Masters goes wide open

Rory McIlroy’s runaway Masters turned into a two-man tie by Saturday night, with Cameron Young pulling even at 11 under. (apnews.com) McIlroy started the third round on Saturday, April 11, with a tournament-record six-shot lead after rounds of 67 and 65, then shot 1-over 73 to fall back to the field. Young began the day eight shots behind, fired a 7-under 65 with eight birdies, and joined him at 205. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) The swing came fast at Augusta National. By the time McIlroy walked off the 12th green, his entire six-shot edge was gone after a double bogey at 11 and a bogey at 12. (sports.yahoo.com) (golfdigest.com) Sunday now starts with more than a duel. Sam Burns is one shot back at 10 under, Shane Lowry is two back at 9 under, and Scottie Scheffler is four back at 7 under after matching Young with a 65 on Saturday. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) That is a sharp change from Friday night, when McIlroy looked set to become the first player to defend a Masters title since Tiger Woods won in 2001 and 2002. Instead, the final round of the 90th Masters opens with 12 players within six shots of the lead. (apnews.com) (nbcsports.com) Young’s position changes the stakes for him, too. The 28-year-old American is still chasing his first major title, and ESPN reported he became the first player to hold at least a share of the 54-hole Masters lead after starting the day eight shots behind. (espn.com) The final pairing goes off at 2:25 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, April 12, with Burns and Lowry at 2:14 p.m. and Jason Day with Justin Rose at 2:03 p.m. CBS begins television coverage at 2 p.m., with earlier streaming on Paramount+, Masters.com and the Masters app. (nbcsports.com) McIlroy said Saturday night that he was “still tied for the best score going into tomorrow,” even after the collapse. Eighteen holes later, Augusta will decide whether that is enough. (espn.com)