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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Today marks the thrilling conclusion of the 90th Masters Tournament, where a new champion will emerge.
Currently tied at the top, defending champion Rory McIlroy and American hopeful Cameron Young, both stand poised at -11, sharing a slender one-shot lead as they head into the final day. McIlroy’s commanding six-shot advantage, which he held after the first two rounds, dwindled on Saturday when he carded a 73 in the third round.
“There’s still a lot at stake,” McIlroy remarked. “This course has a unique way of challenging you, especially when you’re not at your best. It really pushes you to dig deep within yourself.”
He added, “I’m still in a strong position, being in the final group. However, I recognize the need to elevate my game if I want to secure the victory.”
Meanwhile, Cameron Young, currently ranked No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, matched McIlroy and two-time Champion Scottie Scheffler for the lowest round of the tournament on Saturday with an impressive 65. This performance secured him a spot alongside McIlroy in the decisive final pairing on Sunday.
“I’ll probably give myself some time to think about it right now for the next 30 minutes or so,” Young said after Saturday’s round. “After that, it’s kind of a battle of managing how you want to react to those things. To me, it’s just a matter of going right back to how am I going to run my day tomorrow, what time am I going to get here, so I can eat, so I can go see the physio?
“It’s just going to be back to my routine, and that’s what I’m going to lean on tomorrow.”
Young and his family always attend Sunday mass wherever he is competing. That tradition will continue in Augusta.
“I don’t know where we’re going to go yet, but we’ll find somewhere and take the kids. We’ll be out in full force just like usual.”
Also seeking his first major championship is Sam Burns, who shot 68 in the final pairing with McIlroy on Saturday to start Sunday at -10. Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour.
“I love it,” Burns said of the possibilities on Sunday. “This is what we practice for and work so hard for, and I’m going to go out (Sunday) and just try to execute. I can’t control anything anyone else does. I can only control how I carry myself, my attitude, and those are the things I’m going to focus on.”
Two shots off of the lead sits 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry, who has two top-10 finishes here. He electrified the patrons at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday with an ace at No. 6, becoming the first player in Tournament history to record two aces, having made a hole-in-one at No. 16 in 2016. He shot 68 on Saturday and enters the final round at -9.
“When you’re down the field and you’re just having a go at it, it makes it a little bit easier and you can play a bit more freely,” Lowry said. “When you are out there in the hunt you need to be a little bit more protective of what you are doing.
“When we get to (Sunday), that’s when, you know, we’ll see what everyone is made of.”
11 players enter Sunday’s final round within five shots of the lead, providing the drama for which the final round at Augusta has come to be known. One of them is last year’s runner-up Justin Rose, whose 69 on Sunday left him three of of the lead at -8.
“It’s going to take a special round (Sunday), so there’s a chance, which is great,” Rose said. “I’m going to try to channel a bit of last year and see what happens.”
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This story will be updated throughout the day.