AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The final round of the 90th Masters has arrived, and it’s a tight race for the green jacket.
Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young entered the round tied atop the leaderboard, and six others were within four shots after a dramatic Saturday. Sam Burns was one shot off the lead, Shane Lowry was two, and two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler lurked four shots back.
McIlroy and Young have teed off at the Masters, which means everyone is
out on the course for the final round.
McIlroy blew a record 36-hole lead of six shots on Saturday with a round of 73, which allowed Young to pull into a tie with him at 11 under following his 65 — tied for the low round of the tournament. They had a one-shot lead over Sam Burns, though Scottie Scheffler and a host of other big names were ready to give chase.
Scheffler began the day at 7 under and promptly birdied the difficult par-4 first hole to start his round in style.
The world’s No. 1 made up a lot of ground on Saturday, when his second-round 65 matched co-leader Young for the best of the day. It left Scheffler at 7 under for the tournament, four shots behind Young and McIlroy.
This would be the first time Scheffler has come from behind at Augusta National to win on Sunday. In 2022, he had a three-shot lead after the third round and won by the same margin. Two years ago, he led by one going into Sunday and won by four.
There’s reason to believe that Scheffler can make up the ground, though.
Through the first three rounds, the four-time major champion ranks first from tee-to-green and first in ballstriking. So, why isn’t he in the lead? Scheffler is nearly last in putting. If he can get a few to drop, watch out.
▶ Here’s the leaderboard
Rory McIlroy lost a six-shot lead during the third round of the Masters, so it makes sense that anyone within six shots of the lead has at least a shot at the green jacket.
Those at 5 under were scheduled to go off shortly after 1 p.m. EDT, beginning with Ben Griffin and Jake Knapp. They were followed at 1:30 p.m. by Collin Morikawa (-5) and Patrick Reed (-6), with Patrick Cantlay (-6) and Russell Henley (-6) going off at 1:41 p.m.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Haotong Li, both at 7 under, were paired together at 1:52 p.m.
Justin Rose, who lost in a playoff to McIlroy last year, was at 8 under along with Jason Day. They were due off at 2:03 p.m. Sam Burns (-10) and Shane Lowry (-9) were in the penultimate group at 2:14 p.m. before McIlroy and Cameron Young strike their opening tee shots at 2:25 p.m. on Tea Olive, the 445-yard par-4 first hole at Augusta National.
Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, will be playing the remainder of the final round without his driver after snapping off the head of it following an angry outburst on the second tee box. After sending his tee shot into a bunker, Garcia took a swipe at a table with a green cooler on it and severed the head of the driver. It was left briefly dangling from the shaft before Garcia grabbed it and ripped it off completely. Geoff Yang, the chairman of the Masters competitions committee, met up with Garcia on the fourth tee box and issued him a code of conduct warning, according to club officials.
The forecast for the final round of the Masters is much like it has been all week at Augusta National: hot, dry and sunny.
That’s good news for the thousands of patrons. But it could be bad news for those trying to navigate 18 holes. The weather has been such that club officials can set up the course just about anyway they want. They seemed to give players a reprieve with easier hole locations and softer conditions on Friday and Saturday, but chances are they will want it difficult on Sunday.
That means hard, fast greens that reject wayward approach shots into difficult pin placements.
“When greens are firm and targets are tight, even a light wind can add another layer of difficulty,” said John Feerick, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “Players who manage launch, spin and landing spot most effectively may have the clearest edge.”
The Masters gnome has grown increasingly popular — and valuable — over the last 10 years. But this year’s gnome has become especially sought after on re-sale markets amid speculation this will be the final year they’ll be produced.
Masters chairman Fred Ridley has neither confirmed nor denied the rumors.
The 13 1/2-inch gnome features the traditional old man with a white beard dressed in golf attire and holding an umbrella and Masters-themed cup. It is only available for purchase at Augusta National (not online) and is selling for $59.50.
However, some are taking the gnome home and using it to help pay for their Masters expenses. The gnome is commanding more than $600 on eBay and Marketplace. With only 1,000 gnomes available per day and regularly selling out within an hour, fans are lining up early in the morning to get one.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
