Masters Sunday shootout? It's all set after Round 3 flips tables on Rory McIlroy

Cameron Young brought new meaning to "Moving Day at the Masters" on Saturday, April 11.

Rory McIlroy, who appeared to be cruising to a second consecutive green jacket, found himself stuck in reverse and opened the door for an old-fashioned southern shootout Sunday.

The third round is when players get aggressive and step on the gas, hoping to move into position to make a run at the green jacket in the final round.

Young went into overdrive and is now tied for the lead with defending champion McIlroy, who seemed out of sorts from the very beginning. Young shot 7-under-par 65 while McIlroy, who opened with 67-65 and was six shots clear of the field, finished in 73.

Starting the day eight shots behind McIlroy, Young actually made up nine shots at one point – leading after his 13th hole for a short period of time – before McIlroy birdied No. 14 to regain a share of the lead.

That’s how they ended up, at 11-under 205.

“Certainly, no lead is safe here but Rory loves it here and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he shot 65 (on Saturday),” Young said. “But if he does open the door, you got to take advantage.”

They will go off at 2:25 p.m. in what is a familiar pairing. They also played together in the first two rounds. Young watched McIlroy strike for 15 birdies while he had nine. On Saturday, Young almost matched his 36-hole birdie total with eight, to go with one bogey. McIlroy had four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on Saturday.

“If you had said on Thursday at about noon that I was going to be within a couple of the lead going into Sunday, I would have taken it in a heartbeat, especially given the fact that I was watching Rory play,” Young said.

It was a different-looking McIlroy on Saturday.

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Ben Griffin walks on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Brian Harman tees off on the 18th hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Travis Kelce walks the course near the 18th hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Haotong Li tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Kristoffer Reitan tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Max Homa chips onto the third green during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Cameron Young tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Jason Day tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Jake Knapp tees off on the fourth hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Xander Schauffele tees off on the fourth hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick lines up his putt on the 7th green during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Wyndham Clark tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Tyrrell Hatton tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Ben Griffin walks on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

1 / 13

See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Ben Griffin walks on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Brian Harman tees off on the 18th hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Travis Kelce walks the course near the 18th hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Haotong Li tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Kristoffer Reitan tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Max Homa chips onto the third green during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Cameron Young tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Jason Day tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Jake Knapp tees off on the fourth hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Xander Schauffele tees off on the fourth hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick lines up his putt on the 7th green during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Wyndham Clark tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

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See the best photos from Masters Saturday Moving Day, Round 3 at Augusta National

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Tyrrell Hatton tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

“Yeah, didn't quite have it today,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, even just starting at the first hole with that soft bogey, even though I hit a pretty good drive. Yeah, I mean, the course was obviously gettable. There was a lot of good scores out there, and obviously the quality of the chasing pack is obvious. There was a lot of guys that shot good scores.”

Sunday could be a wide-open finale; nine players are within five shots of the lead in what is the 90th edition of this tournament.

“Anytime you're around the lead in a major, especially here, anything can happen,” Young said.

“You know, there's a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I'm still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can't forget that, but I do know I'm going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.”

Leading the pack chasing the co-leaders is Sam Burns, who played in the final group with McIlroy on Saturday. He started the day trailing by six and is now one shot back after 68.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry also had 68 and is two back.

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Cameron Young and Jason Day shake hands after finishing the eighteenth hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Jason Day (68 on Saturday) and Justin Rose (69) trail by three shots. Two-time champion Scottie Scheffler (65) is casting a long shadow. He’s four back. As is Haotong Li (69).

Don’t count out those five shots back – Rusell Henley and Patrick Cantlay (both with 66s) and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed (72).

First-place money is a Masters record $4.5 million ― that’s the same total Young won at The Players Championship on March 15.

Young said he was already thinking about the Masters while he was winning The Players Championship.

“Really what I was trying to do was get ready to be playing late on Sunday at Augusta,” Young said. “Now I'm here with what will be a late tee time on Sunday at Augusta, and that's the best prep I could have asked for.”

Young, 28, is a gritty player who made a name for himself last year by winning the Wyndham Championship in late July and then being one of the top U.S. players in the Ryder Cup loss to Europe at Bethpage Black. He’s moved up to No. 3 in the world ranking. Still, he knows whose side the fans will be on today.

“I don't get the sense I'll be the fan favorite, but yeah, I feel like the support, some fans that cheer for me have gotten louder over the last year,” Young said. “It will still be lopsided, I think. Rory's kind of a world favorite in the golf world. A year ago, if I'd been in the same situation, there would have been very little, and now there's probably a little more. So I'll take what I can get, and I'll be happy with that.”

Young it would be “an incredible day” if he were to win Sunday. “It's something I've dreamed of doing for a long time. Yeah, I like the position I'm in.”

Apr 11, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Rory McIlroy reacts after a putt on the 18th greenduring the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

McIlroy said he should face less pressure than in the past because he’s already won the Masters.

“I'd like to think that I'll play a little bit freer and I'll play, you know, like I've already got a green jacket, which I do,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes I maybe just have to remind myself of that, but I think as well that the stakes in terms of, like, the pairing will be just a little bit easier. You know, the atmosphere out there will be a little bit easier. Yeah, I'm not worried about that at all. I wish I was a few shots better off, but I'm comfortable.”

David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: 2026 Masters Sunday shootout likely after Round 3 struggles of Rory McIlroy