-
Mark Schlabach
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy is eighteen holes away from {golfing} immortality.
The 35-year-old from Northern Eire will take a two-stroke lead into the ultimate spherical of the 89th Masters at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership after producing one in every of his finest rounds in a significant championship with a 6-under 66 on Saturday that moved him to 12 beneath after 54 holes.
McIlroy, the world No. 2, must win an elusive inexperienced jacket to affix Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Participant, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the one golfers to finish the profession Grand Slam within the Masters period.
It will likely be McIlroy’s eleventh try at ending the profession Grand Slam, and this is perhaps his finest alternative to do it.
“I feel I nonetheless should remind myself that there is a lengthy solution to go, similar to I mentioned yesterday, 18 holes,” McIlroy mentioned. “I, simply as a lot as anybody else, know what can occur on the ultimate day right here.”
LIV Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau is maybe the most important impediment in his approach. DeChambeau made a 48-foot putt from the perimeter of the 18th inexperienced to get inside two strokes of McIlroy. He made birdies on three of the final 4 holes to put up a 3-under 69.
McIlroy and DeChambeau will tee off within the ultimate pairing at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
It will likely be a rematch of their final-round duel within the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. McIlroy missed two quick putts within the ultimate three holes, permitting DeChambeau to make a memorable shot from a bunker and par putt on the 72nd gap to win his second main, each coming within the U.S. Open.
“It will likely be the grandest stage that we have had in a very long time, and I am excited for it,” DeChambeau mentioned. “We each need to win actually, actually badly. You recognize, shoot, there’s a whole lot of nice gamers behind us, too. Bought to be conscious of that and focus. It is about who can management themselves and who can execute the golf photographs one of the best.”
Canada’s Corey Conners was third at 8 beneath, and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg have been tied for fourth at 6 beneath.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who struggled via an even-par 72 on Saturday, is amongst 4 golfers tied for sixth at 5 beneath.
After a birdie-eagle-birdie begin erased his two-stroke deficit and gave him the outright lead Saturday, McIlroy led by as many as 4 strokes on the primary 9. However his unsteady play across the flip — he made bogeys on the par-5 eighth and par-4 tenth — reduce his benefit to 1.
McIlroy took management of the season’s first main once more with a birdie on the par-5 thirteenth and a second eagle of the spherical on the par-5 fifteenth. After blasting a 339-yard drive down the proper facet of the fifteenth fairway, McIlroy knocked his strategy to six toes and sank the birdie putt to maneuver to 12 beneath, 4 strokes in entrance of Conners and 5 forward of Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and DeChambeau.
McIlroy would possibly have already got one arm in a sleeve of the inexperienced jacket if he hadn’t carded double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17 within the first spherical. He completed the opening spherical at even-par 72 and trailed first-round chief Rose by seven strokes.
McIlroy rebounded to go 12 beneath in his previous 36 holes. He’s solely the sixth golfer in Masters historical past to put up consecutive 66s in the identical event.
If McIlroy finishes the job Sunday, his seven-stroke deficit will tie the most important via 18 holes by a Masters winner. Nick Faldo (1990) and Woods (2005) additionally got here again from that many.
“There’s clearly strain, however he has strain each single week,” mentioned Jason Day, who’s amongst these tied for sixth after a third-round 71. “He appeared very targeted, decided to clearly accomplish that. It would not appear to be he is specializing in it, that is the factor. I do know it is at the back of his thoughts, however I feel he is operating off a lot confidence, and he has a lot perception in his recreation that it is nearly like he is aware of it should occur. And whenever you’re taking part in like that, it’s extremely harmful.”
McIlroy additionally will attempt to finish a greater than 10-year drought with out a main championship victory. It’s his thirty ninth begin in one of many huge 4 since he final captured the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Membership in Louisville, Kentucky.
McIlroy bought off to a blistering begin that has been hardly ever seen on the iconic course. In simply three holes, he worn out a two-shot deficit to Rose, making a 10-footer for birdie on No. 1, chipping in from 54 toes off the inexperienced for eagle on No. 2 after which rolling in one other 7-footer for birdie on No. 3 to take the outright lead at 10 beneath.
He grew to become simply the sixth participant in Masters historical past to go 4 beneath over the primary three holes, in line with ESPN Analysis.
“Yeah, clearly it was a dream begin to get off to the beginning that I did,” he mentioned.
McIlroy wasn’t finished. After DeChambeau carded a bogey on the third, McIlroy made a straightforward par on the par-3 fourth to take a two-shot lead over DeChambeau and Rose.
McIlroy ripped a 342-yard drive down the par-4 fifth and knocked his strategy to eight toes. With one other birdie, he was 11 beneath and three photographs in entrance of DeChambeau and 4 in entrance of Rose and Lowry.
McIlroy made a 9-footer to save lots of par on the par-3 sixth gap, turning into the primary golfer in Masters historical past to start out a spherical with six consecutive 3s on his scorecard. (He was additionally the primary to do it with 5 straight.)
After driving his tee shot deep into the timber, McIlroy saved par on the seventh. However then, similar to that, he appeared to lose momentum. His drive on the par-5 eighth landed in a fairway bunker. He was compelled to put up and knocked his strategy to the again of the inexperienced. He chipped to eight toes and missed. A bogey dropped him to 10 beneath.
McIlroy missed a 5-footer for birdie on the ninth and made the flip at 4-under 32. He was two strokes in entrance of DeChambeau and three in entrance of Rose and Conners.
On the 495-yard tenth, McIlroy’s second shot stopped 58 toes above the outlet. He three-putted, lacking an 8-footer for par. He fell to 9 beneath, just one forward of DeChambeau and his taking part in associate, Conners, who made three straight birdies to maneuver right into a tie for second.
“I feel when he performs his finest golf, it is onerous to catch him,” Åberg mentioned. “I do not suppose there’s a whole lot of guys on this world that may catch him when he performs at his finest.”
The excellent news for McIlroy: Every of his 4 earlier main championship victories — within the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship and 2014 PGA Championship — got here when he had the outright lead after 54 holes.
The one time he didn’t convert whereas holding a 54-hole lead in a significant occurred on the 2011 Masters. He had not less than a share of the lead after every of the primary three rounds and took a four-stroke cushion into the ultimate 18 holes. The then-21-year-old McIlroy collapsed and posted an 8-over 80. He tied for fifteenth at 4 beneath, 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa.
Fourteen years later, McIlroy has an opportunity to lastly exorcise these demons.
“You recognize, I’ve bought a whole lot of expertise,” he mentioned. “I got here in right here speaking about being probably the most full model of myself as a golfer, and you realize, I simply should hold reminding myself of that and remind myself that it doesn’t matter what state of affairs or situation I discover myself in tomorrow, I will have the ability to deal with it.”
