Rory McIlroy says he doesn’t look at the leaderboard when he plays The Masters – it’s a way of telling himself that he’s here to play golf and that’s all he cares about. After three exhilarating days at Augusta that strategy has served him well and he goes into the final round with an outstanding opportunity to win his first green jacket.
There have been some epic exchanges between Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy at this Masters but now we’re in the final stretch. Both players are tied at the top of the leaderboard on 12 under and it’s going to be a fascinating final day at Augusta.
McIlroy has started the day in superb form despite making a double bogey at the 1st. He’s been a bit sloppy off the tee but there’s a laser-like approach to the 2nd and he hits an amazing putt to move up to 13 under. He drops another shot at the par-five 15th after finding Rae’s Creek but he rebounds in spectacular fashion with a birdie at the 16th.
DeChambeau continues to play superbly but there’s only so much his incredible feel for the short irons and putting can save him. At the 18th he chases a tricky pin position and, just like Ludvig Aberg did last year when chasing Scottie Scheffler, over-draws his ball into the pond and makes bogey.
Englishman Justin Rose, the 2021 champion, is four shots behind McIlroy but he has a track record at Augusta to prove that he can hang with the best. He starts the final round at three under and he’s one of 11 multiple-time winners to have finished in the top 10 here in the past eight rounds.