Juddering McIlroy simply can't stop riding Masters rollercoaster

The Masters round three leaderboard

-11 C Young (US), R McIlroy (NI); -10 S Burns (US)

Selected: -9 S Lowry (Ire); -8 J Day (Aus), J Rose (Eng); -7 S Scheffler (US), L Haotong (Chn); -6 P Cantlay (US), P Reed (US); -4 T Hatton (Eng), T Fleetwood (Eng)

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The drama which Rory McIlroy has produced at the Masters over the years – the type that left his fans peeking through their fingers – is woven into the fabric of his story.

When McIlroy moved into a record six-shot lead at the halfway point on Friday, it felt like this year’s tournament was going to see a different chapter written, one which demonstrated control rather than chaos.

Many predicted a procession for the defending champion going into Saturday’s third round. They should have known better.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy saw his commanding lead evaporate during a dramatic day where he swung the door wide open to his rivals with a one-over par 73.

On Sunday, he will go out for the final round level on 11 under with American Cameron Young. Buckle up.

“I knew it wouldn’t be easy, the quality of the chasing pack is obvious,” McIlroy, who is aiming to become only the fourth man to win successive Masters titles, said on Sky Sports.

“I would have wanted to be in a better position going into [Sunday, having] started out with a six-shot lead, but I’ve still got a great chance.

“I’m in the final group and that’s where you want to be.”

Last year’s nerve-jangling play-off win over England’s Justin Rose was classic McIlroy at the Masters – a rollercoaster ride where his bid for the career Grand Slam threatened to derail once again.

Holding on for dear life and finally landing the Green Jacket provided 36-year-old McIlroy with a sense of liberation.

During his first two rounds, he played with the greater mental freedom which he predicted reaching his golfing Everest – finally conquering Augusta National – would provide.

The five-time major champion showed patience to take control of the leaderboard, even though he was not playing as well as the scoreboard suggested.

The ability to recover from wayward driving was the key to McIlroy’s success, staying calm in the pressure moments to play sensibly when required before attacking when the chances arose.

An uncluttered mind – aided by his superb short game – was missing on Saturday and could not ride to the rescue.

“I will go to the range and figure it out. I still have a great chance but if I am going to win I will have to play better,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy found eight of the 14 fairways in the third round – the same as he did on Friday when he shot a 65. On Thursday, he only hit five as he posted a 67.

Of those to make the halfway cut, he is bottom of the class in accuracy off the tee, and when you couple that with his poorer short game on Saturday, it’s easy to see how Augusta took chunks out of his lead.

Many players gave the old place a beating on Saturday, with watered greens allowing favourable scoring conditions.

But McIlroy was one of three players inside the top 28 who did not finish under par for their rounds, alongside England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan.

“It’s so rare to see a player shut the door on a major in the way Tiger Woods did,” said BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter.

“If he had a sniff he’d be so pragmatic and make sure nobody could get near him.

“McIlroy doesn’t have that in his locker. Woods was a super-human golfer, McIlroy is a human golfer.”

Is emotional week catching up with McIlroy?

As McIlroy fought to maintain any sort of lead in the closing holes, it was striking how exhausted he had suddenly started to look.

The bounce in his gait had gone, the speed of his stride had slowed.

Was it just the physical demands of an undulating Augusta or is there a mental fatigue which could be starting to take its toll?

McIlroy arrived more than a week ago with a host of engagements to fulfill.

Taking part in traditions like hosting the Champions’ Dinner are memorable experiences which no golfer would want to swap.

But, with more interviews and more attention than ever before, the week has a very different feel which could eventually catch up with him.

McIlroy certainly didn’t think he needed to immediately switch off seeing as he was heading for more practice after his third round.

“He looks absolutely knackered,” said former Europe Solheim Cup player Trish Johnson, who is a BBC Radio 5 Live summariser at Augusta.

“But he still needs to hit balls because you still can’t go to sleep, you’ll be awake all night trying to figure it out.

“You have to get some feeling going so he can think that’s what I’m going with.”

How Augusta has softened its greens – and its stance

With a forecast of warm and dry weather all week at Augusta National, the expectation was firm and fast greens would lead to difficult scoring conditions – McIlroy said he thought the winning score would not reach double digits under par.

There was also a perception the officials in charge of the course set-up would be delighted with the prospect.

However, their decision to water the greens each morning – softening them for the following day – has made scoring easier as the week has gone on.

That has not been a popular decision with the purists, who have accused the Masters of also going soft.

There is no doubt making things more scoreable has led to an entertaining spectacle as the pack hunted down McIlroy.

World number one Scottie Scheffler was the first player to really take advantage as he threatened to challenge the course record of 63 – jointly held by Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1996) – with a blistering front nine.

Eventual co-leader Young also gave Price and Norman cause for concern when he reached seven under after 14 holes.

The 28-year-old American’s momentum was stalled by a bogey on 15 – which would have been worse had he not pitched close with his fourth after finding the water – but he recovered to birdie 16 and match Scheffler’s low round of the day.

Who could overhaul McIlroy?

A whole host of players will be thinking they can sneak in and pinch the Green Jacket on Sunday.

Young, who is ranked third in the world, goes out alongside McIlroy as he looks to claim his first major title. He won the PGA Tour’s prestigious Players Championship last month and is looking to follow in the footsteps of McIlroy and Scheffler, who did the double in 2025 and 2024.

Sam Burns, another American, is one shot off the lead, while McIlroy’s close friend Shane Lowry is fourth on nine under after a four-under 68. The Irishman’s round featured a hole-in-one on the sixth as he became the first player to record two aces in the Masters, having also holed his tee-shot on the 16th in 2016.

England’s Justin Rose and Australia’s Jason Day are eight under, with Scheffler and Li Haotong lurking at seven under.

Before McIlroy faltered, three-time champion Nick Faldo felt his rivals would have been happy if they had got within three shots going into the final day.

“We’ve seen people storm through and seen people collapse,” Faldo, who famously clawed back Greg Norman’s six-shot lead after 54 holes in 1996, said on Sky Sports.

“There is nothing safe throughout the whole of this course.

“You can be waltzing away with a four-shot lead walking down 15, you plonk it in the water and it all changes. There is nothing set in stone until you’re on that 18th tee with probably a four-shot lead.”

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