CAMERON Young grabbed a share of the lead at the 90th Masters on Sunday as overnight leader Rory McIlroy blew a six-shot advantage after a 73, setting up a wide-open battle for the coveted green jacket in the final round.
Young was steady as McIlroy was inconsistent, shooting a seven-under par 65 to join the defending champion in first place at 11-under 205 as he continued his comeback after opening the major with a four-over 40 on Thursday.
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That put Young in excellent position to win the first major of a pro career that has seen him go 94 starts without a win on the PGA Tour before ending the drought in Greensboro last August and winning the Players Championship,
“It’s hard to say exactly what it is, but I feel like it’s just been very small things over the course of the last year or so that have just built up some steam,” Young said. “I feel very comfortable with my game.”
McIlroy had a chance to blow away the field on moving day, and instead let back into the mix as he made a wet double bogey on the 11th and three more bogeys to shoot one-over when the average score for the round was 70.63.
“I was doing my best to hang on,” McIlroy said. “Didn’t quite have it today. The course was obviously gettable. There were a lot of good scores out there, and the quality of the chasing pack is obvious. There’s a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow.
"I’m still tied for the best score, so I can’t forget that, but I know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win," he added.
Big stars in the mix
Sam Burns shot a 68 to trail the co-leaders by one, with Shane Lowry two strokes behind in fourth after his own 68 which he highlighted with a hole-in-one on the 190-yard sixth hole with a 7-iron.
“That’s wild, isn’t it?” said Lowry. "You don’t ever expect to make a hole-in-one. I just couldn’t believe it. You’re in the hunt at the Masters, and you’re making a hole-in-one. It’s pretty cool.”
Other big names are well-positioned for a title run on Sunday. Jason Day and Justin Rose are tied for fifth at 208. Two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler climbed into a tie for seventh at 209 after a 65.
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