Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young shared a one-shot lead entering the final round at Augusta National. We followed along with live coverage and analysis of Masters Sunday all the way until McIlroy's major-clinching putt.
It's never easy
It's never easy with McIlroy. He created suspense on 18 by blasting his tee shot way right, but he had a gap to get his second shot close to the green. His two-putt for bogey sealed his second straight Masters title by one shot over Scottie Scheffler, making him only the fourth player to defend the green jacket.
One more hole
McIlroy can make a bogey on the final hole to secure history. He'd become only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters while adding a sixth major championship title to his incredible resume.
Scheffler in the clubhouse lead
Scottie Scheffler is the clubhouse leader at 11-under par, setting the mark McIlroy must clear to defend his green jacket successfully. McIlroy converted a tricky up-and-down on the par-3 16th and will take his two-shot lead to the 17th tee.
Rory's to lose
Rory McIlroy leads by two with four to play, including the par-5 15th, which is playing 0.32 strokes under par on the day. Scottie Scheffler is two back of McIlroy but only has two holes remaining.
Cameron Young would need to pull off something extremely special in the final four holes to erase the three-shot deficit he faces.
Time to make a move
The final pairing heads to the 13th hole with McIlroy holding a two-shot lead. Nos. 13 through 16 are all playing under par on Sunday, so if Young or any of the other chasers are going to make a move, now is the time to act.
McIlroy takes lead ... again
Justin Rose bogeyed back-to-back holes through Amen Corner and heads to No. 13 trailing McIlroy by one.
McIlroy is once again the betting favorite to win the green jacket at +170 on theScore Bet. Rose is +225, while Cameron Young is +325.
The Masters begins
You've heard it 100 times - the Masters doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday. Here we are.
Justin Rose holds a one-shot lead over McIlroy and a two-shot edge over Young with nine holes to play. Tyrrell Hatton is about to take the clubhouse lead at 10-under par, so there won't be much breathing room for those still on the course battling for the green jacket.
Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley have completed 12 holes and are at 9-under as time begins to run out.
Rose on top
Justin Rose is your new leader. The 45-year-old closed his front nine with three straight birdies to get to 12-under for the tournament. Meanwhile, Young dropped back-to-back shots after briefly reaching 12-under.
Young bogeyed No. 7 - the easiest par 4 on the course - while McIlroy birdied it, creating a two-shot swing between the final pairing. Russell Henley is also at 10-under par as he takes on Amen Corner.
The chase is on
Russell Henley recorded four birdies in his first eight holes to soar up the leaderboard and grab a share of second place. Then, Justin Rose hit a miraculous shot out of the trees on No. 7, his ball ripping across the green before settling within a foot of the cup. Rose calmly tapped in for a birdie, cutting into Young's lead.
Young is the betting favorite at +150 on theScore Bet after he missed a short par putt on No. 6, with Rose next at +300. McIlroy also bogeyed No. 6 to fall to 2-over on the day and two back of his playing partner. The final pairing will have back-to-back birdie opportunities waiting for them on Nos. 7 and 8 - the two easiest holes on the front nine.
Henley, Rose, Scottie Scheffler, and McIlroy are all within two of Young's lead.
Off and running
Young took the solo lead with a birdie on No. 2, but McIlroy answered on the next hole to tie things at 12-under par. The duo had a three-shot gap over the chasers, a pack led by Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, before McIlroy three-putted from 10 feet to card a double-bogey on No. 4.
Scheffler birdied two of his first three holes to get within reach of the leaders. If he can head to No. 7 at 2-under for the round, he'll be in a great position to track down Young and McIlroy.
Sam Burns held a temporary share of the lead after birdieing the first hole, but he carded a double bogey on No. 2 and dropped another shot on No. 3 to fall four off the pace.
Low scores are out there
Some players are making final-round scoring look easy. Keegan Bradley and Gary Woodland have already signed for 6-under 66s, and Jon Rahm posted a 68. Viktor Hovland was 7-under through 13 holes before a surprising double-bogey on the par-5 15th.
Augusta National should get tougher as the day progresses, but there are birdies to be made, which is great news for anyone chasing the co-leaders. The pressure will be on McIlroy and Young to get off to hot starts, or else they could find themselves trailing by the time they reach the fourth hole.
What's at stake
Even though he got the monkey off his back last year at Augusta, Rory McIlroy by far has the most at stake Sunday. A win would make him only the fourth player in Masters history to defend the green jacket and bring his career major total to six, a milestone reached by only 14 golfers. McIlroy would join Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino with six major wins and tie Nick Faldo for the most ever by a European-born player.
Meanwhile, Young and Sam Burns are looking for their first major championship titles. Young would cement himself as the second-best American player in the world behind Scottie Scheffler with a win, adding to an impressive season that already has a Players Championship title. Burns, who's one back of the lead, would also leap up the golf ranks, as he looks to secure only his third top-10 finish in a major and first top-25 result at the Masters.
Justin Rose (8-under) is also in the mix at yet another Masters. The 45-year-old is a three-time runner-up at Augusta, with two of those finishes coming after playoff heartbreaks. A second major victory would add to Rose's 2013 U.S. Open title and boost a resume that feels more deserving of just a single major championship crown.
Scottie Scheffler (7-under) trails by four shots of the lead, a margin he can overcome if he plays as well as he did Saturday. Coming off a third-round 65, Scheffler has a chance to become the ninth player to win at least three green jackets, joining Mickelson, Faldo, Gary Player, Sam Snead, and Jimmy Demaret. He'd also join McIlroy and Brooks Koepka as the only players of the current era with five majors.
What to watch for
It's still early, but Augusta National appears to be playing slightly harder than Saturday but not as difficult as the opening two rounds.
There are plenty of accessible pin locations, including on No. 7, which has already yielded 12 birdies and an eagle with only 24 players having finished the hole. Nos. 2, 7, 8, and 9 are all playing under par in the early stages of the final round, and it's expected that Nos. 13 and 15 on the back nine are also birdie opportunities. The pin position on 16 is in its iconic location at the bottom of a bowl in the back left portion of the green - the same pin position as Tiger Woods' famous chip-in back in 2005 - which heightens the possibility of a hole-in-one.
On the first few holes of the front nine, making a birdie on No. 2 and reaching the sixth tee at 1-under for the day should be considered a win. No. 4 has a 28% bogey rate, while No. 5 has a 27% bogey rate in the day's early stages. As Augusta continues to dry up ahead of the leaders' tee times, those holes will only get tougher.
US: Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER; Hope is here. Call (800)-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support (MA); Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY).
ON: Please play responsibly. 19+. ON only. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call ConnexOntario 24/7 at 1-866-531-2600. Text us at 247247 or chat with us at www.connexontario.ca.
