McIlroy’s form dip
Saturday erased McIlroy’s six‑shot cushion after his approach play and ball‑striking dipped relative to earlier rounds, a swing that left him sharing the lead rather than protecting a large margin ( ).
Rory McIlroy’s six-shot Masters lead vanished Saturday after a 1-over 73 left him tied with Cameron Young heading into Sunday. (pgatour.com) McIlroy opened the week with 67 and 65, reached 12-under through 36 holes, and set the Masters record for the largest halfway lead at Augusta National. Saturday flipped that advantage into a tie at 11-under 205. (golfchannel.com, espn.com) The scorecard showed where the round turned: McIlroy made double bogey on the 11th, bogey on the 12th, and finished with a 73 after shooting 65 on Friday. His tournament driving accuracy through three rounds stood at 50 percent, with 66.7 percent of greens in regulation. (espn.com) Young did the chasing with a 7-under 65 after starting the day eight shots back, and Sam Burns moved to 10-under with a bogey-free 68. Shane Lowry reached 9-under after a 68 that included a hole-in-one on the sixth. (pgatour.com, espn.com) The shift changed the shape of the tournament from a runaway to a crowded Sunday finish. Nine players finished Saturday within five shots of the lead, and Scottie Scheffler got to 7-under with a 65, his lowest Masters round. (pgatour.com, espn.com) McIlroy is trying to become the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. He also arrived with recent Augusta scar tissue: in 2011, he led after 54 holes and shot 80 in the final round. (golfchannel.com) He said the problem was simple. “Didn’t quite have it today,” McIlroy said Saturday, adding, “I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.” (pgatour.com) Sunday’s final pairing puts McIlroy and Young together again at 2:25 p.m. Eastern, with Burns and Lowry one group ahead. After two days of separation, McIlroy now has 18 holes to rebuild it. (sports.yahoo.com, espn.com)
