Rory McIlroy’s march to another Masters title took a ride through the Georgia pines and into the water and all sorts of places he didn’t want to be Saturday, including having to share space at the top of the leaderboard with Cameron Young.
This one-man show has turned into a wide-open race for the green jacket.
McIlroy lost a Masters record six-shot lead after 36 holes when he stumbled to a 1-over 73, surprising considering it was the lowest-scoring third round in Augusta National history at 70.63.
Young was eight shots behind at the start and shot a 65, which included a bogey on the par-5 15th when his wedge came up short and rolled back into the water. But he took the lead with a 20-foot birdie on the 16th, only for McIlroy to catch up at the end.
“Didn’t quite have it today,” McIlroy said before going off to the range to figure out what went wrong. He is last in the field in driving accuracy among the 54 players who made the cut.
“There’s a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow. I’m still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can’t forget that,” he said. “But I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.”
Even so, this was not the day anyone was expecting of McIlroy. Only two players were within six shots of the Masters champion going into the third round. There were nine players within McIlroy and Young when the wild day was over.
They were at 11-under 205, one ahead of Sam Burns who played bogey-free for a 68. Shane Lowry, who made a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole to become the first player to have a pair of aces in the Masters, had a 69 and was two shots behind.
And suddenly very much in the picture was the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, who had his lowest round ever at the Masters with a 65 despite not making birdie on the par 5s on the back nine for the third straight day.
He was 12 behind when he teed off, four back when the day was over.
“We’ll see what happens this afternoon. I don’t feel like I’m out of the tournament,” Scheffler said.
Sunday is set <a href=”https://twitter.com/TheMasters?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@TheMasters</a> (ET) 🍿:<br><br>2:25 p.m. McIlroy (-11), Young (-11)<br>2:14 p.m. Burns (-10), Lowry (-9)<br>2:03 p.m. Day(-8), Rose (-8)<br>1:52 p.m. Scheffler (-7), Li (-7)<br>1:41 p.m. Cantlay (-6), Henley (-6)<br>1:30 p.m. Reed (-6), Morikawa (-5) <a href=”https://t.co/bI9H2CM6TP”>pic.twitter.com/bI9H2CM6TP</a>
What happened? Just about everything.
McIlroy was plodding along with pars when he stuffed his shot on the 10th for a birdie. But then his journey through Amen Corner might have left him wanting to say a few choice words.
His shot into the 11th went left and rolled into the water, he missed a 5-foot putt and made his first double bogey of the tournament. He pulled his wedge on the par-3 12th over the green and chipped poorly, missing a 15-foot par attempt. His drive on the par-5 13th sailed into the trees to the right for the third straight day, his wedge went long and he had to scramble for par.
He was 2 over for his round on a day when everyone else was making a move.
“There’s certainly no lead that’s safe out there,” Young said. “But at the same time, Rory loves it here. I don’t think anyone would have been surprised if he went out and shot 65. But if he does open the door, you have to take advantage.”
One day after McIlroy set the record for the largest lead through 36 holes, Young found a spot in the record book by making up the largest deficit in the third round to share the lead.
It was the second time a career Grand Slam champion lost a big lead on Saturday at the Masters. Jack Nicklaus led by five shots in 1975 when he shot 73 and fell one shot behind, only to win in what is regarded as one of the most exciting Sundays in Augusta National lore.
Perhaps another chapter is in store Sunday. There’s no shortage of contenders.
Among those with in five shots of the lead are former Masters champion Patrick Reed, despite having to settle for a 72, and Patrick Cantlay, who opened the Masters with a 77 and became the first player in seven years to play bogey-free two straight days with rounds of 67-66.
Li Haotong of China shot 69 and was four behind, still mystified by topping a fairway metal that raced into the pond in front of the 15th green.
Abbotsford, B.C.’s Nick Taylor was eight shots back in a tie for 21st as the top Canadian.
McIlroy at least steadied himself after losing the lead. He holed a 20-foot birdie putt across the 14th green to tie Young, and then hit a beauty into the 15th to set up a two-putt birdie. But he was in the trees again on the 17th left of the fairway, punched out with a shot that ran over the green and fell back into a tie.
Young played with McIlroy the opening two rounds and saw that dynamic finish on Friday when McIlroy birdied six of his last seven holes. Young, the New Yorker with a pause at the top of his swing before he rips the cover off the golf ball, is familiar with a big stage.
He had as good a chance as anyone to win the British Open at St. Andrews in 2022. He also was among those tied for the lead on the back nine in the PGA Championship that year. And he is coming off his biggest win at The Players Championship in his last start.
“I’m owed nothing. My past results don’t dictate what I do tomorrow,” Young said. “I’ve got to go earn whatever I get out of tomorrow, and the best way that I know to do that is kind of try to attack the day like I have the last three.”
