McIlroy Tied with Young After Historic Meltdown at The Masters

Rory McIlroy's bid for back-to-back Masters titles suffered a significant setback as he squandered a record six-shot lead, leaving him tied with Cameron Young heading into the final round. McIlroy's historic advantage was erased after a dramatic Saturday at Augusta National, where he carded a 73 to Young's stunning 65. The world No 2 struggled with a slow start, dropping three shots in two holes around Amen Corner, while Young surged into contention with eight birdies and a lone bogey. McIlroy recovered with consecutive birdies from the 14th but bogeyed his penultimate hole, pulling him level with Young on 11 under. Sam Burns is just a shot off the pace in third, with Shane Lowry two back after firing a hole-in-one during his third-round 68. Lowry became the first player to achieve multiple aces at The Masters, and he is among eight players within four strokes of the lead. McIlroy's collapse began with a two-shot swing at the first, where he made bogey and Burns birdied. Although McIlroy briefly regained momentum with a two-putt birdie at the third, his struggles continued as he scrambled pars on the fourth, sixth, and seventh. Young, playing five groups ahead, reached the turn in 32 and started his second nine with a birdie, eventually taking the outright lead when McIlroy found water with his approach into the par-four 11th. McIlroy's double-bogey at the 11th was followed by another dropped shot at the par-three 12th, giving Young a one-stroke advantage. However, McIlroy birdied the 14th and 15th to edge back ahead before bogeying his penultimate hole and slipping back alongside Young. "I would have wanted to be in a better position going into tomorrow, 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." Young's 65 was the joint-lowest round of the day, and he will go out in the final group with McIlroy on Sunday. Live coverage of the final round begins at 4:30 pm on Sky Sports Golf.