You’ve seen the Friday highlights. The azaleas are looking perfect, and the cut line has finally settled, sending a chunk of the field home to watch from their couches. Now comes the real heat. Saturday at Augusta National is widely known as "Moving Day," but if you're hunting for the masters day 3 tee times, you're looking for more than just a schedule. You're looking for the blueprint of how the Green Jacket will be won.
The third round isn't just another 18 holes. It's a psychological meat grinder. Everything changes on Saturday—the pairings shrink from threesomes to twosomes, the atmosphere gets tighter, and the tee times shift significantly later into the morning.
Why the Masters Day 3 Tee Times Change Everything
In the first two rounds, Augusta National operates like a well-oiled machine with three-man groups starting as early as 8:00 a.m. ET. But once Friday's dusk settles and the scores are official, the tournament committee throws that logic out the window.
For the third round on Saturday, April 11, 2026, the field is trimmed to the top 50 players (including ties). Because there are fewer golfers on the course, the masters day 3 tee times usually don't even begin until approximately 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Reverse Leaderboard Logic
The order is simple but brutal: the players who barely made the cut go out first. They play in front of sparse galleries, often while the leaders are still eating breakfast or hitting their first warm-up bags on the range.
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The leaders? They have to wait.
The final pairing—the two guys currently sitting at the top of the leaderboard—won't typically tee off until around 2:40 p.m. ET. That is a massive amount of time to sit in a hotel room or a rental house, staring at a leaderboard and letting the pressure simmer.
How Ties Are Actually Broken
Here is a nuance most casual fans miss. If two players are tied for the lead, who gets the "honor" of being in that final Saturday group? It isn't a coin flip. Augusta National follows a strict "first in, last out" rule.
Basically, the golfer who posted their 36-hole score earliest on Friday earns the later tee time on Saturday. If you fired a 66 in the morning wave on Friday and someone else matched your total score at 6:00 p.m., you get the luxury of the later start.
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Moving Day Strategy and Timing
The window between 10:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. is where the tournament is often won or lost. Honestly, the early starters have a distinct advantage if the wind stays down.
- The Early Charge: Players starting around 10:30 a.m. have fresh greens. They can post a 64 or 65 and sit in the clubhouse while the leaders struggle with dried-out, crusty afternoon conditions.
- The Waiting Game: If you're in the final group, you're watching those early scores climb. You see a guy jump from T-40 to T-5. It gets in your head.
- The Amen Corner Effect: By the time the final pairings reach the 11th tee (the start of Amen Corner), it's usually around 4:30 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. The shadows are long. The wind at 12 can become completely unpredictable.
Watching the Clock at Augusta
You can't just show up at noon and expect to see the big names. If you’re lucky enough to have a badge for Saturday, you need to coordinate your movement with the masters day 3 tee times list.
Most patrons like to "plant" themselves at 16 or 18 to wait for the leaders. But the smart move? Catch the early groups at Amen Corner when the crowds are thinner, then migrate back toward the clubhouse as the heavy hitters start their rounds.
The 10-minute intervals between pairings in the third round are shorter than the 12-minute gaps used on Thursday and Friday. This creates a relentless flow of golf. There is almost no downtime.
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Weather and the Saturday Schedule
It’s important to remember that Augusta National is a stickler for tradition, but they aren't stupid. If a massive Georgia thunderstorm is projected for Saturday afternoon, the committee will scrap the standard masters day 3 tee times entirely.
We’ve seen it before. They’ll move the times up to 7:30 a.m. and use "split tees"—starting groups on both the 1st and 10th holes simultaneously. They'll also keep the players in threesomes. If you see the official schedule suddenly shift to early morning starts in groups of three, you know the weather radar looks ugly.
What to Look For on the Saturday Pairing Sheet
When the official sheet is released late Friday night, look for the "gap" groups. Usually, after every 11 groups, the committee leaves a 20-minute hole to help with the pace of play. If a group falls behind, these gaps are the only thing preventing a total logjam at the par-3 4th or the par-5 13th.
Actionable Insights for Saturday
If you are tracking the action or heading to the course, keep these specifics in mind for the 2026 third round:
- Final Group Departure: Expect the leaders to walk off the 1st tee at roughly 2:40 p.m. ET.
- TV Coverage Window: CBS usually begins their main broadcast at 3:00 p.m. ET, which perfectly aligns with the leaders playing their opening holes.
- The "Turn" Time: The lead pairing will likely reach the 10th tee around 4:45 p.m. ET. This is when the real "Moving Day" drama peaks.
- Check Official Sources: The only definitive place to get the finalized times is Masters.com or the official Masters app, which typically updates within an hour of the final putt dropping on Friday.
Keep an eye on the guys who finished their Friday rounds early. They have more rest, more time to prep, and—if the leaderboard is crowded—they’ll have the "first in, last out" priority that might just give them the extra 10 minutes of sleep they need to win a Green Jacket.