Rory McIlroy jumped out to a historic six-stroke lead and tied with Cameron Young heading into the final day of his dramatic Masters title defense.
McIlroy entered the weekend with the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history at Augusta National, but his hopes of joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods for back-to-back titles suffered a notable setback on Saturday.
Young, ranked No. 2 in the world, fell behind in the third round, dropping three strokes on two holes near the iconic Amen Corner and throwing the tournament into chaos. Young, on the other hand, charged from the back in eighth place to take the lead in the clubhouse with a stunning 7-under 65.
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Cameron Young shot a 65 in the third round to take a share of the lead at Augusta National.
McIlroy fought back with back-to-back birdies starting at the 14th hole, but bogeyed the penultimate hole and finished the third round with a 73, dropping back to level with Young at 11 under, leaving Sam Barnes in third place, one stroke behind, ahead of Shane Lowry.
Lowry shot a hole-in-one in the third round with a 68 and is one of eight players to come within four strokes of the leader, with last year’s runner-up Justin Rose sharing fifth place with Jason Day and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler returning to contention alongside Young’s 65.
Young joins McIlroy in sensational Saturday
McIlroy quickly fell behind after swinging his first two shots and partner Burns made a birdie-birdie start and hit bogey, but Reed opened with three consecutive birdies and quickly cut his advantage to two points.
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Rory McIlroy bogeys the first hole of his third round at Augusta and quickly closes the lead.
McIlroy regained momentum by driving the green on the par-4 third, making a two-putt birdie. McIlroy led by four after Reid failed to lift himself out of the sand and hit the first of a series of bogeys.
Lowry made a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th hole to move into the group in a tie for second place. Lee made three birdies in four consecutive holes and made a tap-in eagle on the par-5 eighth to catch up next.
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Shane Lowry made an incredible hole-in-one on the par-3 6th hole in the third round.
McIlroy made pars on the 4th, 6th and 7th holes, and was unable to get a birdie on the par-5 8th, but Young, who was playing five groups ahead of him, turned on the 32nd and started the second ninth with a birdie to turn things around.
Young had birdies in quick succession starting at the 13th, but after McIlroy started the 29th with a birdie, he found water on his approach at the par-4 11th, causing him to drop his wedge into the water on his way to bogey at the par-5 15th.
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Rory McIlroy made a double bogey on the 11th hole, then bogeyed the next.
After suffering his first double-bogey of the week, McIlroy also suffered a drop shot on the par-3 12th hole and a 25-foot birdie on the 16th to move to 11 under and give Young a full advantage for the first time.
Burns was within one until McIlroy, who birdied six of his final seven holes on Friday, poured in from 20 feet on the 14th and sank two putts from a similar distance on the next hole to take the lead by one.
McIlroy aims to win a sixth major title and equal Sir Nick Faldo’s all-time record
McIlroy made it through the par-3 16th, but missed the green in the trees on the next par-4, and a bogey put him back alongside Young, and the pair will be out together in the final group on Sunday.
“I would have liked to have been in a better position going into tomorrow with a six-shot lead, but we still have a big chance,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “I’m in the final group, exactly where you want me to be.
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Rory McIlroy reflects on his disappointing third day of the Masters, where he lost a six-stroke lead before the final round
“I wish we had a little more cushion, but we’re going to go to the practice range here and figure it out. We’ve got to be better tomorrow. We still have a big chance, but to win tomorrow we’ve got to be a little bit better than we were today.”
Young shot a 65 with eight birdies and one bogey, Burns shot an unblemished 68 to strengthen his hopes of winning his first major, and Lowry fell back by just two after becoming the first player to record multiple aces at the Masters.
Shane Lowry heads into final day of Masters at 9 under
How can I watch the final day of the Masters?
Live coverage of the final round will begin on Sky Sports Golf on Sunday at 4.30pm, with full coverage beginning at 5pm and continuing until long after the final putt is holed.
The infamous Amen Corner stream will also be available, focusing on the famous three-hole stretch from No. 11, and that featured group of programming will be available to watch on the Sky Sports+ channel.
Feeds for holes 4, 5 and 6 will be live every day as soon as the opening group arrives on that part of the course, with separate streams covering holes 15 and 16, and featured groups will also be available on Sky Sports+.
Can McIlroy win the Masters? Watch the final round live on Sky Sports Golf from 4.30pm on Sunday and enjoy exclusive coverage on Sky Sports+. Get and stream Sky Sports without a contract.
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