Moving day at the Masters Tournament definitely had a European flavor Saturday.

The biggest moves up the leaderboard came from a contingent of players from countries across that continent. For instance:

SWEDEN: Fredrik Jacobson (Stats | Bio) tied the low round of the tournament with 5-under-par 67 to vault into contention with a three-day score of 1-under par, five shots off the lead. His score would have been a shot lower if he hadn't botched a 5-foot par putt on No. 18.

IRELAND: Padraig Harrington (Stats | Bio) shot 4-under-par 68 and will enter today's round at even-par.

ENGLAND: Paul Casey (Stats | Bio) moved into contention by shooting 4-under-par 68 in his first Masters and is two shots off the lead.

GERMANY: Bernhard Langer, the European Ryder Cup captain, made a strong move toward his third green jacket with 69 and stands at 3-under par for the tournament.

Interestingly, this group basically swapped positions with a set of fellow Europeans who entered the third round at the top of the leaderboard but fell back Saturday.

The course was not as kind to second-round leader Justin Rose (Stats | Bio) of England (81), Germany's Alex Cejka (Stats | Bio) (78) and Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal (Stats | Bio) (79) as it had been the first two days.

Being 10 shots out of the lead proved beneficial to Harrington, who went into Saturday's round with nothing to lose. He decided that it was either make a move now or plan on being in the first group again today.

"I think you're hitting the same shots you're hitting normally, it's just that you're a bit more relaxed when hitting them because the consequences are not that bad," Harrington said. "If you're already last in the field, what's the worst you can do?You're a little bit more relaxed taking on the shots, and you're not getting in your own way."

Harrington was not the only European who hit a comfort level Saturday. Despite being a newcomer to the Masters hoopla, Jacobson believed that Augusta National Golf Club suited his game, particularly on the infamously slick greens that demand a steady hand on the putter, his forte.

"I believed coming in that it was a course that suits my game pretty good," Jacobson said. "It was a little bit disappointing (Friday) not making any putts over four feet. I was getting the rhythm a bit (Friday) and (Saturday). Played the same way, played very good from tee to green and got the putter going as well. So that was a nice combination."

The good work by the Europeans comes as many critics are wondering about the level of play coming from those across the pond. And coming into a tournament that Europe's great players of the past two decades dominated during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the poor showing in the rankings was even more striking.

But up-and-comers such as Casey have their sights on again turning the Masters into the equivalent of a European Tour event.

"I would love to continue that trend," Casey said. "The (British) Open Championship is the one I would love to win.

"But this is a very, very close second."

Reach Mike Wynn at (706) 823-3218 or mike.wynn@augustachronicle.com.