McIlroy gets chance to join golf’s most exclusive club. But a major nemesis stands in his way

Rory McIlroy will attempt to become the sixth player in history to win all four golf majors on Monday after finishing the third round at the Masters with a two-shot lead at Augusta National. But the Irishman will have a familiar foe alongside him in the imposing form of Bryson DeChambeau, who downed McIlroy in memorable circumstances the last time the rivals went head-to-head on the last day of a major championship. Jason Day is the leading Australian chance, sitting in a tie for sixth back at five-under.

McIlroy shot six-under 66 to lead the Masters after 54 holes and is well positioned to finally add a Green Jacket to his collection of prizes and trophies. He has won the other three majors of golf – the Open, the US Open and the US PGA – but his best finish in the Masters is a second-place finish in 2022. His last major win was in 2014, however, and the painful saga of McIroy chasing his next major victory has been an ongoing storyline in golf since.



If McIroy can win on Monday, he would join a prestigious club of players who have won all four majors in their career – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits his tee shot on the fourth hole. Credit: AP With a 54-hole lead in major tournaments, McIlroy has won four of five of them.

Adding to the tension, DeChambeau will be stalking him in a blockbuster final pairing, and the LIV star will have the home crowd behind him. The quirky US golfer sank a long birdie putt on the 18th to finish with a round of 69, sending the gallery – and himsef – into a frenzy. The last time the McIroy and deChambeau were in this position in a major, the American triumphed in the 2024 US Open.

It was a collapse from McIroy that made it happen, though, adding to the psychological setting of the Masters showdown. McIroy led by four but bogeyed three of his last four holes in the US Open, including a botched short putt on the 18th that gave DeChambeau the chance for victory. Day shot a round of 71 to stay in contention, but he’ll have to shoot low and hope the top groups falter to be any chance of winning.

Meanwhile, Min Woo Lee’s Masters chances have been derailed after the Australian copped a one-shot penalty and was put on the clock for slow third-round play. Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after a birdie on the 18th hole. Credit: AP The Australian carded a five-over-par 77 on Saturday to fall to four over for the tournament and out of contention.

He was penalised a shot at the 13th hole when officials deemed the ball moved after he addressed it with the club on the fairway. Lee copped the penalty on the chin but was clearly miffed by suggestions of slow play, explaining that the extended 20-minute gap imposed to the group ahead of them exaggerated the issue. “They (Masters scheduling officials) gave us (Lee and playing partner Harris English) the gap between two of the groups,” he told AAP.

Min Woo Lee, of Australia, watches his tee shot on the fourth hole. Credit: AP “It just looked bad on us, and the guys right behind were playing fast and so it looked terrible.” Lee began well, scrambling a par from the trees and sand on the first and then moving to two under with a birdie on the third.

He almost holed out for eagle on approach to the fifth, but then three-putted to take bogey in a sign of things to come. “It was okay for the first bit and we were on the clock and I think that got to me,” he said of his putting. “We had a 20-minute starter gap, which doesn’t look good for us and the ref said we were a minute behind as soon as we saw him.

“And the next hole we got timed. “Playing Augusta is already tough ..

. we played nine holes in two hours which is apparently really slow. “That was tough and it just got to me.

” Lee, a winner on the PGA Tour last month, is keen to wipe the slate clean for Sunday’s final round. “I’ll definitely learn from it and just good golf (tomorrow); we’ll stick to our process and see what happens,” he said. With AAP News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday.

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