Rory grabs Masters lead, pairs with Dechambeau Sunday

The greatest start in the 91-year history of the Masters wasn’t enough for Rory McIlroy. He delivered what looked to be a haymaker late Saturday afternoon, a 6-iron so majestic and pure that he walked 10 yards before he saw it land 6 feet away for eagle on the 15th hole.

Bryson DeChambeau wasn’t the least fazed. He hit his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th, posing briefly to stare at the leaderboard, working up a gallery already delirious from a roaring, raucous at Augusta National.

McIlroy finished off another 6-under 66 for his first 54-hole lead in a major since he last captured one in 2014 at the PGA Championship. At stake Sunday at the Masters is a chance to end 11 years chasing the career Grand Slam, the most elite club in golf.

Joining him in the final group is a recent nemesis — DeChambeau — who ripped his heart out at Pinehurst No. 2 last June when he seized on McIlroy’s late mistakes to win the U.S. Open.

McIlroy is the sentimental favorite for dealing with a decade of major championship heartache. DeChambeau is wildly popular as golf’s greatest entertainer.

The arena is Augusta National, the greatest theater in golf that can thrill and torture the soul at every turn.

“It will be the grandest stage that we’ve had in a long time, and I’m excited for it,” DeChambeau said. “We both want to win really, really badly — shoot, there’s a lot of great players behind us, too; got to be mindful of that. It’s about who can control themselves and who can execute the golf shots the best.

“It’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”

It already was on a Saturday that started with McIlroy putting six straight 3s on his scorecard, which featured a chip-in for eagle on the par-5 second. It ended with DeChambeau making birdie with a putt just under 50 feet on the edge of the 18th green for a 69.

McIlroy was at 12-under 204, a two-shot lead and one round away from that coveted Masters green jacket and the grand prize that comes along with it.

Along with a memory of DeChambeau at the U.S. Open, McIlroy is also familiar with his position at Augusta National.

It was 14 years ago when McIlroy, a 21-year-old with long, curly locks and unlimited potential, took a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters. What followed was a meltdown that left him in tears when he shot 80.

He hasn’t had a better chance at that green jacket until this week, when he recovered from two double bogeys in the opening round and responded with rounds of 66-66.

Corey Conners, who went from a five-shot deficit to one shot behind McIlroy in a span of three holes on this wild Saturday, closed with eight straight pars for a 70. He was in third place, four shots behind.

No one else was closer than six shots of McIlroy. Justin Rose, who had a one-shot lead at the start of the day, shot 75 and was seven shots back.


(AP Photo Matt Slocum, David J. Brown)