Masters Leaderboard Explodes on Moving Day
Rory McIlroy’s six-shot lead vanished during a wild Saturday at Augusta National, setting up what could be an epic final round at the Masters. He’s now tied with Cameron Young at 11-under 205, with a dozen players within striking distance.
What started as a potential runaway has transformed into a championship anyone could win. That’s exactly the scenario CBS Sports must be dreaming about.
While McIlroy struggled with his driver, others took dead aim at pins. Birdies flowed freely and eagles were there for the taking. The field averaged 70.63 on Saturday — the lowest third-round scoring average in Masters history, beating the previous marks of 70.769 in 2019 and 70.979 in 1986.
This wasn’t just moving day. It was moving day on steroids, with 10 players shooting 68 or better.
Shane Lowry provided one of the day’s highlights with a hole-in-one at the difficult par-3 sixth, becoming the first player in Masters history with two career aces at Augusta National. That shot vaulted him into contention.
Jason Day, sitting at 8-under, sees an advantage in not leading right now.
“I feel like the guys that are leading right now have all the pressure,” Day said. “I’m just the chaser. Usually the chasers don’t really have a lot of the pressure. Guys at the top of the leaderboard always are trying to defend the lead, whereas I’m pushing forward trying to cut into the lead.”
Scottie Scheffler sparked the scoring frenzy. Starting 12 shots back, the two-time Masters champion eagled the par-5 second hole and shot 31 on the front nine. He briefly threatened the championship record of 63 before settling for a 65, leaving him just four shots off the lead.
Young matched Scheffler’s 65 to grab a share of the lead. Sam Burns, who played in the final pairing with McIlroy, shot 68 and sits just one back. Lowry (68) is two behind, while Day (68) and Justin Rose (69) lurk three shots off the pace.
“I was aware that McIlroy wasn’t stretching the lead out, so it made it feel like, yeah, all to play for,” Rose said.
Rose knows from experience how quickly things can change at Augusta. Last year, he trailed by seven shots entering Sunday before catching McIlroy and forcing a playoff.
“I think I had to have a big mental reset going into the final round last year,” Rose said. “This year it feels like a little bit of a free run at it.”
Burns kept his focus narrow on Saturday and plans the same approach for Sunday.
“I can’t control anything anyone else does,” Burns said. “I can only control myself, and so that’s the mentality we took today. Just focus on our process and go out there and compete.”
Young will join McIlroy in Sunday’s final pairing. He’s got an interesting trend working in his favor — the winner of The Players Championship has gone on to win the Masters each of the last two years.
McIlroy’s brilliant rounds of 67 and 65 to start the tournament now feel like ancient history, showing just how quickly fortunes can change at Augusta National.
That’s why Young isn’t dwelling on his Saturday success.
“Yeah, I’ll probably give myself some time to think about it right now for the next 30 minutes or so,” Young said. “After that, it’s a matter of managing how you want to react to those things. To me, it’s just going right back to how am I going to run my day tomorrow.”
