Rory McIlroy reacts after his disappointing third round at The Masters and praises Scottie Scheffler

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Rory McIlroy still has a fine chance of defending his title at The Masters despite a disappointing third round at Augusta National.

Entering Saturday with a 36-hole record six-shot lead, McIlroy is now joined at the top of the leaderboard by Cameron Young on 11-under.

The Northern Irishman carded a one-over 73 in his third round of the major, following his previous rounds of 67 and 65.

In stark contrast, Young posted a seven-under 65 in round three of The Masters, as did his fellow American Scottie Scheffler.

Both players drew praise from McIlroy as he shared his thoughts after a difficult day at Augusta.

Rory McIlroy praises Scottie Scheffler after his own disappointment at The Masters

Reacting to his round, McIlroy told Sky Sports Golf: “I knew today wasn’t going to be easy.

“The quality of the chasing pack was very obvious and the guys early on played superb golf, starting with Scottie and Cam and then everyone else.

“I didn’t quite have it from the first hole today. Making bogey.

“I was doing my best to hang on, I scrambled a lot on the front nine. I felt like I turned it around making the birdie on 10.

“And then I didn’t hit a good drive but got lucky with it bouncing out onto the fairway on 11, and I felt like I hit a good second shot and it started to ride the wind a little bit.

“I bounced back well with birdies on 14 and 15 and was disappointed to make a bogey on the last couple of holes.

“I would have wanted to be in a better position going into tomorrow, starting out with a six-shot lead, but I still have a great chance.

“I am in the final group which is exactly where you want to be. I wish I had a bit more of a cushion.

“But I am going to go to the range here and try and figure it out and go again tomorrow.”

It’s set to be another huge day in Georgia for McIlroy, who claimed his first green jacket last year thanks to a playoff victory over Justin Rose.

The Englishman is in contention once again this year in T5, just behind Sam Burns in third and Shane Lowry in fourth.

Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Rory McIlroy still has ‘great chance’ of back-to-back wins at The Masters

With Young chasing his first career Grand Slam title, it is indeed five-time major champion McIlroy who will be the strong favorite to come out on top.

That may just pile more pressure onto the Northern Irishman, who has managed to remain upbeat despite blowing his huge lead.

“It’s amazing,” he said of having the chance to win back-to-back titles.

“That was the goal coming in here.

“I still have a great chance.

“But if I am going to win tomorrow I am going to have to be a bit better than I was today.”

It is extremely tight at the top of the leaderboard at The Masters, with Burns just a single shot behind the joint leaders.

After six birdies in round one and nine in round two, McIlroy recorded just four in round three, where he also hit 10 pars, three bogeys and his first double bogey of the week.

He’ll play with Young in the final round on Sunday, while world number one Scheffler will compete alongside Haotong Li.

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