AUGUSTA, Georgia: Rory McIlroy reached the midway point of the third round at the Masters on Saturday with a two-shot cushion over Bryson DeChambeau after a blistering start that saw him leapfrog overnight leader Justin Rose after just two holes.
Grand Slam-chasing McIlroy started birdie-eagle-birdie en route to becoming the first player to begin a round at the Masters with six consecutive threes on a partly cloudy day that offered pristine scoring conditions.
Rose started the day atop a star-studded leaderboard but by the time he made the turn, he was looking up at McIlroy and DeChambeau after going one-over through his first nine holes.
Popular American DeChambeau started hot with back-to-back birdies but a narrowly missed par putt on the third forced him to settle for the first of two bogeys he collected on the front nine.
A glittering leaderboard has fans buzzing about the possibility of a classic finish on Sunday and many patrons are pulling for McIlroy to finally win the Green Jacket and become only the sixth player to claim all four of the sport’s majors.
Augusta National has been the site of painful collapses for McIlroy and that gut-wrenching run threatened to repeat itself when he stumbled late in his opening round with two double bogeys.
But the Northern Irishman bounced back admirably on Friday with a thrilling round of 66 to climb back into contention and that momentum appears to have carried over into Saturday’s round.
A heavyweight battle between McIlroy and defending champion Scottie Scheffler could still materialize after the world number one went even through his first nine on Saturday to sit four-back of McIlroy.
McIlroy leads Masters after electric start to third round
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McIlroy leads Masters after electric start to third round
- A glittering leaderboard has fans buzzing about the possibility of a classic finish on Sunday and many patrons are pulling for McIlroy to finally win the Green Jacket
Turkiye dominates second day of swimming at Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh
- Turkish male and female swimmers claim 6 of 7 gold medals on Monday
RIYADH: Turkiye’s swimmers continued their impressive run at the Riyadh 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games on Monday by claiming six out of seven gold medals at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex.
In the men’s 100-meter backstroke, Turkiye’s Mert Ali Satir took gold, Egypt’s Abdelrahman Amr Atia won silver, and Turkiye’s Berk Ozkul secured bronze.
In the women’s 100-meter backstroke, Turkish swimmers dominated as Sudem Denizli claimed gold and Halime Zülal Zeren took silver, while Indonesia’s Candrea Flairene finished with bronze.
Also, Turkiye’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu won the men’s 200-meter freestyle event ahead of Algeria’s Jaouad Syoud and Kazakhstan’s Aibat Myrzamuratov.
In the women’s 200-meter freestyle, Indonesia’s Adellia Adellia captured gold, followed by Turkiye’s Pinar Donmez, and Lebanon’s Lynn El-Hajj.
In the men’s 200-meter butterfly, Turkiye’s Polat Uzer Tornali clinched gold, followed by Azerbaijan’s Ramil Valizada and Iran’s Mohammad Mahdi Gholami.
In the women’s category, Defne Tanig and Seher Kaya secured gold and silver respectively for Turkiye, while Algeria’s Imene Kouthar Zeitouni took bronze.
The day concluded with the mixed 4x100-meter medley relay, where Turkiye once again topped the podium with gold, while Indonesia took silver, and Uzbekistan bronze.
The swimming competition on Tuesday features 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events for men and women, and 4x100-meter relays.
