Masters showdown: Wildly popular DeChambeau vs. sentimental favorite McIlroy

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Rory McIlroy has 18 holes standing between himself and the career grand slam after shooting a 6-under 66 on Saturday, which gave him a two-shot advantage over Bryson DeChambeau heading into the final round of the Masters.

For his part, DeChambeau finds himself trying to chase down McIlroy in another major championship.

McIlroy got off to a fast start at Augusta National, playing the first five holes in 5 under, and was at 12 under for the tournament. DeChambeau made a nearly 50-foot putt from just off the green at No. 18 to shoot 69, his third consecutive round in the 60s.

DeChambeau is just two shots behind McIlroy — the leader t 12 under — and in the final pairing with him Sunday for the final round.

“Those last few holes, I just kept thinking to myself, ‘Get in the final pairing. Execute those shots the best you can,’” DeChambeau said after g for a third straight round in the 60s. “I made a beautiful putt to finish it off and that was cool.”

The LIV Golf player has experience staring down McIlroy on some of the game’s biggest stages.

Last summer, he was trailing McIlroy by a shot with four holes to play in the final round at Pinehurst No. 2. DeChambeau was able to hold together his nerves while McIlroy faltered, missing two short putts and bogeying three of his last four holes, and a memorable up-and-down in the twilight at the 18th hole allowed DeChambeau to win the U.S. Open by a shot.

DeChambeau and McIlroy had a chance to briefly stare each other down during the third round Saturday, too.

The moment came after they had ed through Amen Corner. DeChambeau was finishing up on the par-5 15th, where he managed to get up-and-down from behind the green for birdie. A couple of hundred yards away, McIlroy hit his approach to the par-3 16th to about 15 feet, though he missed the birdie putt and had to settle for a par.

“It’s always important in a major championship to be in the final group, or close to the final group, but it was really fun knowing it was Rory and we could have a good match tomorrow,” DeChambeau said Saturday. “It’s going to be a fun test.”

McIlroy seems up to the challenge himself.

He’s trying to chase down the final leg of the career grand slam, and a searing start in which he played the first five holes in 5 under thrust him into the lead. Despite a couple of wobbles as he made the turn, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman was able to make an eagle at the 15th to regain control, and he earned a standing ovation after his round of 66.

“It was an awesome day and it puts me in a great position going into tomorrow,” he said Saturday.

ing him in the final group is a recent nemesis — DeChambeau — who ripped his heart out at Pinehurst No. 2 last June when he seized on McIlroy’s late mistakes to win the U.S. Open.

McIlroy shied away from the notion this is a rematch with DeChambeau.

“The big thing is not to make it a rematch,” McIlroy said. “Stay in my own little world. There’s a few people who can make a run. I have to do what I’ve been doing, surround myself in my own little cocoon.”

McIlroy is the sentimental favorite for dealing with a decade of major championship heartache. DeChambeau is wildly popular as golf’s greatest entertainer.

The arena is Augusta National, the greatest theater in golf that can thrill and torture the soul at every turn.

“It will be the grandest stage that we’ve had in a long time, and I’m excited for it,” DeChambeau said. “We both want to win really, really badly — shoot, there’s a lot of great players behind us, too; got to be mindful of that. It’s about who can control themselves and who can execute the golf shots the best.

“It’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”

It already was on a Saturday that started with McIlroy putting six straight 3s on his scorecard, which featured a chip-in for eagle on the par-5 second. It ended with DeChambeau making birdie with a putt just under 50 feet on the edge of the 18th green for a 69.

McIlroy was at 12-under 204, a two-shot lead and one round away from that coveted Masters green jacket and the grand prize that comes along with it.

Along with a memory of DeChambeau at the U.S. Open, McIlroy is also familiar with his position at Augusta National.

It was 14 years ago when McIlroy, a 21-year-old with long, curly locks and unlimited potential, took a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters. What followed was a meltdown that left him in tears when he shot 80.

He hasn’t had a better chance at that green jacket until this week.

So much of what McIlroy did Saturday was a reminder of how much it all can change. Even so, his start was nothing short of astonishing.

A wedge to 10 feet for birdie on the first hole. And after the cheers died for DeChambeau’s long birdie putt at the first, McIlroy cranked up the volume by chipping in for eagle on the par-5 second. He holed a 7-foot birdie on the third, had a two-putt on the par-3 fourth and then hammered another drive — 70 yards by Conners — leaving him a 9-iron to 18 feet for yet another birdie 3.

And it could have been better. He made a soft bogey on the par-5 eighth with a weak chip from behind the green. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt from above the hole on No. 9. He three-putted from long range for bogey on the 10th.

McIlroy missed another birdie chance on the 17th, missing an 8-foot putt and he was visibly angry with himself walking off the green. Every shot matters. McIlroy knows that from experience in 2011.

DeChambeau had plenty of highs and lows Saturday.

He birdied two of his first three holes and was tied with McIlroy at 9 under before he found a bunker at the fourth and made bogey. DeChambeau stuck his approach at No. 6 to 3 feet for another birdie, only to find the bunker left of the ninth green with that approach shot, leading to a second bogey.

Yet he kept on working — fittingly, for the analytic-driven player nicknamed “The Scientist.” And by the time he made an 8-footer to save par at the 16th, and made that big birdie at the last, DeChambeau was back in contention at Augusta National.

DeChambeau opened with 69 in his return to Augusta National this year, though he lamented his ball-striking, which was not quite to his liking. So long after everyone else had departed the property, he stood under the giant flood lights of the expansive Masters practice range and hit balls, one after another, until he was happy with his swing.

He proceeded to shoot 68 on Friday. And with another under-par round Saturday, he’s in the final group for Sunday.

“I think it’s fun feeling like you have to hit every single shot to the best of your ability, and you can’t let off the gas pedal, and you have to focus and play the best golf you can,” DeChambeau said. “When you’re leading, it’s a little different. I’ve had those times as well, and you attack those a little different. But for me to be chasing tomorrow, it’ll be a fun test.”

The other contenders

• Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion and world’s No. 1 player, was stuck in neutral Saturday in a thrilling afternoon with so much movement. He was having to stay in the game with tough pars and managed only two birdies in his round of 72. He also was seven shots behind.
• Patrick Reed, who won the Masters in 2018, birdied two of the last three holes for a 69 and was at 6-under 210 along with Ludvig Aberg, the runner-up a year ago who finally got in gear with three straight birdies on the back nine for a 69.
• Zach Johnson matched McIlroy with the low round of the day, though the 49-year-old former Masters champion did it much earlier in the day. Johnson made the cut on the number at 2 over, and his 66 Saturday left him with Xander Schauffele, Sungjae Im and Nicolas Echavarria at 4 under for the tournament.
• Viktor Hovland had a couple of early birdies and quickly reached 6 under, but he gave away three shots on the second nine and wound up shooting 73. He was in a group at 3 under with Max Homa and Collin Morikawa.
• Shane Lowry also was in the mix, getting within two shots of the lead at one point until he missed a good birdie chance at the 15th and bogeys on the final two holes for a 72. He was seven behind.
• Matt McCarty was 6 under with three holes to play, but he went bogey-double bogey-bogey to shoot 75.

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