LEADERBOARD
-12 McIlroy (18)
-10 DeChambeau (18)
-8 Conners (18)
-6 Åberg (18), Reed (18)
-5 Day (18), Scheffler (18), Lowry (18), Rose (18)
Here is Philip Reid’s report on the day. That’s all for tonight, good night!
BIRDIE: From midtown rather than downtown DeChambeau (-10, 69) finishes his round in a blaze of glory. McIlroy will have a two shot start on the man who took the US Open title from him at Pinehurst. Boy we are in for a fantastic day tomorrow. Rose (-5, 75) closes with a bogey.
It’s McIlroy (-12) v DeChambeau (-10) with Corey Conners (-8) the best of the rest.
Philip Reid’s report will be in presently. Thank you for your company.
McIlroy: “It was a dream start. I had a little bit of a wobble around the bit of the round. I felt like I steadied myself with a good par putt on 11. I tried to take advantage of the par fives and I did that with a great six iron on 15 (to set up eagle). My iron play and approach play was really solid today. Overall a great day.”
DeChambeau (-9) finds the sand from the tee but with his prodigious power, he gets the ball all the way to the back tier where the hole is situated. 40 feet across the green to get to play with McIlroy on Sunday. The two disputed the US Open last year, the American led by three shots going into the final round. McIlroy got himself into a winning position but his touch on the greens completely deserted him down the stretch as he missed from inside three feet on 16 then four feet on 18 to present DeChambeau, in the group behind, with the opportunity to seal victory, which he did.
McIlroy (-12) with a superb second to 18. He has a chance to record a 10th ‘three’ on his card today. About 16 feet for birdie. Feeds it down to inches. Just a tad overborrowed. Still route 66 for a second consecutive round. Rory McIlroy will lead the Masters after 54 holes and will bid to become the sixth player to complete a career Grand Slam in the Majors. Only Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw have gone 11 years between winning Majors. It’s Rory’s first 54 hole lead in a Major in 11 years. Conners (-8) with a brilliant up and down.
Excellent two-putt from DeChambeau (-9) rescues a par on the 17th. Lowry (-5, 72) bogeys the last two holes. He played better than that for the majority of the round and that score will feel a little harsh.
Lowry has looked a little tired. The bunker shot was a brute but he’d have expected better. He’s got 25-feet for par. Errant tee shots on 17 and 18 have been costly.
Lowry (-6) is in a bit of trouble on 18. Tee shot in trees, second leaves him short-sided in the front bunker.
Rose (-6) misses and misses again (bogey), Lowry (-6) misses (bogey) but DeChambeau (-9) is unerring (birdie). He is three behind. McIlroy (-12) in to eight feet on the 17th. Lovely. Defending champion Scheffler (-5) shot a level par 72. McIlroy is a little too aggressive with the birdie putt, not for the first time. He paused, took a breath and holed out superbly on the return.
Here comes Bryson. He’s in to about five feet on the par three 16th and Rose follows him to about the same distance. Lowry has a par chance on the 17th, a really good one, after a great chip.
BIRDIE: DeChambeau (-8) gets up and down on pat five, 15th to close the gap to four shots on McIlroy and join Conners (-8) in second place. McIlroy (-12) coaxes a three wood down the centre of the 17th fairway.
Lowry (-7) with a superb, creative up and down from the sand on the 16th but would like a ‘do-over’ with his tee shot on the 17th. McIlroy (-12) with a tidy tee shot on the 16th, about 15 feet. DeChambeau (-7) clobbers his second shot, a seven iron from 229 yards, over the back of the green. Conners (-8) and McIlroy (-12) both miss their birdie chances.
LEADERBOARD
-12 McIlroy (15)
-8 Conners (15)
-7 Rose (14), DeChambeau (14), Lowry (16)
-6 Åberg (18), Reed (18)
-5 Day (18), Scheffler (17), McCarty (16)
EAGLE: McIlroy (-12), cool as you like, silky smooth stroke. His second eagle of the round to go with one on the second. A bogey on the par five eighth, a birdie on the par five 13th. Lowry (-7) fortunate to get away with a tugged tee shot on the par three 16th. The sand saves him from the water. McCarty finds the aqua.
Ludvig Åberg (69) and the 2018 Masters champions Patrick Reed (69) are joint leaders in the clubhouse on six under. They won’t be far away starting tomorrow’s final round. Lowry (-7) misreads the putt and has to settle for par. McIlroy (-10), 205 yards into 15, stunning, simply stunning. Six feet for eagle. A little fist pump too.
McIlroy (-10) gets up and down. Good scramblin’ as we’d say in the Dublin Journalists golf society. BIRDIE: Defending champion Scheffler (-5) gets his round back to an even keel, level for the day, with a birdie on the 15th. Rose (-6) watches in horror as his birdie putt on 13, slides over the left edge. Offaly’s finest Shane Lowry with a trademark wedge into 15. Great birdie chance to move within two. McIlroy stripes a drive down the 15th.
BIRDIE: Lowry (-7) gets a pick-me-up boost heading to the par five, 15th with a super birdie on the 14th, rewarded for a great iron and a smooth stroke. DeChambeau (-7) screams “get down, get down, dammit.” Having hit a monster drive, he airmailed the green with his second, and is slightly fortunate to catch the back bunker. McIlroy (-10) follows a poor tee shot on 14 by hitting into the spectators behind the green.
LEADERBOARD
-10 McIlroy (13)
-8 Conners (13)
-7 DeChambeau (12)
-6 Åberg (17), McCarty (13), Lowry (13), Rose (12)
-5 Reed (17), Day (16)
BIRDIE: And exhale. McIlroy (-10) with a fine up and down. That stops what had been a frustrating run either side of the turn.
Lowry (-6) can’t take advantage of the par five, 13th. McIlroy (-9) overshoots the same green in two. He’ll have a tricky stance up against the edge of the back bunker. Conners (-8) misses the green with a wedge. BOGEY: DeChambeau (-7) found the sand on the par three, 12th, splashed out to 12 feet, a little thin and missed the putt.
LEADERBOARD
-9: McIlroy (12)
- 8 DeChambeau (11), Conners (12)
-6: Aberg (16), Day (15), Lowry (12), Rose (11)
-5 Reed (17), McCarty (12), Hovland (14)
BIRDIE: Åberg makes it three in a row on the par three, 16th. DeChambeau’s (-8) birdie putt comes up a couple of revolutions short on 11. BOGEY: Rose (-6) pays a price for missing the green with his second shot.
BIRDIES: Ludvig Åberg (-5) picks up shots on 14 and 15 to move back into contention. Conners (-8) with a brilliant par save on 12. Scheffler (-5) can’t pick up a shot on the par five 13th, having been in the back bunker in two.
McIlroy (-9) comes up a little shy with an eight iron after a perfect tee shot on 11. He elects to chip and does so poorly. He has nine feet for par. HOLES IT. Clutch. Another beautiful putt from Lowry (-6) but it stays above ground on 12. Par.
Rose (-7) and DeChambeau (-8) both make pars on 10, the latter with impressive scrambling having missed the green left. The American is proving his resilience and steely determination once again in a Major.
Lowry can’t avail of a tough birdie chance on 11, a lorra, lorra break as Cilla Black would say back in the day. Google it.
LEADERBOARD
-9 McIlroy (10)
-8 DeChambeau (9), Conners (10)
-7 Rose (9)
-6 Lowry (10)
-5 Day (13), Scheffler (11), McCarty (10)
BOGEY: Sloppy three-putt bogey for McIlroy (-9) on the 10th. Centre of the fairway off the tee, second went long and the first putt slid six feet past. He’s been off colour for the past three holes, two bogeys either side of a missed five foot birdie putt. BIRDIE: Conners (-8) is now only one back.
OOOOOOOHHHH. Lowry (-6) caresses the edge of the cup on the 10th for birdie. so close. McIlroy (-10) with a great three wood on the 10th but his second is adrenaline fueled and sails 20 paces past the pin. Poor bogey on eight, missed short birdie putt on nine and now that on 10. Time for a slight re-set mentally. Stay positive. Conners (-7) is in to kick in distance for birdie.
