McIlroy's lead evaporates

Rory McIlroy’s six-shot Masters lead was gone by Saturday night, leaving him tied with Cameron Young for the final round at Augusta National. (sports.yahoo.com) McIlroy began the third round at 12 under after rounds of 67 and 65, then shot 73 to fall back to 11 under. Cameron Young climbed into the tie after charging up the leaderboard on moving day. (espn.com, pgatour.com) The collapse happened fast. Yahoo Sports reported that McIlroy had lost the entire margin by the time he walked off the 12th green, after entering Saturday with the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history. (sports.yahoo.com) Sunday is no longer a solo march to a second straight green jacket. NBC Sports reported that McIlroy and Young will play in the final pairing at 2:25 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 12, 2026. (nbcsports.com) The leaderboard is crowded behind them. NBC Sports said 12 players started the day within six shots of the lead entering the fourth round, turning the 90th Masters into a multi-player chase instead of a one-man finish. (nbcsports.com) That shift is especially sharp because McIlroy had looked in total control through 36 holes. NBC Sports said his opening 36-hole total had given him his best Masters start in 15 years, and ESPN described Saturday as the stumble that reset the tournament. (nbcsports.com, espn.com) McIlroy’s scorecard shows where the round turned. After making the turn in even-par 36, he played the back nine in 37, including a 6 on the par-4 11th and a bogey on the 17th. (espn.com) Young’s rise changed the matchup from a defense of a lead into a head-to-head final day. The PGA Tour said Young “flipped his Masters script” on Saturday, and NBC Sports listed him first alongside McIlroy among the players with a path to win. (pgatour.com, nbcsports.com) Viewers in the United States can watch the final round on CBS and stream coverage through Masters.com, the Masters app, Paramount+ and ESPN+, according to NBC Sports’ Sunday viewing guide. ESPN also published the full fourth-round tee sheet. (nbcsports.com, espn.com) McIlroy still reaches Sunday with a share of the lead, not from ahead of the field but level with it. At Augusta, a coronation became a final-round fight in one afternoon. (sports.yahoo.com, nbcsports.com)