McIlroy started and closed as hot as ever at Augusta National Golf Club, completing a third round for the ages to hold his first 54-hole lead at a major in 11 years
By Adam Silverstein & Robby Kalland
AUGUSTA, Ga. — 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.