Andy Sullivan struggles on Day three at Augusta

England's Andy Sullivan quickly discovered that Augusta National would be no pushover despite much better conditions for the third round of the Masters.

Sullivan could only add a birdie-free 78 to his opening 71, but made the cut with a shot to spare as strong winds over the first two days made scoring conditions difficult.

However, any hopes of a surge through the field were soon dashed as the 30-year-old from Nuneaton carded a hat-trick of bogeys from the third to drop back to eight over par.

The final group was not due out until 3pm local time, with Sergio Garcia and Charley Hoffman sharing the lead with Thomas Pieters and Rickie Fowler on four under.

All four players are seeking a first major title and knew the importance of staying close to the lead, with every Masters champion since 1990 being inside the top five after 54 holes.

Garcia, who has recorded 22 top-10 finishes in majors, had the added incentive of being able to claim a first title on Sunday, which would have been the 60th birthday of two-time champion and fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.

However, the 37-year-old would need a vast improvement on his third round scoring average of 74.92, which includes an 81 last year and no scores in the 60s.

After finishing 12th here in 2012, Garcia famously claimed he was not good enough to win a major, but said on Friday: "'I was frustrated then but I probably didn't accept things as well as I should have.

''I've shown myself many times after that I can contend and I truly feel I can not only win one (major) but more than one."

Pieters turned in a record performance as a rookie in Europe's Ryder Cup defeat last year and is certainly not phased about trying to become the first player to win on their Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

"It's just a stat," said the 25-year-old Belgian, who won four of his five matches at Hazeltine. "It's just like as the best rookie on the Ryder Cup team. We lost. So I don't really care about that stat.

"As any tournament, I just like to get within three or four shots on a Sunday afternoon. Then you really give yourself a chance. It's a bit bold to say that you want to come here and win and then you don't do it, and you know, you look like a fool.

"If I just get in contention on Sunday afternoon, that's all I want."

Fowler finished in the top five in all four majors in 2014 but was sharing an overnight lead in one for the first time, while Hoffman was ninth at Augusta in 2015 after lying second at halfway.

Sullivan dropped another shot on the ninth to reach the turn in 40, but former world number one Jason Day proved that a good score was possible as he returned a 69.

First out alongside marker and Augusta member Jeff Knox - who famously outscored Rory McIlroy when they played together in 2014 - Day carded two birdies and two bogeys in a front nine of 36.

The 29-year-old Australian then caught fire on the back nine with four birdies in succession from the 12th, before a bogey on the 17th took some of the gloss off the day and left him three over par.

McIlroy, who began the day five off the lead, started in style with a drive of 348 yards on the first, but produced a mediocre approach and failed to convert a birdie attempt from 28 feet.