Rory McIlroy's stunning Masters fightback sets up 'electric' final round showdown with Bryson DeChambeau
Rory McIlroy raced out to the best start to a round The Masters has seen in its 91-year history, with six-straight threes shooting him into the lead after the third round.
He's 18 holes away from that coveted green jacket and the career major grand slam, and will play with Bryson DeChambeau in one of the all-time great Masters pairings.
McIlroy chipped in for eagle as part of his amazing start to move into the solo lead. He delivered another eagle at the par-5 15th - the same hole he double-bogeyed in the first round - after hitting a majestic 6-iron inside two metres.
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He signed for a second-straight 6-under 66 and holds a two-shot lead over DeChambeau.
“It was an awesome day and puts me in a great position going into tomorrow,” McIlroy said.
Rory McIlroy has stormed to two-shot lead after the third round at the Masters. Getty
DeChambeau is a familiar foe for McIlroy. The LIV star delivered some magic of his own with a 14m birdie putt to start his round and a putt from about 15m for birdie on the 18th hole that gave him a 69.
It was DeChambeau who crushed McIlroy’s spirit last year at Pinehurst No.2 by beating him at the US Open, stretching McIlroy's drought in the majors to more than a decade.
"It will be the grandest stage we've had in a long time, and I'm excited for it," DeChambeau said. "It's going to be an electric atmosphere."
Also familiar to McIlroy was his position going into the final day at Augusta National.
It was 14 years ago when McIlroy, a 21-year-old with long, curly locks and unlimited potential, took a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters. What followed was a meltdown that left him in tears when he shot 80.
“I just have to stay firm and just stay in my own little world,” McIlroy said.
He hasn't had a better chance at that green jacket until this week, when he recovered from two double bogeys in the opening round and responded with rounds of 66-66.
At stake Sunday is a chance to become only the sixth player to capture all four professional majors, a feat last accomplished nearly 25 years ago by Tiger Woods at the British Open.
Corey Conners, who went from a five-shot deficit to one shot behind McIlroy in a span of three holes on this wild Saturday, closed with eight straight pars for a 70. He was in third place, four shots behind.
No one else was closer than six shots of McIlroy. Rose, who started the round with a one-shot lead, signed for a 3-over 75 and was seven shots back in a three-way tie for sixth with Aussie Jason Day and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
Bryson DeChambeau will play with McIlroy in the final group on Monday morning. Getty
Min Woo Lee, the only other Aussie to have made the cut, had a tough third round. He made a sole birdie at the par-4 third but gave it back two holes later.
He made the turn even for the round and 1-under for the tournament, but made five bogeys to sign for a 77 and slide well down the leaderboard.
The defending champion, Scheffler endured a difficult day that could have been so much worse if not for a good day with the putter. He's trying to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three green jackets in a four-year span.
In the third round, Scheffler failed to give himself many birdie opportunities. In fact, he spent the vast majority of the day scrambling to save par and the reality is his even-par 72 could have been much worse.
He was at 5-under 211 for the tournament.
"At times I felt good, at times I felt bad," Scheffler said. "I just couldn't really get anything going. I had to scramble a lot today, actually. I got off to a good start (with a birdie on No.2), but after that I didn't really feel like I gave myself enough opportunities, and the opportunities that I did have, I didn't really quite take advantage of."
The final rounds will begin at 11.40pm AEST.
Jason Day remains the best of the Aussies, and is an outside chance to become the second Aussie to win a green jacket. Getty
The Masters final round tee times
All times AEST Sun/Mon. Australians in BOLD.
11.40pm: Brian Campbell (and Augusta National member Michael McDermott)
11.50pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Akshay Bhatia
12.00am: Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee
12.10am: Brian Harman, JJ Spaun
12.20am: Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark
12.30am: Danny Willett, JT Poston
12.40am: Sam Burns, Stephan Jaeger
1.00am: Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Taylor
1.10am: Tom Kim, Charl Schwartzel
1.20am: Davis Riley, Tommy Fleetwood
1.30am: Daniel Berger, Bubba Watson
1.40am: Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala
1.50am: Michael Kim, Denny McCarthy
2.00am: Maverick McNealy, Harris English
2.20am: Joaquin Niemann, Jon Rahm
2.30am: Byeong Hun An, Rasmus Højgaard
2.40am: Jordan Spieth, Max Greyserman
2.50am: Tyrrell Hatton, Matt McCarty
3.00am: Davis Thompson, Tom Hoge
3.10am: Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland
3.20am: Sungjae Im, Max Homa
3.40am: Nico Echavarria, Xander Schauffele
3.50am: Justin Rose, Zach Johnson
4.00am: Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry
4.10am: Ludvig Åberg, Jason Day
4.20am: Corey Conners, Patrick Reed
4.30am: Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau
