Juddering McIlroy simply can't stop riding Masters rollercoaster

The drama which Rory McIlroy has produced at the Masters over the years - the type that left his fans peeking through their fingers - is woven into the fabric of his story.

When McIlroy moved into a record six-shot lead at the halfway point, it felt like this year's tournament was going to see a different chapter written, one about a rather sedate affair which demonstrated control rather than chaos.

Many predicted a procession for the defending champion going into Saturday's third round. They should have known better.

Northern Ireland's McIlroy saw his commanding lead evaporate in a dramatic day where he swung the door wide open to his rivals with a one-over par 73.

On Sunday, he will go out for the final round level on 11 under with American Cameron Young. Buckle up.

"I knew today wouldn't be easy, the quality of the chasing pack is obvious," McIlroy said on Sky Sports.

"I would have wanted to be in a better position going into [Sunday, having] started out with a six-shot lead, but I've still got a great chance.

"I'm in the final group and that's where you want to be."

Finally landing the Masters last year provided 36-year-old McIlroy with a sense of liberation.

During his first two rounds, he played with the greater mental freedom which he predicted reaching his golfing Everest - finally conquering Augusta National to complete the career Grand Slam - would provide.

The five-time major champion showed patience to take control of the leaderboard, even though he was not playing as well as the scoreboard suggested.

The ability to recover from wayward driving was the key to McIlroy's success, staying calm in the pressure moments to play sensibly when required before attacking when the chances arose.

An uncluttered mind - aided by his superb short game - was missing on Saturday and could not ride to the rescue.

McIlroy found eight of the 14 fairways in the third round - the same as he did on Friday when he shot a 65. On Thursday, he only hit five as he posted a 67.

McIlroy remains 90th in the 91-man field for accuracy off the tee and that is the reason why Augusta has been allowed to fight back against its most recent victor.

The old place took a beating on Saturday, with watered greens allowing favourable scoring conditions.

But McIlroy was one of three players inside the top 28 who did not finish under par for their rounds, alongside England's Tommy Fleetwood and Norway's Kristoffer Reitan.

"I will go to the range and figure it out. I still have a great chance but if i am going to win I will have to play better," McIlroy said.

How Augusta has softened its greens - and its stance

With a forecast of warm and dry weather all week at Augusta National, the expectation was firm and fast greens would lead to difficult scoring conditions - McIlroy said he thought the winning score would not reach double digits under par.

There was also a perception the officials in charge of the course set-up would be delighted with the prospect.

However, their decision to water the greens each morning - softening them for the following day - has made scoring easier as the week has gone on.

That has not been a popular decision with the purists, who have accused the Masters of also going soft.

There is no doubt making things more scoreable has led to an entertaining spectacle as the pack hunted down McIlroy.

World number one Scottie Scheffler was the first player to really take advantage as he threatened to challenge the course record of 63 - jointly held by Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1986) - with a blistering front nine.

The two-time champion, who won in 2022 and 2024, ultimately fell short and signed for a career-best 65, which put him back into contention, at four off the pace, after he maintained a recent trend of making slow starts.

Eventual co-leader Young also gave Price and Norman cause for concern when he reached seven under after 14 holes.

The 28-year-old American's momentum was stalled by a bogey on 15 - which would have been worse had he not pitched close with his fourth after finding the water - but he recovered to birdie 16 and match Scheffler's low round of the day.