Masters: McIlroy, Young tied
Sunday at Augusta opened as a real duel — Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young were tied at 11‑under heading into the final round, with Sam Burns one back at 10‑under and Scottie Scheffler still within reach at 7‑under. (The leaderboard tightened after a day the coverage called “Moving Day,” and Sky Sports showed the two sharing the lead entering Sunday.) (skysports.com) (
Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young reached Sunday’s final pairing at Augusta National tied at 11-under, turning the Masters into a head-to-head race over 18 holes. (skysports.com) McIlroy got there after a third-round 73 erased the six-shot lead he held at halfway, while Young’s 65 pulled him level before the final round. Sam Burns started one shot back at 10-under, and Shane Lowry opened Sunday at 9-under. (skysports.com) Scottie Scheffler began the day at 7-under after a third-round 65, still four shots behind the lead, with Jason Day and Justin Rose at 8-under and within range if the leaders stalled. ESPN’s live leaderboard also showed Patrick Reed and Haotong Li at 7-under when play began. (espn.com) The final-round pairings reflected how tight the tournament had become. Burns and Lowry were scheduled to tee off at 2:14 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and McIlroy and Young followed in the last group at 2:25 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. (usatoday.com) That setup put McIlroy back in a familiar Augusta spotlight. He arrived as the defending champion, and a Sunday win would make him the first player since Tiger Woods to win the Masters in consecutive years, according to Golf Channel. (golfchannel.com) Young’s position carried its own weight. The 28-year-old American had contended in majors before without winning one, and his Saturday charge gave him a chance to claim his first major title at the year’s first major championship. (skysports.com) Sunday’s conditions were expected to be hot and calm by Augusta standards, with Yahoo Sports reporting a high near 88 degrees, little wind and almost no chance of rain. That forecast pointed to a final round shaped more by nerve and execution than by weather delays or gusts. (sports.yahoo.com) By midday Sunday, the leaderboard still showed McIlroy and Young sharing the lead, with the chasing group close enough to punish any mistake on Augusta National’s closing stretch. The Masters had started the day as a duel, but not one with much room for error. (skysports.com)
