Rory McIlroy charged to the Masters lead with a historic start to Saturday’s third round, then finished strong on Augusta National’s back nine to stand two clear atop the leaderboard heading into the final round.
McIlroy had two eagles and four birdies in a six-under-par 66 and with a 12-under total of 204 was two strokes clear of Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy is poised to strike for a long-coveted Green Jacket that would see him join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to complete a career Grand Slam.
McIlroy’s first eagle of the day was at the par-five 2nd, part of six straight threes to open his round – a first in Masters history.
His second eagle at the par-five 15th, where he stuck his approach six feet from the pin, was the first of the day there and pushed his lead back to four strokes after it had dwindled to one thanks to bogeys at the 8th and 10th.
He’ll play in the final group on Sunday with DeChambeau, who out-dueled McIlroy in the final round at Pinehurst last year to lift his second US Open title.
DeChambeau birdied three of the last four holes for a three-under 69 and a 10-under total of 206.
Canadian Corey Conners was alone in third after a two-under-par 70 for eight-under 208 – two strokes clear of former Masters champion Patrick Reed and last year’s runner-up Ludvig Aberg.
2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel, the only South African to make the cut, shared 37th position on two-over 218 after carding 72.
McIlroy, who started the day two strokes behind overnight leader Justin Rose, needed just two holes to catapult himself past Rose and DeChambeau – who were just finishing up on the first green when McIlroy chipped in from 18 yards out at the 2nd.
He had taken advantage of a monster drive at the 1st, where he rolled in a 10-foot putt to secure a birdie.
“Obviously it was a dream start,” McIlroy said. “Hit two perfect shots on 1 and converted. Felt like I hit three perfect shots on 2, three perfect shots on 3.”
“As well, from finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today, it’s quite a long time. There’s a lot of nervous anticipation and anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play.
“With all of that, to go out and start the way I did was amazing.”
McIlroy added a seven-foot birdie at the 3rd parred the par-three 4th, drilled an 18-foot birdie at the 5th, then parred the par-three 6th.
The run of threes on his scorecard ended at the par-four 7th, where he was deep in the trees off the tee and muscled a mighty second shot 152 yards to the left of the green, from where he got up and down for par.
He led by as many as four before his first bogey of the day at the par-five 8th, which was followed by another bogey at 10.
“I had that little bit of a wobble around the turn there with the bogey on 8, the missed chance on 9 and the three-putt on 10,” he said, adding that his par putt on 11 was a “huge” momentum builder, as was a birdie at the 13th.
McIlroy’s blistering start had eclipsed a strong opening for DeChambeau, who rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt at the 1st and two-putted for birdie at the 2nd but still found himself trailing.
Even for the day through 14 holes, DeChambeau started his late push with a five-foot birdie at the 15th. He drilled a birdie putt at the par-three 16th and then drained a 48-foot putt from the fringe at the last.
“Thats fun,” DeChambeau said. “That’s what dreams are made of right there.”
“Now it’s Saturday, right? So I have to tell myself OK, calm down, this is not the end.”
Conners, playing alongside McIlroy, had some trouble getting going as McIlroy was burning up the front nine. But he strung together three straight birdies at 8, 9 and 10 to put himself in the hunt for a first Major title.
It was a disappointing day for Rose, who battled to a three-over-par 75 that left him seven strokes back, tied with defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day and Shane Lowry.
Scheffler had to grind to an even-par 72 that featured two birdies and two bogeys.
“At times I felt good, at times I felt bad,” said Scheffler, who came into the week hoping to join Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods as the only back-to-back Masters winners.
“I just couldn’t really get anything going. I think I ended up with even, which felt like I had to scramble a lot today, actually.”
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Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
