It was Hideki Matsuyama who made the biggest moves, shooting a magnificent 65 and climbing to the top of the standings in 11 minors, four shots from Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris and Marc Leishman.
In a bogey-free round that included five little birds and an eagle, Matsuyama went eagle-bird-bird between the 15th and 17th to stretch his lead.
Aiming to become the first Japanese to win a major career, Matsuyama was composed in all phases of his game. But it was his mastery with his irons that gave him an advantage while carefully dissecting the route.
“I played well today,” he told reporters. “My game plan was carried out and I hope I can continue in my good shape tomorrow.”
After the interval due to inclement weather, the greens proved to be much slower and allowed players to make holes with more consistency.
Matsuyama, the best goal of the Masters came in 2015 when he placed fifth, took advantage and acted with remarkable consistency.
The world number 25 barely had any missed shots and punctured a vital eagle placed in the 15th hole to take the lead ahead of Rose, a two-time runner-up in Augusta.
Englishman Rose, who had led all weekend before being led by Matsuyama, looked steady and confident, while other players made their pushes to join him at the top.
It opened Saturday with two birdies, but its positive start was soon canceled by the bogeys in the fourth and fifth.
A little bird on the 12th and a bogey on the 16th saw him finish the day when the seventh minor started, although this time he had a lot of company around the classification.
The Masters Zalatoris rookie continued to impress despite his lack of experience playing at the Augusta National, and the 24-year-old hit four birdies to keep hopes of an unlikely victory.
Also on the hunt are Australian Leishman, who carded 70 on the third day, and American Shauffele, who closed with a 68 after an eagle on the 15th.
2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, who came off his first PGA Tour victory since 2017 last week, once again showed a glimpse of returning to his best level, achieving some outrageous and glorious records posts to move on to the dispute.
After a double bogey in the seventh, the main winning triplet hit a high chip in the eighth hole of the trees to land near the pin and entered the 10th to dispute it again.