McIlroy Tied with Young after Historic Collapse at The Masters

Rory McIlroy's bid for back-to-back titles at The Masters has been thrown into chaos after he squandered a record six-shot lead, leaving him tied with Cameron Young heading into the final round. McIlroy's hopes of emulating the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods suffered a significant setback on a dramatic Saturday at Augusta National. The world number two made a sluggish start to his third round, dropping three shots in two holes around Amen Corner, as Young surged into contention with a stunning seven-under 65. McIlroy recovered with consecutive birdies from the 14th but bogeyed his penultimate hole, pulling him back alongside Young on 11 under after a third-round 73. Sam Burns is just a shot off the pace in third, with Shane Lowry and several others still in the mix. McIlroy's collapse began with a two-shot swing at the first, where he made bogey while Burns birdied. However, McIlroy regained momentum with a two-putt birdie at the third, only to see Young close the gap with a remarkable round. Lowry fired a hole-in-one at the sixth and is now just two shots back, while world number one Scottie Scheffler charged back into contention with a 65. McIlroy acknowledged that he needs to improve if he is to win on Sunday, saying, 'I still have a great chance, but I need to be better tomorrow.' Young, meanwhile, is relishing the opportunity to claim his first major title. The final round gets underway on Sunday, with live coverage on Sky Sports Golf from 4:30 pm.