Smylie Show: what swung at Augusta
Podcast analysts said McIlroy’s Friday strength rested on tee‑to‑green gains and short‑game control, but Saturday saw his approach numbers drop to near the bottom of the field while Cam Young’s high driving accuracy became a clearer advantage. ( )
Rory McIlroy’s six-shot Masters lead disappeared Saturday, and the numbers behind it changed as fast as the leaderboard. (pgatour.com) McIlroy shot 1-over 73 in the third round after opening with 67 and 65, dropping from solo leader to a tie at 11-under with Cameron Young. Young began the day eight back and shot 65 to draw even. (pgatour.com, yahoo.com) The swing in McIlroy’s round came at Augusta National’s Amen Corner. He made double bogey at the 11th after finding water, bogeyed the 12th after missing long, and scrambled for par at the 13th after another drive into the trees. (pgatour.com) Strokes gained is golf’s accounting system for where shots help or hurt, and it split McIlroy’s week in two. Data Golf’s live blog said Young had gained more of his week’s advantage through ball-striking, while McIlroy’s Friday edge had leaned more on other parts of the game. (datagolf.com, datagolf.com) That showed up most clearly on approach play, the iron shots into greens that usually decide Augusta. Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme said on “The Smylie Show” that McIlroy’s Friday strength came tee to green and around the greens, but Saturday his approach play fell near the bottom of the field. (youtube.com) Young’s profile looked steadier by comparison. Data Golf said he gained about two strokes in three categories on Saturday, and its analysts said his larger edge in ball-striking helped make him the model’s slight favorite entering Sunday. (datagolf.com) Driving accuracy also stopped being a side note. McIlroy entered Sunday tied for the lead despite hitting only 50% of fairways for the week, and the PGA Tour’s Saturday recap said he ranked last in driving accuracy among the 54 players who made the cut. (espn.com, pgatour.com) Young’s accuracy gave him a cleaner map around Augusta as McIlroy kept playing from trouble. On the podcast, Kaufman and Hulme pointed to that contrast as a bigger factor after Saturday than it had been when McIlroy was running away with the tournament on Friday. (youtube.com) The final round begins with McIlroy and Young in the last pairing at 2:25 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, April 12, with Sam Burns one shot back at 10-under and Shane Lowry two back at 9-under. (yahoo.com, pgatour.com) McIlroy said Saturday, “I didn’t quite have it today,” then headed to the range. Sunday’s question is simpler than Friday’s: whether he can drive it straight enough for his irons to matter again. (pgatour.com)
