Rory McIlroy knows green jackets aren’t won in 36 holes.
The reigning Masters champion finished Friday’s second round at 12-under-par, including four straight birdies to end the day, and carried a six-shot lead into the weekend. But McIlroy wasn’t as impressed by his historic round as golf fans.
“I know what can happen around here, good and bad,” McIlroy told ESPN’s Michael Eaves. “You don’t have to remind me not to get ahead of myself around this place. There’s a long way to go. I’ve got off to an amazing start, but we reset, and everyone goes back to even par tomorrow.”
On Saturday, McIlroy shot a 73 and finished the day one over par to come into a tie atop the Masters leaderboard with Cameron Young at 11-under overall.
Young posted an exceptional 65 in Round 3 to shoot up six spots and tie McIlroy at the top. CBS legend Jim Nantz asked Young how he turned his tournament around, to which Young said, “It’s hard to say.”
Young added: “I feel like I was really ready to go for the week, and just got off to one of those starts. Everything I did was not quite right, and this place will take it to you when it’s going that way. It’s really just a turnaround of some really small things.”
Just below McIlroy and Young is Sam Burns at 10-under, followed by Shane Lowry at 9-under and a two-way tie for fifth between Jason Day and Justin Rose at 8-under. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler scored an incredible 31 through the first nine on Saturday and carded a 65 to move 17 spots up into a tie for seventh at 7-under.
Twenty-four hours ago, it felt inevitable that McIlroy would become the first back-to-back Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002. Now, Augusta National will be pure theatre on Sunday.
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