BIRDIE: Connors (-7) gets another one at the ninth but McIlroy (-10) boxes a five foot birdie putt over the edge of the hole. Gets the one back. Out in 32. BIRDIE: DeChambeau (-8) reduces the lead to two shots with a two-putt birdie on eight. BIRDIE: Rose (-7) mitigates some of the damage on the front nine. Back to one over for his round.
LEADERBOARD
-10: McIlroy (8)
-7 DeChambeau (7)
-6: Day (9), Lowry (9), Rose (7), Conners (8)
-5 Hovland (10), Scheffler (9), McCarty (9)
BOGEY: Lowry (-6) can’t rescue a par on the ninth. Tee shot was the problem child. DeChambeau (-7) will have a 12 foot eagle putt on the eighth.
BOGEY: McIlroy (-10) drops a first shot of the round at the par five, eighth. That’ll rankle. The tee shot found a bunker, the second was perhaps a bit greedy and he took three to get down from over the back. He briefly held a four shot lead but it’s back to three. In other news Hovland (-6) and his ball have been spotted on the 10th fairway. BIRDIE: Conners (-6) picks up a shot on eighth.
BOGEY AND BOGEY: DeChambeau (-7) and Rose (-6) are both left to rue poor tee shots into the seventh and couldn’t scramble successfully thereafter.
McIlroy (-11) catches the sand with his tee shot on the par five, eighth and then clatters the lip of the bunker with his second. His third shot from 188 yards flies the back of the green, not by much but enough to make it testing. It’s been a scruffy couple of holes for him, compared to a stellar first six. Hovland (-6) hit his tee shot miles left on 10 to an area in which Rich Beem suggested, “I wouldn;t go in there looking for my kids.” Hovland found it but there ended the good news. His second shot drew an oath and no sign of a ball.
LEADERBOARD
-11: McIlroy (7)
-8: DeChambeau (6)
-7: Rose (6), Lowry (7)
-6: Day (9), Hovland (9)
-5 Scheffler (7), Conners (7), McCarty (7)
McIlroy (-11) makes his first ‘non three’ of the day at the seventh. And it was a doozy. He shoved his drive way right came out of the trees and finished pin high five p[aces off the green. The chip was devilishly difficult but he made it look routine, down to two feet and tidied up. He finds sand off the tee on the eighth. DeChambeau (-8) holes a par putt on six from eight feet, Rose (-7) does the same from 14 feet; both of those efforts will provide momentum.
McIlroy (-11) becomes the first player to begin with six consecutive threes in the Masters. He under hit his tee shot on the par three, sixth, raced his first putt seven feet past but holed the return. BOGEY. Conners drops another shot this time on six. Scheffler (-5) also makes bogey, his on the seventh hole to take him back to level for the day.
LEADERBOARD
-11: McIlroy (5)
-8: DeChambeau (4)
-7: Rose (3), Lowry (6)
-6: Day (8), Im (8), Scheffler (6), Conners (5),
BIRDIE. McIlroy (-11). What’s better than a 3, 3, 3, 3 start? Well a 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 opening salvo. Five under through five holes. BIRDIE. Lowry (-7) hits a glorious approach to the sixth and rolls in the birdie putt. BOGEY. Overnight leader Rose (-7) drops his first shot of the round.
LEADERBOARD
-10: McIlroy (3)
-8: DeChambeau (3), Rose (3)
-7: Conners (3) -6: Day (7), Im (7), Scheffler (5), Lowry (5), Lowry (4)
BOGEY. DeChambeau hits a snap hook that is rescued by patrons/trees on the third but it still costs him a shot after his second fails to find the green.
Lowry (-6) with a zinger of an iron into five. He’ll have a slick 10 feet for birdie. BOGEY. Connors (-6) pays the price for catching the sand with his tee shot on the par three.
McIlroy (-10) misses the green left on the par three fourth but a lovely chip comes up about four inches shy of the hole. He’s started 3,3,3,3.
LEADERBOARD
-10: McIlroy (3)
-9: DeChambeau (2)
-8: Rose (2)
-7: Conners (3)
-6: Day (6), Scheffler (4), Lowry (4),
BIRDIE. DeChambeau (-9) starts birdie, birdie. BOGEY (-6) Lowry hits a weak tee shot on four that ends up costing his a shot.
