Rory McIlroy's third-round collapse sets up grandstand finish at the Masters

The Northern Irishman endured an adventurous round at Augusta to eventually card a one over 73, moving him to 11 under for the tournament, tied with a resurgent Cameron Young, who was brilliant for his seven under 65.

McIlroy took the road less travelled on Saturday, going through the trees on multiple occasions, into the water and thus spent much of the day scrambling.

He arrived at Amen Corner one under for the day, but his shot into the par four 11th rolled into the water and he missed a five-footer for par, leading to double bogey. McIlroy pulled his wedge on the next hole, resulting in a bogey. The defending champion mitigated some damage with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th, but a bogey on the penultimate hole set him back again.

The result? McIlroy's six-shot lead had evaporated.

"Didn't quite have it today,"  he admitted.

With that, several big names are now in contention for the green jacket. Sam Burns and Shane Lowry are in solo third and fourth on ten and nine under, respectively, while Justin Rose and Jason Day lurk on eight under.

World number one Scottie Scheffler finally announced his presence this week with a sizzling 65 to move him to seven under, while 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed is also in the hunt, five shots behind.

As such, McIlroy is under no illusions as to the challenge Sunday will bring.

"There's a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow," he continued.

"I'm still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can't forget that. But I do know I'm going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win."

Meanwhile, Young - who drained eight birdies in a superlative third round - is pragmatic in his approach for the Masters finale.

"I'm owed nothing," quipped the 2026 Players Championship winner.

"My past results don't dictate what I do tomorrow. I've got to go earn whatever I get out of tomorrow, and the best way that I know to do that is kind of try to attack the day like I have the last three."

READ MORE: Magical McIlroy storms into six-shot lead at The Masters after stunning Friday 65