Masters: McIlroy & Young

Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young reached Sunday at Augusta National tied at 11-under par, with the Masters final group set as a head-to-head pairing at 11:25 a.m. Eastern. (golfchannel.com) McIlroy opened the week with rounds of 67 and 65, then shot 73 on Saturday after a double bogey on the 11th hole and a bogey on the 12th. Young got to 11-under with rounds of 73, 67 and 65. (espn.com; sports.yahoo.com) The leaderboard stayed packed behind them. Sam Burns began Sunday one shot back at 10-under, Shane Lowry was two back at 9-under, and Scottie Scheffler started four back at 7-under. (espn.com; golfchannel.com) McIlroy is playing for a second straight green jacket after winning the 2025 Masters in a playoff against Justin Rose to complete the career Grand Slam. A Sunday win would make him the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles. (espn.com; golfchannel.com) Only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods have won consecutive Masters championships. Woods was the last to do it, in 2001 and 2002. (usatoday.com; sportingnews.com) McIlroy built the tournament’s biggest early margin on Friday. He birdied the final four holes of the second round, finished with a 7-under 65, and took a six-shot lead that ESPN called the largest 36-hole advantage in Masters history. (espn.com; espn.com) That cushion disappeared in one round. By Saturday night, the tournament had shifted from McIlroy protecting a record lead to McIlroy and Young starting even, with eight players within four shots. (golfchannel.com; sports.yahoo.com) For Young, Sunday offered a chance at his first major championship at the 90th Masters. For McIlroy, it was 18 holes for another green jacket and a place beside the only three repeat winners Augusta has had. (cbssports.com; golfchannel.com)