Register at GOLF TOURNAMENT CONFIDENTIAL every Sunday night for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports. This week, with the Masters at Augusta National, we’ll touch on a major theme each night.
After leading by a record six strokes at the 36-hole mark, Rory McIlroy now shares the lead with Cameron Young at 11 under par with one round remaining. Sam Burns is 10 under, followed by Shane Lowry at 9, Jason Day and Justin Rose at 8, and Scottie Scheffler and Haotong Li at 7. So who’s slipping into a green jacket on Sunday night?
Jack Hirsh, Hardware Editor (@JR_HIRSHey): This seems like a loaded question at this point… I don’t know who else I can rationally think will win this golf course if it isn’t Rory. I suppose he will fix it whatever is going on with his batted ball because he’s making a world-class tackle. I think if he’s a little bit better off the tee and with his irons on Sunday, he’ll make it. Otherwise, Scottie pulls off the unthinkable.
Zephyr Melton, Associate Game Development Editor (@zephyrmelton): My heart tells me Rory does it, but my brain tells me it will be done Cameron Young. Since scoring 40 in the tournament’s opening nine, Young has been far and away the best player on the field, going 15-under over his next 45 holes. It will take some serious golf to keep up with Young’s blistering pace, and with Rory looking extremely shaky on Saturday, I don’t know that he is up to the task.
;)
1 ominous stat from Rory McIlroy’s Masters games. Will he make it?
Alan Bastable
Jessica Marksbury, Senior Editor (@jess_marksbury): I don’t have a strong feeling about any player at this point – you can make a reasonable case for just about anyone within four shots or so of the lead. But if I have to choose someoneit will be Rory. Assuming today was as bad as it could get for him, with a six-shot meltdown in 12 holes, he’s still ahead with a round to go, and I believe he has the courage and experience to right the ship and do so.
Josh sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Because the golf gods have a wicked sense of humor, and because I see Scheffler posting another low round, I predict we’ll get a three-way playoff, with Scheffler cutting McIlroy and Young in sudden death. There is no doubt that Rory has put the worst of his agony at Augusta in the past. But it won’t feel good, slipping the green jacket back on the guy who helped him put it on last year. This game is cruel like that.
Josh Schrock, news editor (@schrock_and_awe): “Well, mate, we’d have got this on Monday morning.”
Yes, Rory’s six-shot lead evaporated after 12 holes. But he still has some of the lead and I think he will be able to correct the right error with his driver and the left error with his irons and wedges. I expect Cam Young and Scottie Scheffler to push it, but I think Rory once again takes this over the line. Like Nicklaus in ’75, who blew a five-shot lead with one on Saturday’s 73 and then recovered to win, Rory figures it out and beats Scottie by one.
