Rory McIlroy endured a Saturday to forget at the US Masters but the current champion remains in a share of the lead with Cameron Young ahead of the final day, while Shane Lowry is firmly in contention for a first green jacket at Augusta.
With much of the field taking advantage of 'moving day', not least world number one Scottie Scheffler and the brilliant Young, who shares the lead at 11 under par, McIlroy remained stuck in neutral although he still has a chance of being the first wire-to-wire winner of the Masters since Jordan Spieth in 2015.
After two rounds of action, McIlroy entered the weekend with a six-shot advantage and thoughts of a runaway win, but another nightmare day off the tee saw him shoot a one-over par 73 when others around him were posting low rounds.
That included Lowry who, not for the first time, provided a magical Masters moment with a hole-in-one at the sixth – his second on the famed course.
Needing one stroke on No. 6, Shane Lowry cards an ace. #themasters pic.twitter.com/SAr9uy2KBs
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2026
His previous hole-in-one here came at the 16th in the final round of 2016. It was also his second ace in a month after recording one at March’s Texas Children’s Houston Open.
He has aced the 17th at Sawgrass, in 2022, and the short seventh at Pebble Beach, in January 2025, two of the most famous par-threes in golf.
More importantly, that ace kick-started a fine round of 69 that moved him to nine-under par and just two shots off the joint leaders.
His close friend McIlroy had no such highlight moments and, bar a couple of fleeting moments of brilliance, it was a struggle around the course starting with a bogey at the first.
That was offset with a birdie at the third having driven the 350-yard par four, and he moved to 13 under with a birdie at the 10th, but a double bogey and a bogey followed at the next two holes as Amen Corner claimed its most high-profile victim of the week.
McIlroy, chasing a sixth major win, responded with birdies at 14 and 15 before a bogey at the penultimate hole ensured that he would not be in the outright lead on Sunday - something that seemed fanciful just a few hours earlier.
Young is the person alongside him at the top after a sensational 65.
He started Saturday eight shots behind McIlroy but a scorecard containing eight birdies and just one bogey leaves him in contention for another major after six previous top-10 finishes.
"I don't get the sense I’ll be the fan favourite but some fans that cheer for me have gotten louder over the last year," said Young on Sunday’s final-round pairing with McIlroy.
"It will still be lopsided, I think. Rory’s kind of a world favourite in the golf world."
There is also the looming shadow of two-time champion Scheffler who is five back after the world number one shot a Masters career-low 65 which threatened to equal the course record at one stage.
Scheffler, out two and a half hours before McIlroy's final group, covered the front nine in 31 after eagling the second and reaching the turn with three successive birdies, which included nearly holing his approach to the ninth.
He birdied the 11th only for his round to stall as he failed to take advantage of the two par fives, eventually getting to seven-under par after hitting it to 10 feet at the short 16th.
A missed eight-footer at the next ended hopes of a course record but he produced a brilliant third to inches at the last to save par, having found himself having to hack out from under a tree.
England's Justin Rose shot a second successive 69 to move to eight under, just three off the lead.
Additional reporting: PA
