Saturday night will be the first night of its kind for Rory McIlroy in over a decade. As far as he’s concerned, it might as well be the first time he’s gone through what awaits him tonight as he sleeps on the 54-hole lead at the 2025 Masters.
The last time McIlroy slept on a lead at Augusta National was a Saturday in 2011, the night before he shot 80 in the final round. He hasn’t slept on a solo lead at a major since 2014 when he won the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
“That was 14 years ago,” McIlroy, who shot a six-under 66 to lead by two over Bryson DeChambeau, said after his round when asked what he did in 2011. “I have no idea. Again, I’m glad I have a short memory.”
McIlroy started Saturday two shots back of 36-hole leader Justin Rose, but the Northern Irishman quickly took control of the tournament with a birdie at the first and a chip-in eagle at the second. McIlroy made Masters history by becoming the first player to make six consecutive threes to open a round at Augusta National. McIlroy’s lead bounced between one and four shots for the rest of Moving Day, and his towering 6 iron to set up eagle at No. 15 looked like it would be an early dagger as McIlroy distanced himself from a packed leaderboard filled with major champions and superstars.
McIlroy spent all of Saturday sending roars ripping through Augusta National. When the dust settled, he had a two-shot lead over DeChambeau. He leads by four over Corey Conners, six over Patrick Reed and Ludvig Åberg and has a seven-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler and Jason Day.
“His firepower and his ability to kind of hit the right shot at the right time, kind of get himself on a run, was impressive at the Players and again today,” Conners, who played with McIlroy on Saturday, said after the round. “He’ll definitely be tough to try and hunt down.”
Day has been competing against McIlroy for almost two decades. The Australian had numerous chances on the back nine Saturday to close the gap, but a bogey at 16 and sloppy mistakes on 13 and 15 left him with a wide chasm to cover.
Day heard McIlroy make his early move Saturday. While he said they weren’t “Tiger” roars, he knows Sunday’s task is monumental, especially given how McIlroy has played outside of two double bogeys on Thursday.
“I feel like if he can come back to us a little bit,” Day said. “But once again, Sundays at Augusta is unlike any other tournament. You just never know what potentially could 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. 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.
“He seems like he’s very focused and level-headed right now, and he’s going to be a very, very difficult person to beat tomorrow, just the way that he is looking off the golf course before the round. Very confident, very balanced in himself.”
Åberg spent the first two days playing alongside McIlroy. The young Swedish superstar felt like he put himself back in the mix with three straight birdies on the back nine, but McIlroy only lengthened his lead once Åberg left the course.
“I’ve said it before, I think when he plays his best golf, it’s hard to catch him,” Åberg said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of guys in this world that can catch him when he plays at his best. We all saw it. Whenever he gets into the mode of playing really well, he’s a really good golf player.”
On Sunday, McIlroy will arrive at Augusta National with a chance to snap his major drought that is now in its 11th year. He will also be looking to become the first player since Tiger Woods to win the career Grand Slam and the first since Gene Sarazen to achieve it at Augusta National.
Sunday is a legacy day for Rory McIlroy and golf. He knows it. So does everyone else.
“I mean, he’s the best player of our generation for sure,” Day said, admitting McIlroy should be on the golf Mount Rushmore if he wins Sunday. “He just makes things look so easy.
“You look at his score today, he was, what, four-under-ish through three holes, and then kind of faulted and then all of a sudden he makes three on the trot. 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. He’s explosive enough to be able to do that. There’s not many guys on this planet that are able to do something like that. That’s what’s impressive about him.”
McIlroy walked off the 15th green after his eagle with a five-shot lead over DeChambeau. Had that gulf remained, McIlroy would have been paired with Conners again on Sunday. Instead, DeChambeau birdied 15, 16 and made a bomb at 18 to trim the lead to two and set up what has the makings of an all-time duel on Sunday at Augusta National.
“It will be the grandest stage that we’ve had in a long time, and I’m excited for it,” DeChambeau said after the round. “We both want to win really, really badly, and it’s — shoot, there’s a lot of great players behind us, too. Got to be mindful of that and focus on — it’s about who can control themselves and who can execute the golf shots the best.”
