Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Rory McIlroy charged to the Masters lead with a historic start to Saturday’s third round, then finished strong on Augusta National’s back nine to stand two clear atop the leaderboard heading into the final round. McIlroy had two eagles and four birdies in a six-under-par 66, and with a 12-under total of 204, he was two strokes clear of Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy is poised to strike for a long-coveted green jacket that would see him join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as the only players to complete a career Grand Slam. McIlroy’s first eagle of the day was at the par-five second, part of six straight threes to open his round—a first in Masters history. His second eagle at the par-five 15th, where he stuck his approach six feet from the pin, was the first of the day there and pushed his lead back to four strokes after it had dwindled to one, thanks to bogeys at the eighth and tenth.
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He’ll play in the final group on Sunday with DeChambeau, who out-dueled McIlroy in the final round at Pinehurst last year to lift his second US Open title. DeChambeau birdied three of the last four holes for a three-under 69 and a 10-under total of 206. Canadian Corey Conners was alone in third after a two-under-par 70 for 208—two strokes clear of former Masters champion Patrick Reed and last year’s runner-up Ludvig Aberg.
McIlroy, who started the day two strokes behind overnight leader Justin Rose, needed just two holes to catapult himself past Rose and DeChambeau—who were just finishing up on the first green when McIlroy chipped in from 18 yards out at the second. He had taken advantage of a monster drive at the first, where he rolled in a 10-foot putt to secure a birdie.
“Obviously it was a dream start,” McIlroy said. “Hit two perfect shots on one and converted. Felt like I hit three perfect shots on two, three perfect shots on three. As well, from finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today, it’s quite a long time. There’s a lot of nervous anticipation and anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play. With all of that, to go out and start the way I did was amazing.”
McIlroy added a seven-foot birdie at the third, parred the par-three fourth, drilled an 18-foot birdie at the fifth, then parred the par-three sixth. The run of threes on his scorecard ended at the par-four seventh, where he was deep in the trees off the tee and muscled a mighty second shot 152 yards to the left of the green, from where he got up and down for par. He led by as many as four before his first bogey of the day at the par-five eighth, which was followed by another bogey at ten.
“I had that little bit of a wobble around the turn there with the bogey on eight, the missed chance on nine, and the three-putt on ten,” he said, adding that his par putt on eleven was a “huge” momentum builder, as was a birdie at the 13th. McIlroy’s blistering start had eclipsed a strong opening for DeChambeau, who rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt at the first and two-putted for birdie at the second but still found himself trailing.
Even for the day through fourteen holes, DeChambeau started his late push with a five-foot birdie at the 15th. He drilled a birdie putt at the par-three 16th and then drained a 48-foot putt from the fringe at the last. “That’s fun,” DeChambeau said. “That’s what dreams are made of right there. Now it’s Saturday, right? So I have to tell myself, OK, calm down, this is not the end.”
Conners, playing alongside McIlroy, had some trouble getting going as McIlroy was burning up the front nine. But he strung together three straight birdies at eight, nine, and ten to put himself in the hunt for a first major title. It was a disappointing day for Rose, who battled to a three-over-par 75 that left him seven strokes back, tied with defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day, and Shane Lowry.
Scheffler had to grind to an even-par 72 that featured two birdies and two bogeys. “At times I felt good, at times I felt bad,” said Scheffler, who came into the week hoping to join Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Woods as the only back-to-back Masters winners. “I just couldn’t really get anything going. I think I ended up with even, which felt like I had to scramble a lot today, actually.”
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