Juicy Final day showdown in prospect at Augusta National
McIlroy in action on day three – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament
Tomorrow’s final round of the 2025 Masters Tournament promises to be one of the more fascinating in recent times.
Rory McIlroy and Bryson De Chambeau will face off in what promises to be a juicy battle, especially given McIlroy’s gut-wrenching loss at last year’s US Open where he fell victim to a late demise of his own and a brilliant finish by DeChambeau.
McIlroy leads DeChambeau by two after their respective rounds of 66 and 69 on day three, DeChambeau’s 40-foot cross-green putt at the last reducing what had been a four-shot McIlroy lead he enjoyed through 15 holes to a much more manageable two.
Admittedly, they are not the only figures in an intriguing final day as a total of seven other players are within seven shots of the lead and within 5 of the second placed DeChambeau and with the leading pair playing together they need to ensure they do not get too wrapped up in a one on one battle.
McIlory suggested as much when asked the question of a supposed rematch from Pinehurst last June, indicating his focus tomorrow will be on staying in his own little bubble and not allowing extraneous hype to impact him.
Today, McIlroy opened with six straight 3’s to move two ahead after beginning his round two behind the 54 hole leader Justin Rose. A messy bogey at the reachable par 5 8th was followed by a perhaps wrong club at the 10th leading to a 3 putt bogey and the lead was just one over De Chambeau.
The key moment of the round, however, would come at the par 5 15th when McIlroy’s 6 iron second shot finished 7 feet from the hole and when that was converted for eagle the margin was four before DeChambeau’s strong finish.
“It was such a great way to start,” said McIlory referring to his hot start to the round. “You know, just to come out of the blocks like that, I think, as well, from finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today, it’s quite a long time. You know, there’s a lot of anticipation and sort of anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play.
“So you know, with all of that, to go out and start the way I did, was amazing.
“And then I had that a little bit of a wobble around the turn there with the bogey on 8, the missed chance on 9 and then the three-putt on 10. I thought that the par putt on 11 was huge, just to sort of get some momentum back.
“To get through 11 and 12 at even par was great. And then, you know, all I was trying to do then was take advantage of the par 5s coming in, and thankfully I was able to do that.”
McIlroy is very much aware that the job is not done.
“I think I still have to remind myself that there’s a long way to go, just like I said yesterday, 18 holes. I, just as much as anyone else, know what can happen on the final day here.
“You know, I’ve got a lot of experience. I came in here talking about being the most complete version of myself as a golfer, and you know, I just have to keep reminding myself of that and remind myself that no matter what situation or scenario I find myself in tomorrow, I’ll be able to handle it.”
Jason Day moved himself into contention when he got within three shots of McIlroy at one stage but he was unable to finish as strongly as he needed to in order to be a serious consideration tomorrow. A very low round might put him in the mix but he would need help from McIlroy, DeChambeau and others.
Day is at 5 under and in a share of 6th place with Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry and is well placed to record his best finish at Augusta National since his 5th place in 2019.
Min Woo Lee struggled to a round of 77, his plight made worse by a penalty shot for a ball moving on the 13th fairway, deemed to have been caused by him.
Lee is now in a share of 48th place.
Jason Day hits his approach at the 11th hole today – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament
