AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy got off to a roaring start at Augusta National on Saturday, becoming the first player in Masters history to open a round with six straight threes.
He joined the lead at 9-under after he holed out for eagle from beyond the green on the par-5 2nd, eliciting a roar that those in his native Belfast may have heard. McIlroy led by as many as four after making par on the 7th and will now hold a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau, his nemesis from last year’s U.S. Open, through 54 holes.
But plenty of others will enter Sunday’s final round with a chance, hoping to make a charge up the leaderboard. One of those happens to be Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner, who has carded rounds of 70, 70, and 71 over the first three days. He has played steady golf and sits at 5-under par through three rounds, seven back of McIlroy.
After his round, the Aussie talked about McIlroy holding the lead at Augusta, which has produced plenty of scar tissue for him over the years. Hence, Day issued a warning of sorts, essentially saying that a lot of golf remains.
“Sundays at Augusta is unlike any other tournament,” McIlroy said.
“You just never know what could potentially happen. I know that if you shoot a low one, you can use the crowd as momentum, and it also works against you, as well. If you can start hearing the crowd through the golf course. All I can do is just try and give myself the best chances tomorrow and hopefully I capitalize on some of the putts.”
Fourteen years ago, McIlroy held a four-shot lead through 54 holes but shot a final round 80 to ultimately tie for 15th. Charl Schwartzel went on to win then, and funny enough, Day had as good of a chance as anyone to claim a Green Jacket that year.
“He’s clearly playing some good golf, so you’ve got to do the best job you can, and when someone just clearly plays better — I’ve been on the receiving end of a couple of those where he’s run away with it a little bit, Congressional when I finished second there and he beat me by eight,” Day explained.
“But saying that, it’s awesome to watch because you can hear the crowds on certain grandstands. One number might click over, and these people around you might know, but they know, and then you can hear the cheers. There’s no place like Augusta National, especially on a weekend.”
Of course, if McIlroy went on to win on Sunday, he would complete the career Grand Slam and become only the sixth player in the history of the game to do so. To win every major championship is borderline impossible, which puts Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, who each did it three times, in a sphere of their own.
“He’s the best player of our generation for sure. He just makes things look so easy. You look at his score today, he was, what, 4-under-ish through three holes, and then kind of faulted and then all of a sudden he makes three on the [15th],” Day said.
“It’s not easy out there. It’s very difficult out there. There’s a little bit of wind. The wind is moving around a little bit. The greens are starting to firm up and they’re getting a little bit quicker. But he’s explosive enough to be able to do that. There’s not many guys on this planet that can do something like that. That’s what’s impressive about him.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.