By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 12 (Reuters) – Defending champion Rory McIlroy will attempt to put the ghosts of a squandered six-shot lead to rest when he tees it up alongside co-leader Cameron Young in the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.
World number two McIlroy held the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history but could not capitalise on a surprisingly benign Augusta National on Saturday, carding a one-over-par 73 as Young — who began the day eight shots adrift — fired a stunning 65 to draw level.
The pair will head into the final round tied at 11 under par on the week.
For Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, who last year became the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam of golf’s four majors with his Masters triumph, the magnitude of what awaits him on Sunday is almost without parallel.
A victory would make him only the fourth repeat Masters champion and the first since Tiger Woods claimed back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002. He has led or co-led after every round this week, and only three players have gone wire-to-wire at Augusta in the past 45 years, the most recent being Dustin Johnson in 2020.
Young, ranked third in the world and seeking his first major title, produced one of the great Saturday charges in Masters history. He is the first player ever to overcome a 36-hole deficit of eight or more shots to hold at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
It marks only the second time the final pairing on Masters Sunday has featured two of the top three players in the world rankings. They are set to tee off at 2:25 p.m. ET (1825 GMT) under sunny skies.
The chasing pack is equally formidable. Sam Burns lurks one shot back, with Ireland’s Shane Lowry — who holed the 35th ace in Masters history on Saturday — a further stroke behind in fourth.
Jason Day and 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose are three shots back of the co-leaders in fifth place while world number one Scottie Scheffler, who stormed back into contention with a seven-under 65 on Saturday to match the low round of the week, is four shots off the pace with China’s Li Haotong.
With the leaderboard packed and history on the line, Augusta is set for a final round to remember.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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