BIRDIE. GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME. McIlroy (-10) stripes another drive, has more check than a Scottish kilt on his wedge and then rolls in his six footer. Four under through three holes. Birdie. Eagle. Birdie.
McIlroy’s (-9) two opening drives, 371 yards, 369 yards, for a birdie, eagle start. And look who is chasing him. BIRDIE. Lowry (-7) makes it two birdies in succession, holing from 12 feet at the third.
LEADERBOARD
-9 McIlroy (2)
-8 Rose (1), DeChambeau (1)
-7 Conners (2)
-6 Scheffler (2), Hovland (3), Day (5), Lowry (2)
-5 Im (4), McCarty (1)
HOLY MOTHER. EAGLE. McIlroy (-9) takes the lead in the tournament by holing his eagle chip, picture perfect, perfectly played. Day (-6) with a second birdie. Rose (-8) tidies up for par after being slightly heavy handed with the first putt.
BIRDIE. DeChambeau (-8) rolls into a 45 footer down the slope. He joins Rose at the top of the leaderboard.
BIRDIE. Lowry (-6) lays up in two and although he gave the chip a sliver more than he meant he holed the tricky downhill putt from about six feet to get his round up and running. McIlroy (-7) had just 219 yards into the par five, second after another humongous drive. He’s carried over the back and into the fringe. Slick isn’t the word for his eagle try.
LEADERBOARD
-8 Rose
-7 DeChambeau, McIlroy (1)
-6 Scheffler (2), Hovland (3), Conners (1)
-5 Day (4), Im (4), Lowry (1), McCarty (1)
BIRDIE McIlroy (-7) off to the perfect start. Never anywhere other than the middle of the hole.
McIlroy’s (-6) drive went 371 yards, 56 yards further than the next best at the first hole. He’s nudged a wedge to about 10 feet. And then there were two. Rose (-8) and DeChambeau (-7) are on the first tee. Scheffler (-6) makes birdie at the second.
Lowry (-5) chips to a couple of feet and then tidies up for par, McCarty (-5) enjoys the more conventional two putt. Defending champion Scheffler (-5) had to lay up in two at the par five second but knocks a wedge to kick-in distance. That’ll be a birdie.
McIlroy (-6) paces with an air of restlessness waiting to hit his opening tee shot and promptly hits it two miles down the fairway. Connors has a swing rhythm that deserves a place in the Philharmonic orchestra.
Lowry (-5) misses the green right with his second from 141 yards. His gorgeous short game wizardry will get a gut check from the get-go. Schauffele (-2) drains a long distance effort on the par three, sixth. McIlroy (-6) makes his way to the first tee in the company of Corey Conners.
Hatton (-4) stares at his par putt with utter disgust as it fails to drop. Scheffler (-5) can’t convert his birdie chance.
As American crooner Bing Crosby sang ‘it went straight down the middle.’ He could have been talking about Shane Lowry’s (-5) opening tee shot. His playing partner Matt McCarty (-5) stripes one down the middle.
Zach Johnson (-5) with a sixth birdie at the 16th to go with an eagle and just a single dropped shot. Just as I write the American drops a shot at the 17th, the legacy of a poor tee shot. He’s four behind leader Rose with one to play. Rasmus Hojgaard (-3) bogeys the first, Im (-5) chips in for eagle at the second and Scheffler has about 12 feet for birdie on his opening hole.
Scottie Scheffler (-5) has found the first cut of rough from his tee shot at the first while playing partner the combustible Tyrell Hatton (-5) has an early test of that temperament by find the pine needles to the left of the fairway. Rahm (-2) has enjoyed six birdies and a couple of bogeys playing the penultimate hole.
Shane Lowry KLAXON. 15 minutes to tee off.
Zach Johnson (-4) is six under for his round playing the par three 16th. One of the shortest hitters in the field demonstrated that it doesn’t preclude you from excelling at the par fives which he’s played in four under with an eagle and two birdies.
Jordan Spieth (-1) is three under for his round playing the last. He is all of us when it comes to wearing his golfing heart on his sleeve.
Tom Kim (+2, 73, 73) with a one-hop and into the hole chip on the 18th for birdie. Lovely way to finish. Zach Johnson (-3) has birdied the 13th.
Two-time Major champion Collin Morikawa (-4) pours in a birdie at the first to move into the top 10.
