Masters: Sunday logjam
The Masters flipped from a commanding Friday into a tight final‑round fight—Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and Scottie Scheffler were tied at 11‑under with Sam Burns one back at 10‑under heading into Sunday. ( ). McIlroy had opened Friday with a six‑shot lead after a 65 but by Saturday the leaderboard compressed as the course softened and multiple players attacked the easier hole locations. ( ). For quick video context, editors pointed to the Round 3 highlights plus the “every‑single‑shot” reels for Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy. ( )
What looked like Rory McIlroy’s tournament on Friday had turned into a two-man tie by Saturday night, with Cameron Young pulling even at 11-under. (pgatour.com) McIlroy carried a record six-shot 36-hole lead into Round 3 at Augusta National, then shot 73 on Saturday after a bogey at the first and lost the margin before the back nine. Young went the other way, making eight birdies against one bogey for a 65. (sports.yahoo.com, pgatour.com) The final-round tee sheet put Young and McIlroy together at 2:25 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, with Sam Burns and Shane Lowry at 2:14 p.m. and Scottie Scheffler paired with Haotong Li at 1:52 p.m. Burns started one shot back at 10-under, while Scheffler opened Sunday four back at 7-under. (pgatour.com) The squeeze on the leaderboard came fast. Yahoo’s live report had 11 players within five shots of the lead after Saturday, and the PGA Tour said a dozen players were within six. (sports.yahoo.com, pgatour.com) That changed the stakes for McIlroy in two directions at once. Yahoo reported he could become only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters, or become the player who let the tournament’s largest 36-hole lead disappear. (sports.yahoo.com) Young brought his own history into Sunday. The PGA Tour said he had opened the week with 73, rebounded with 67, then matched the low round of the day and the tournament with Saturday’s 65 after winning The Players Championship last month for his second PGA Tour title. (pgatour.com) Scheffler’s 65 kept him in the conversation even from four shots back. The PGA Tour said he went out in 31, made eagle at the second, added three straight birdies from the seventh through ninth, and posted 7-under 65 to get back into the mix. (pgatour.com) Sunday’s last pairing also carried a ranking wrinkle. Yahoo, citing PGA Tour Communications, said it was only the second time a Masters final pairing featured two of the top three players in the Official World Golf Ranking, after Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in 2001. (sports.yahoo.com) By Sunday morning, Augusta had gone from a runaway to a chase pack. McIlroy still had a share of the lead, but he no longer had any room to protect it. (pgatour.com, sports.yahoo.com)
