By Rory Carroll
AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 11 (Reuters) – Rory McIlroy discovered again on Saturday that nothing at the Masters is secure as the defending champion’s overnight six-shot advantage vanished in the heat before Cameron Young charged into a share of the lead on 11-under after the third round.
McIlroy endured a bruising passage through Augusta National’s fabled Amen Corner. His approach at the par-four 11th missed left, kicked into the water and led to a double bogey.
He then dropped another shot at the par-three 12th after a cautious effort from behind the green and could make only par at the par-five 13th, squandering a key scoring chance.
Young, meanwhile, applied the pressure throughout and briefly seized the outright lead when he rolled in a 27-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th.
McIlroy, who has struggled off the tee all week, responded by finding the fairway at 14 and 15 and birdieing both holes to move back in front on his own.
But the Northern Irishman failed to find the fairway again at 17 and paid the price, making bogey after his par putt stopped agonisingly short.
YOUNG GUNS
Young, who began the day eight shots behind McIlroy, matched the lowest round of the week with a sparkling 65 to put himself firmly in position heading into Sunday’s final round.
The 28-year-old American arrived at Augusta in fine form, having won the Players Championship and finished tied for third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He has two top-10 finishes at the Masters in the last three years and will bid for his first Green Jacket on Sunday.
“It feels pretty good. It’s a place that I love,” Young told reporters. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play, this is my fifth Masters, and every time I come back it’s a special place to be. A Saturday 65 is not something I can complain about.”
Sam Burns was alone in third on 10-under after a bogey-free 68, while Shane Lowry sat a further shot back in fourth.
World number one Scottie Scheffler also roared into contention with an eagle at the second and five birdies in a bogey-free 65.
After starting the day 12 shots behind McIlroy, Scheffler moved within four of the lead and said he still believed he had a chance to claim a third Green Jacket.
“I don’t feel like I’m out of this tournament,” Scheffler said.
McIlroy is trying to become the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles and the first since Tiger Woods in 2002.
The loudest roar of the day came at the par-three sixth, where Lowry made a hole-in-one.
Using a seven-iron at the 190-yard hole known as Juniper, the Irishman landed his tee shot on the green before it took a couple of bounces and spun into the left side of the cup, drawing a thunderous reaction from the gallery.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)
Comments