McIlroy’s mantra today is “to let the score come to me,” and “to not look at leaderboards too much.” He has just conducted an interview at the side of the putting green as he fine tunes ahead of his tee off time.
Zach Johnson (-2), the 2007 Masters champion, is four under for his round having birdied the 12th, a card that includes an eagle, three birdies and just a single dropped shot. He’s got the two par fives (13th and 15th) coming up so if he can pinch a couple more shots from the course, he might not be too far adrift starting Sunday.
A couple of former Masters champions Jordan Spieth (-1, 14 holes) and Zach Johnson (-1, 11 holes) are putting together decent rounds, both three under on today’s card. Rahm, another green jacket winner (level) and Cantlay (level) both dropped shots on the difficult 10th.
Jon Rahm has shown what can be done in relatively benign conditions, four birdies and a bogey on the front nine have seen him race from two under for the tournament to one under. Patrick Cantlay is on the same mark, the American three under today having recorded an eagle at the eighth, as he turns for home.
Tee Times (American unless stated)
2.50pm Tom Kim (Korea); Marker
3.00: Joaquin Niemann (Chile); Jordan Spieth
3.10: Stephan Jaeger (Germany); Max Greyserman
3.20: Danny Willett (England); J. T. Poston
3.30: Jon Rahm (Spain); Zach Johnson
3.40 Patrick Cantlay; Akshay Bhatia
3.50: Denny McCarthy; J. J. Spaun
4.10: Maverick McNealy; Charl Schwartzel (S. Africa)
4.20: Brian Campbell; Byeong Hun An (Korea)
4.30: Aaron Rai (England); Justin Thomas
4.40: Sahith Theegala; Davis Thompson
4.50: Matt Fitzpatrick (England); Wyndham Clark
5.00: Nick Taylor (Canada); Daniel Berger
5.10: Tom Hoge; Max Homa
5.30: Harris English; Min Woo Lee (Australia)
5.40: Sam Burns; Nicolas Echavarria (Colombia)
5.50: Brian Harman; Bubba Watson
6.00: Davis Riley; Michael Kim
6.10: Xander Schauffele; Tommy Fleetwood (England)
6.20: Patrick Reed; Collin Morikawa
6:30 PM Ludvig Aberg (Sweden); Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)
6.50: Jason Day (Australia); Sungjae Im (Korea)
7.00: Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark); Viktor Hovland (Norway)
7.10: Scottie Scheffler; Tyrrell Hatton (England)
7.20: Matt McCarty; Shane Lowry (Ireland)
7.30: Rory McIlroy (N. Ireland); Corey Conners (Canada)
7.40: Justin Rose (England); Bryson DeChambeau
Hello and welcome to the Irish Times live blog of day three of the Masters at Augusta. John O’Sullivan here to take you through all the action. The weather is good and hopefully the Irish duo of Rory McIlroy (-6) and Shane Lowry will be able to chase down and overtake leader Justin Rose (-8) and his closest pursuer Bryson DeChambeau (-7).
I wonder if they had breakfast together as they did before Friday’s rounds. Irish Times Golf correspondent Philip Reid explained: “Yet their destinies are intertwined. Luck of the draw, perhaps? Because, with McIlroy and Lowry in back-to-back groups, the rare opportunity for a sit-down breakfast – unplanned – allowed the two Irishmen to get their heads around the task at hand.
“Or, maybe, just to shoot the breeze? In golf, where one day merges into another, time and space can be hard to find.” Lowry revealed: “We talked about what he did yesterday and he was quite frustrated. I’m sure last night was tough for him. But for both of us, there’s a lot of golf to be played this weekend yet, and he knew that.”
Lowry is playing alongside Masters rookie Matt McCarty (7.20pm, Irish) while McIlroy will have Canadian Corey Connors for company and is off the first at 7.30 in the penultimate two-ball.
7.00: Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark); Viktor Hovland (Norway)
7.10: Scottie Scheffler; Tyrrell Hatton (England)
7.20: Matt McCarty; Shane Lowry (Ireland)
7.30: Rory McIlroy (N. Ireland); Corey Conners (Canada)
7.40: Justin Rose (England); Bryson DeChambeau
