round at the Masters, and the early mover is 54-year-old Fred Couples. The 1992 winner birdied the first two holes at Augusta National to promptly jump to 3-under, just three shots off the pace.

Couples making the cut is automatic at Augusta. It’s a course where some of the older guys can still hang with the really long hitters, and Couples has perfected the way to play it at his age. In the past four years, he has finished 6th, 15th, 12th, and 13th. It’s an amazing run, but after getting to the first page of the leaderboard at the midpoint, he usually recedes on the weekend. His notoriously balky back catches up with his ability to make crisp swings four straight days on the hilly Augusta layout.

But Freddie held on in the third round to stay in the conversation, shooting a 1-over 73 to settle just outside the top 10. And now he’s made an early move to apply some pressure to the leaders behind him. He will draw massive crowds and roars every time he does something good, so it’s going to be one of the biggest early stories.

Behind Couples, however, a couple Americans are pushing the margin, with Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar the first to get it to 6-under. Spieth went wayward off the first tee, but managed to get back on track and get off with a par. At the second, a gettable par-5 that surrendered that double-eagle to Louis Oosthuizen two years ago, Spieth had to lay up but put his third shot within striking distance on the sloping green. His birdie putt snuck in the back door for a momentary spot alone on top of the leaderboard.

That putt would put Spieth on top for just a few moments, as Kuchar chipped in one hole ahead to erase the lead. Kuchar, who started a shot behind Spieth, got his birdie at the par-5 second but looked to be in trouble on the shorter par-4 third hole. After putting his ball over the green, he needed to get up-and-down to stay a shot back. Instead, Kuchar, with the flagstick still in the cup, ran it right in for the back-to-back birdies and co-share of the lead.

The lanky Georgia Tech product probably hit the shot of the day on Saturday, a smooth chip from an impossible spot at No. 15. And this chip is now the early shot of the day on Sunday. Here’s the current leaderboard after some early movements at Augusta: