Sam Burns lurking

Sam Burns reached 10-under through three rounds at Augusta National, one shot behind Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young heading into Sunday’s final round. (golfchannel.com) Burns shot 68 on Saturday after rounds of 67 and 71, leaving him alone in third at the 90th Masters Tournament. McIlroy and Young share the lead at 11-under after McIlroy’s 73 and Young’s 65 reshaped the board. (golfchannel.com) ESPN’s round-three recap said Burns played Saturday in 4-under, while Young made the biggest move with a 7-under round and McIlroy gave back most of his six-shot halfway lead. (espn.com) Burns’ scorecard shows how steady the climb was: 67 in the first round, 71 in the second, then 68 in the third for a 206 total. His tournament page lists 12 birdies, one eagle and four bogeys through 54 holes. (espn.com) That puts Burns in the spot every contender wants at Augusta on Sunday: close enough to force the leaders to answer, but not carrying the overnight lead himself. The final-round pairing sheet has McIlroy and Young going last at 2:25 p.m. Eastern, with Burns one group ahead of them. (ajc.com) The context changed fast on Saturday. McIlroy began Moving Day with the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history at six shots, and by the end of the round Burns was within one. (cbssports.com, golfchannel.com) Burns is not chasing from deep in the pack, either. Golf Channel’s round-three leaderboard had Shane Lowry two back at 9-under, with Justin Rose and Jason Day three back at 8-under, so Burns starts Sunday as the closest pursuer. (golfchannel.com) Sunday now sets up with Burns inside one good stretch of holes from the lead. At Augusta, that is usually enough to make the final few groups matter all afternoon. (pgatour.com)