Rory McIlroy shot a one-over 73 in the third round of the 2026 Masters, squandering his record six-shot lead after 36 holes and dropping into a tie for the lead with Cameron Young at 11-under par. Sam Burns sits one stroke back at 10-under, with Shane Lowry at nine-under. The pair will enter Sunday's final round with the green jacket on the line at Augusta National.
McIlroy entered Saturday with a six-shot advantage, the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history, following a seven-under 65 in the second round. However, he struggled with a persistent left miss on his approach shots, particularly through Amen Corner, where he made double bogey on the 11th and bogey on the 12th. “This golf course has a way of — when you’re not quite feeling it, you struggle,” McIlroy said. “I just need to go to the range and try to figure it out a little bit.” McIlroy attributed the issue to his lower body stalling through impact, causing his arms to take over and close the clubface. “For me it’s just about keeping my lower body moving,” he said. He plans to work on neutralizing the ball flight ahead of the final round. Despite earlier concerns over his driving accuracy—hitting only 13 fairways through 36 holes, second-fewest in the field—McIlroy had relied on a strong short game to build his lead. He remained aggressive, repeating his mantra: “keep swinging, keep swinging hard at it even if you’re not hitting fairways.” Behind the leaders, Jason Day and Justin Rose stand at eight-under, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Haotong Li are at seven-under.
