Masters leaderboard: Rory McIlroy's stellar Round 3, DeChambeau lurking

Perhaps no one in the history of Augusta National Golf Club has taken "Moving Day" more seriously than Rory McIlroy did Saturday. Becoming the first player in course history to score 3s across his opening six holes while charging to the top of the leaderboard, the four-time major winner -- more than a decade after winning his last -- has taken a two-shot lead at the 2025 Masters on the back of a 6-under third round for the ages.

McIlroy went 5 under across his first five holes, adding a stunning eagle on the 15th as he moved to 12 under for the tournament and 11 under across his last 27 holes starting with the second nine on Friday. He boomed his driver, lofted his irons and made crucial putts with regularity. Outside of a brief lapse when bogeys fell on the 8th and 10th -- a stretch that might have derailed his effort in the past -- he steadied himself quickly with a birdie on the 13th and his second eagle of the day on the 15th.

The Northern Irishman played not just near-perfect golf but major championship-winning golf on a calm, breezy Saturday in Augusta.

"It was a dream start to get off to the start that I did," McIlroy explained. "Hit two perfect shots on 1 and converted. Felt like I hit three perfect shots on 2, three perfect shots on 3. It was such a great way to start, just to come out of the blocks like that. … From finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today, that's quite a long time. There's a lot of anticipation and anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play. With all of that, to go out and start the way I did, was amazing."

He continued: "I had that little bit of wobble around the turn there. … I thought that the par putt on 11 was huge just to sort of get some momentum back. To get through 11 and 12 in even par was great, and then all I was trying to do then was take advantage of the par 5s coming in, and thankfully, I was able to do that."

Going to bed with the 54-hole lead at the Masters for the second time in his career, McIlroy will surely be thinking back to 2011 when he entered Sunday with a four-shot advantage only to shoot an 8-over 80 -- to this day his worst round at Augusta National.

But this 35-year-old Rory is not that 21-year-old Rory, and this 2025 Masters is not that 2021 Masters.

In the 14 years since, McIlroy has held solo 54-hole leads in four major championships. He's won them all, the last infamously coming at the 2014 PGA Championship given it's the most recent major he captured in his exemplary career.

McIlroy has been chasing an elusive fifth major, prestigious green jacket and even more exclusive career grand slam ever since. He's finished 0-38 in majors and 0-10 in Masters with excruciating second-place finishes four times overall and once at Augusta National (2022).

There have been coughed-up fourth-round leads, come-from-behind finishes that fell short and every type of close-call in between.

In none of those tournaments did he have a 27-hole stretch at a course like this. McIlroy on Saturday posted his second career major round with multiple eagles, his first since that 2024 Open. He has finished 8 under across six par-5s on Friday and Saturday.

This after entering the Masters off to the hottest start to a PGA Tour season in his career having already won two tournaments before the calendar turned to April.

"I came in here talking about being the most complete version of myself as a golfer," McIlroy said. "I just have to keep reminding myself of that … no matter what situation I find myself in tomorrow, I'll be able to handle that."

There is a star-studded leaderboard lurking. Bryson DeChambeau, who pulled the 2024 U.S. Open out of McIlroy's grasp less than nine months ago, sits two back at 10 under after a closing hole-out birdie that sent the patrons into a frenzy. DeChambeau was even for the day until the closing stretch when he made birdies on three of his last four holes to put the pressure on McIlroy.

Unlike the U.S. Open, in which DeChambeau held a three-stroke lead after 54-hole lead, it will be McIlroy entering Sunday's final round as the man to catch.

"These patrons and these galleries are a pleasure to play in front of each and every year we come back. They're some of the most knowledgable golf patrons or spectators that we play in front of," McIlroy said. "It's a pleasure to play in front of them and to have that atmosphere and to have that support.

"... That final group is going to be a little rowdy and a little loud. I'm just going to have to settle in and really try to keep myself in my own little bubble and keep my head down and sort of approach tomorrow with the same attitude that I've tried to approach the last three days."

