Rory McIlroy will take a two-shot lead into the final day of the 89th Masters following a sensational third round at Augusta National.
McIlroy, who needs to win a coveted green jacket to complete the career grand slam, fired two eagles and four birdies in a thrilling 66 to reach 12 under par, the same score he posted after 54 holes in 2011.
On that occasion the 21-year-old was four shots clear of four players, including eventual champion Charl Schwartzel, who capitalised on McIlroy collapsing to a closing 80.
Fourteen years on Bryson DeChambeau, who edged out McIlroy in dramatic fashion to win his second US Open title at Pinehurst last year, is the Northern Irishman’s nearest challenger following a 69 capped off by a 50ft birdie across the 18th green.
Canada’s Corey Conners lies four shots off the lead in third with 2018 winner Patrick Reed and last year’s runner-up Ludvig Aberg two strokes further back.
Halfway leader Justin Rose carded a 75 to slip to five under alongside defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Jason Day.
McIlroy began the day two shots behind Ryder Cup team-mate Rose, but raced to the turn in 32 to open up a two-shot lead.
McIlroy holed from 10 feet for birdie on the first and unleashed a 370-yard drive down the par-five second before chipping in for an eagle from just over the green.
The short par-four third offered another early birdie opportunity and McIlroy took advantage after a deftly controlled pitch to six feet, before a birdie on the fifth meant he had covered the first five holes in five under par.
Such an exhilarating start drew a rapturous reaction from Tiger Woods’ former coach Butch Harmon, who McIlroy visited for a lesson before last year’s Masters.
“Oh my God, is this Disneyland or is this golf?” Harmon said on Sky Sports. “It’s the magic kingdom here.”
McIlroy’s lead increased to four when DeChambeau followed birdies on the first – from 45 feet – and second with dropped shots on the third and seventh, but the Northern Irishman then bogeyed the eighth and missed from four feet for a birdie on the ninth.
DeChambeau two-putted for birdie on the par-five eighth and found himself just a shot behind when McIlroy three-putted the 10th, where playing partner Conners tapped in for his third birdie in a row to share second.
DeChambeau continued to struggle with distance control with his irons however and bogeyed the 12th before McIlroy birdied the par-five 13th and struck a potentially decisive blow on the 15th.
A 340-yard drive was followed by a towering six-iron approach which McIlroy knew had been struck perfectly as soon as it left the club, the ball finishing six feet from the hole to set up a second eagle of the day.
McIlroy’s performance was all the more impressive given that an opening 72 had left him seven shots off the lead and with the odds firmly stacked against him.
It was the seventh consecutive year McIlroy had been six or more shots back after round one, with just one of the last 19 Masters champions – Sergio Garcia in 2017 – being more than four shots behind after 18 holes.
Only two men in history have come from seven behind after 18 holes to win, Nick Faldo in 1990 and Woods in 2005, but McIlroy gave himself a chance to join that illustrious duo thanks to a second round of 66.
Another 66 on Saturday means all that stands between McIlroy joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods in having won all four majors is 18 more holes at Augusta National.
“He’s the best player on the planet right now,” Faldo said. “If he just plays nicely and shoots 70 he will be highly unlikely to lose.”
