McIlroy Tied with Young After Surrendering Historic Lead at The Masters

Rory McIlroy's bid for back-to-back titles at The Masters suffered a significant setback as he squandered a record six-shot lead, leaving him tied with Cameron Young heading into the final round. McIlroy, who had the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history, struggled with a slow start to his third round, dropping three shots in two holes around Amen Corner. Young, meanwhile, surged from eight strokes behind to take the clubhouse lead with a stunning seven-under 65. McIlroy rebounded with consecutive birdies but bogeyed his penultimate hole, pulling him level with Young on 11 under after a 73. Sam Burns is one stroke off the pace in third, ahead of Shane Lowry, who achieved a hole-in-one during his third-round 68. Lowry is among eight players within four strokes of the lead, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler also back in contention after matching Young's 65. McIlroy's momentum was disrupted early on, with a two-shot swing at the first hole, but he regained ground with a birdie at the third. However, he struggled to maintain his advantage, scrambling pars on several holes before finding water with his approach at the 11th. Young, playing five groups ahead, closed the gap, and McIlroy's double-bogey at the 11th handed Young the outright lead. Despite a late surge from McIlroy, with back-to-back birdies from the 14th, he bogeyed his final hole to slip back alongside Young. McIlroy acknowledged that he needs to improve his performance to win, saying, 'I still have a great chance, but if I'm going to win tomorrow, I'm going to have to be a little bit better than I was today.' The final round will begin on Sunday, with live coverage starting at 4:30 pm on Sky Sports Golf.