McIlroy Tied with Young After Surrendering Historic Lead at The Masters

Rory McIlroy's bid for a back-to-back title at The Masters suffered a significant setback as he squandered a historic six-shot lead, leaving him tied with Cameron Young heading into the final day. McIlroy had taken the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history into the weekend at Augusta National, but his hopes of joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods as a consecutive champion were severely dented on Saturday. A slow start to his third round, coupled with a trio of dropped shots around Amen Corner, allowed Young to charge from eight strokes behind and claim the clubhouse lead with a stunning seven-under 65. McIlroy responded 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, ahead of Shane Lowry, who fired a hole-in-one during a third-round 68 and is one of eight players within four strokes of the lead. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler also charged back into contention by matching Young's 65. McIlroy's day began with a two-shot swing at the first, as he made bogey while playing partner Burns posted a birdie-birdie start. Momentum shifted back in McIlroy's favor when he drove the green at the par-four third to set up a two-putt birdie, which lifted him four ahead when Reed failed to get up and down from the sand and carded successive bogeys. However, McIlroy struggled to maintain his advantage, scrambling pars on the fourth, sixth, and seventh before failing to birdie the par-five eighth. Young, playing five groups ahead, closed the gap by reaching the turn in 32 and starting his second nine with a birdie. As the round progressed, Young posted back-to-back birdies from the 13th but sent a wedge into the water on his way to a bogey at the par-five 15th. McIlroy, meanwhile, started his second nine with a birdie before finding water with his approach into the par-four 11th. McIlroy followed his first double-bogey of the week with another dropped shot at the par-three 12th, giving Young the outright advantage for the first time. However, McIlroy birdied the 14th and 15th to edge back ahead before a bogey at the par-four 17th pulled him back alongside Young. The pair will go out together in the final group on Sunday, with McIlroy acknowledging that he needs to improve if he is to claim the title. 'I would have wanted to be in a better position going into tomorrow, starting with a six-shot lead, but I still have a great chance,' McIlroy said. 'I'm in the final group, which is exactly where you want to be. I wish I had a little bit more of a cushion, but I'm going to go to the range and try to figure it out. I'll need to be better tomorrow.'