Saturday At The 89th Masters
McIlroy takes a two-stroke lead over DeChambeau to set up a final-round thriller. Plus, This, That, Quotables, Weather and Tee Times.
Saturday By The Numbers
-12: Leading score through 54 holes by Rory McIlroy
3-3-3-3-3-3: McIlroy’s start, first such start since records have been kept
9: 3’s on McIlroy’s round three card
331-369-308-342-320-312-347-327-339-316-275-339-282-294: Distances of McIlroy’s round 3 non-par 3 tee shots
275-333-297-340-344-305-363-323-331-325-284-316-290-293: Bryson DeChambeau’s round 3 non-par 3 tee shot distances
66: Low round of the day, Zach Johnson and McIlroy
79: High round of the day, Hideki Matsuyama
4:20: Round time for final twosomes on Saturday
3:45: Round time for first-off Tom Kim with marker Mike McDermott
2:30 p.m.: McIlroy and DeChambeau tee off in the final round
8: Consecutive years the champion has come from the final pairing
5th: Toughest hole in round 3 (4.346 avg, 11 birdies, 8 doubles, 2 others)
72.377: Third round scoring average
Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau outlined different approaches to Sunday’s final round showdown. Following a loud and fluctuating third round like few other moving days this century, McIlroy plans to recede into the bubble he’s created this week by putting his phone away, maybe cracking open Chapter 6 of Grisham, or falling asleep (again) to Bridgerton S.3 Ep. 1. Then he’ll get some much-needed rest following Saturday’s third round 66, one curiously capped off by subdued post-round interviews with CBS and in the press building. The tone exuded notes of satisfaction, reticence, fatigue, and hesitation to deviate from a routine that has built a two-stroke Masters lead heading into Sunday’s finale.
“I was fast on the range,” he said of his measured clubhead speed. “That anxious energy that built up, I was probably three or four miles an hour faster on the range than I have been all week, which is nice. So I knew I didn't have to worry about the bunker on 1 or 2 if I just made a good swing.”
A whopping 331 yards and sand wedge later, he made a birdie three playing to what is normally the Sunday pin placement. Another fifteen minutes later, his chip-in for eagle had Augusta National roaring.
“It wasn't really about being aggressive,” he said of the fast start. “It was just making good, committed swings and knowing that if I did that, I could set myself up on those first few holes.”
While he’s sounding upbeat in print, there was a slight air of dejection throughout his remarks, likely fueled by exhaustion from a painfully slow round along with the wear-and-tear of Masters pressure on a player with more on the line this week than the rest of the field combined.
Not helping his mood: DeChambeau’s shocking 18th hole birdie to close the gap and guarantee a dream final round pairing. While McIlroy never suggested otherwise, Saturday’s two-eagle, four-birdie 66 came close to his greatest round at Augusta. But blunders at the par 5 eighth and 10th hole after a brilliant drive slowed his early momentum. And in a week where his putting has been sensational, McIlroy missed makeable birdie putts at the ninth, 16th and 17th of 4, 16 and 4 feet.
“You know, there's a lot of anticipation and sort of anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play. So with all of that, to go out and start the way I did, was amazing.”
A 339-yard drive at the 15th and 204-yard second to six feet set up a dramatic eagle and brief four-stroke lead before DeChambeau closed with birdies at Nos. 16 and 18.
Following the round, DeChambeau, was still buzzing after his absurd 48-foot birdie putt from the 18th green’s fringe.
“When I see it three feet from the hole and it looks like it's going to go in, my body just immediately starts walking,” DeChambeau said. “I don't know why. It just kind of happens. And I was walking over to the side to see if it was going to go in, and sure enough, it did. And I mean, it was great. It was just electric. You can get chills in your body. You feel like -- you just feel euphoria, almost, in a sense. Just it feels really cool.”
The 31-year-old with one top 10 in nine Masters appearances may take a while to eventually crash before his 10 a.m. wake-up call. The reigning U.S. Open Champion fended off McIlroy less than a year ago at Pinehurst and came off the 18th green replicating a mini-version of his celebration en route to scoring. He side-fived the patrons and even a row of greencoats on his way to signing for a wild mess of a 69, one featuring brilliance and some genuinely dreadful iron play that saw DeChambeau finding just nine of Augusta National’s 18 huge greens.
“What's funny is on 14, I hit a great pitching wedge from like 169 yards,” he said. “And I have no idea why it ended up 20 yards short of where my landing spot was. I think it was just a little bit of the mowing into the grain, it may have been sitting down a little bit, and came out spinny, and there you go.
After talking to the press, DeChambeau hit the range under the watch of a stunning full moon rising from the east. He worked through a few things with instructor Dana Dahlquist what they’ve discussed thousands of times…this week, let alone this month.
“It's inside-out and the club face closes smoothly through the impact area and doesn't overdraw; it doesn't get left out to the right,” said DeChambeau. “Those are my two big misses, and I tried to work on it for a few years now. And it's close. It's a lot less deviant, but I still have to improve it.”
The slimmed-down LIV star planned to eat dinner, get some treatment, hang with family and friends, and even look at his phone (“I don't have a problem with that”). Then he planned to watch a fun movie—likely a Pierce Brosnan-era Bond movie—then sleep in until 10 a.m., waking to watch some early action from the course, and then head to Gate 3 for his pre-round prep.
While the two final round combatants are taking different paths to finding whatever inner calm can be found on the eve of what will be a frenetic finale, they agreed on one thing: being mindful that others are in contention. It was a charming show of humility from both.
The numbers and common sense say the champion will come out of their 2:30 p.m. tee time Sunday. DeChambeau expects an incredible atmosphere.
“It will be the grandest stage that we've had in a long time, and I'm excited for it.”
McIlroy’s Best Shot
