Will Cam Young break through? Here’s what to expect Sunday at Augusta National
AUGUSTA — Rory McIlroy will be a participant in the green jacket ceremony after the Masters on Sunday. The question remains whether he’ll be giving it away or receiving it.
McIlroy blew a six-shot lead and by 5:37 p.m. on Saturday had fallen into second place, as Cam Young erased an eight-shot deficit to take the lead. By the end of 54 holes, he and Young were knotted up at 11-under par, setting up a potential showdown between World No. 2 McIlroy and World No. 3 Young for the 90th Masters.
If McIlroy can regain his composure, tighten up his driving and play like he did on Thursday and Friday, he could become the fourth player in Masters history to successfully defend his title. In that case, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley would present McIlroy with the coveted green jacket.
If McIlroy can’t close the deal, he will have the unenviable duty of slipping the sleeves around one of many worthy challengers. There are nine players within five shots of the lead, including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, and five of them have won a major championship.
Sam Burns, who is also looking for his first career major win, is alone in third place at 10 under. Shane Lowry is in fourth place at 9 under. Jason Day and Justin Rose are tied for fifth at 8 under. Scheffler and Haotong Li are tied for seventh at 7 under. Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed and Georgian Russell Henley are tied for ninth at 6 under.
“There’s a lot of guys 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.”
Young is brimming with confidence after winning the Players Championship last month. After thriving at the Ryder Cup matches last fall, he’s shown an ability to play under pressure. But can he prove it on Masters Sunday in a head-to-head matchup with McIlroy?
“While I do feel there’s a lot of positive things to take from those events, I’ve got to go earn whatever I earn tomorrow,” Young said. “And the best way that I know to do that is kind of try to attack the day like I have the last three.”
The weather forecast is identical to Saturday’s with plenty of sun, high temperatures in the upper 80s and little wind. That means much of the drama will be determined by the club. Tournament officials allowed players to take advantage of benign weather on Saturday, but could take a different approach on Sunday by using more difficult hole locations.
“It depends on what leadership wants to do,” Scheffler said. “If they want to see some lower scores, they can make them softer. They’re already pretty firm, so they can just go full Bay Hill and just let them die. It’s Augusta. They’ll figure it out after that.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
