Young in tie for lead as McIlroy falters – The Masters

Round 3

Rory McIlroy squandered a historic six-shot lead to leave him level with Cameron Young heading into the final day of a dramatic title defence at The Masters.

McIlroy took the biggest 36-hole lead in tournament history into the weekend at Augusta National, only to see his hopes of joining Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as a back-to-back champion suffer a sizeable setback in a remarkable Saturday.

The world No 2 blew the tournament wide open when he made a slow start to his third round and dropped three shots in two holes around the iconic Amen Corner, as Young charged from eight behind to grab the clubhouse lead with a stunning seven-under 65.

McIlroy responded with back-to-back birdies from the 14th but bogeyed his penultimate hole, pulling him back alongside Young on 11 under after a third-round 73, with Sam Burns a shot off the pace in third ahead of Shane Lowry.

Lowry fired a hole-in-one during a third-round 68 and is one of eight players within four strokes of the lead, with last year’s runner-up Justin Rose sharing fifth place with Jason Day as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler charged back into contention by matching Young’s 65.

McIlroy immediately lost ground with a two-shot swing at the first, making bogey as playing partner Burns posted a birdie-birdie start, while Reed opened with three consecutive birdies to quickly cut the advantage to two.

Momentum went back McIlroy’s way when driving the green at the par-four third set up a two-putt birdie, which lifted him four ahead when Reed failed to get up and down from the sand and carded the first of successive bogeys.

Lowry jumped into the group tied-second after firing a hole-in-one at the par-three sixth, with Li the next to push after following three birdies in a four-hole stretch with a tap-in eagle at the par-five eighth.

McIlroy scrambled pars on the fourth, sixth and seventh then failed to birdie the par-five eighth, as Young – playing five groups ahead – closed by reaching the turn in 32 and starting his second nine with a birdie.

Young posted back-to-back birdies from 13th but sent a wedge into the water on his way to a bogey at the par-five 15th, as McIlroy started his second nine with a birdie before finding water with his approach into the par-four 11th.

McIlroy followed his first double-bogey of the week with another dropped shot at the par-three 12th, giving Young the outright advantage for the first time when he drained a 25-foot birdie at the 16th to get to 11 under.

Burns was also within one until McIlroy, who birdied six of his last seven holes on Friday, poured in from 20 feet at the 14th and two-putted from a similar distance at the next to edge back one ahead.

McIlroy safely negotiated the par-three 16th but missed the green from the trees at the par-four next, resulting in a bogey to slip back alongside Young, with the pair set to go out together in the final group on Sunday.

“I would have wanted to be in a better position going into tomorrow starting with a six-shot lead, but I still have a great chance,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “I’m in the final group, which is exactly where you want to be.

“I wish I had a little bit more of a cushion, but I’m going to go to the range here and try to figure it out. I’ll need to be better tomorrow. I still have a great chance but if I’m going to win tomorrow, I’m going to have to be a little bit better than I was today.”

Young mixed eight birdies and a lone bogey in his 65 and Burns posted a blemish-free 68 to bolster his hopes of a maiden major, with Lowry just two back after becoming the first player ever to post multiple aces at The Masters.