DeChambeau agreed that the atmosphere should be immensely enthusiastic. "It'll be the grandest stage that we have in a long time, and I'm excited for it," he said. "We both want to win really badly. Shoot, there's a lot of great players behind us, too. Gotta be mindful of that. … In regards to the patrons, it's going to be an electric atmosphere."

Corey Conners, McIlroy's playing partner Saturday, is four behind after posting three straight birdies from Nos. 8-10. 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed and 2024 Masters runner-up Ludvig Åberg are both six back, while 2024 Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, 18- and 36-hole leader Justin Rose and McIlroy's fellow Northern Irishan, Shane Lowry, are seven behind.

Given the stacked first page of this leaderboard, it's clear McIlroy will be required to earn this Masters, his green jacket and the career grand slam on Sunday. The way he's playing, are you ready to doubt that he'll do it?

2025 Masters leaderboard breakdown, Round 3

1. Rory McIlroy (-12): It couldn't go any other way, could it? McIlroy will now look to stare down DeChambeau in the final pairing on Sunday to finally claim the career grand slam. Rory's 66 on Saturday was an all-timer, but we'll find out Sunday whether he will come to regret missing good birdie chances on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 to extend his lead, particularly with how Bryson closed the gap late. 

2. Bryson DeChambeau (-10): DeChambeau was five back when McIlroy made his eagle on the 15th and looked lost with his irons for most of the round. He found something when he needed it most. His short game bailed him out all day and on No. 15 it got him up-and-down for birdie. His best iron swing of the day came on No. 16 to give him another short birdie putt, and then on No. 18m his putter delivered one final bomb with a 48-footer to pull within two and create some real Sunday drama.

"Rory was kind of moving forward. He was at 12 under, and I as kind of chasing a bit. When I made that [putt on No. 16], I looked up and kind of said as a statement [to myself], like, 'I'm still here. I'm going. I'm not going to back down,'" said DeChambeau.

3. Corey Conners (-8): The only other man within six of the lead is Conners, who was unfazed by McIlroy's incredible round while playing along side him and kept plotting along solidly to another 70. The problem is Conners is facing some serious firepower in front of him, and a solid round won't be enough to get him Canada's second green jacket. He missed a number of birdie opportunities on the greens on Saturday, and if he's going to factor into the action on Sunday, the putter is going to have to get hot and he will need to go low. 

T4. Patrick Reed, Ludvig Åberg (-6): Both Reed and Åberg closed their rounds strong on Saturday with Reed making birdies on Nos. 13, 16 and 18 to post 69 and Åberg making three in a row on Nos. 14-16 to do the same. It will take something special for either of them to win a green jacket on Sunday, but if they can get some help from the leaders coming back, they have the steady games to be in play. 

T6. Jason Day, Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose (-5): All four of these players hoped for more out of their Saturdays and will need something special on Sunday to get in the mix. Scheffler had uncharacteristic ball-striking woes for the second straight day and was unable to make the kind of move we expect from him. Day had some flashes of brilliance, including a chip-in birdie on 14, but didn't give himself enough good looks to make a real climb up the board. Lowry had it to 7 under standing on the 15th tee and looked like he might have a shot at the final group, but hecouldn't do anything with gettable holes on Nos. 15 and 16 and then made two bogeys coming in to back off the pace. Rose, meanwhile, finally backed out of contention after two days at the top of the leaderboard, as his short game and putting could no longer keep him afloat. 

T10. Zach Johnson, Xander Schauffele and two others (-4): The only other 66 on Sunday belonged to Johnson, of all people, as he set a new personal best for a single round at Augusta National. Schauffele also continued his move up the leaderboard, but it will almost assuredly be too little too late after a tough Thursday. 

T14. Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland (-3): Homa continues to grind his way to solid scores in impressive fashion, posting a 69 on Saturday to move into the top 20. Morikawa, meanwhile, couldn't ever get going and posted a 72 to all but guarantee his winless drought continues. Hovland had it to 6 under after his first nine and looked like he might post a score, but fell apart a bit on the second nine to drop well off the pace.