Rory McIlroy knows he needs a huge improvement if he is to retain his Masters crown on Sunday, having let a historic six-stroke lead slip during Saturday's third round.

At the halfway point of the 90th Masters, McIlroy – who is aiming to become the first back-to-back winner at the tournament since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002 – boasted the largest-ever lead at that stage.

That was after a sensational score of 65 in Friday's second round, but by the conclusion of the following day's play, his advantage had been wiped out. 

Having bogeyed the first hole and dropped three more shots around the Amen Corner at holes 11 and 12, McIlroy finished with an error-strewn 73 on Saturday.

That allowed Cameron Young to charge up the leaderboard as he replicated McIlroy's seven-under 65 from the previous day, with the pair now tied at the top of the leaderboard going into Sunday's finale.

McIlroy had to go through the wringer to complete his career Grand Slam at Augusta National 12 months ago, beating Justin Rose in a play-off after appearing to have blown his chances with a double-bogey on the final hole. 

And if he is to claim his sixth major title this weekend, the Northern Irishman may have to come through a similarly dramatic finale. 

"I knew it wouldn't be easy, the quality of the chasing pack is obvious," McIlroy told Sky Sports on Saturday. "I would have wanted to be in a better position going into tomorrow, after starting with a six-shot lead, but I still have a great chance.

"I'm in the final group, which is exactly where you want to be. I wish I had a little bit more of a cushion, but I'm going to go to the range here and try to figure it out. 

"I'll need to be better tomorrow. I still have a great chance, but if I'm going to win tomorrow, I'm going to have to be a little bit better than I was today."

Shaping up for Sunday. #themasters pic.twitter.com/AxVvlJZuWn

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2026

Four more players are within three strokes of the lead, with McIlroy and Young both at 11-under for the tournament. Sam Burns sits at 10-under, Shane Lowry is at nine-under, while Jason Day and 2025 runner-up Rose are one stroke further back.

Lowry's cause was aided by a hole-in-one on the seventh hole on Saturday, which made him the first golfer to ever record aces on two different holes at the Masters in his career, having also made a hole-in-one at the 2016 tournament.

"That's wild, isn't it?" he said. "I made one a couple of weeks ago in Houston. You don't ever expect to make a hole-in-one. I just couldn't believe it. 

"Obviously, you're out there and you're in the hunt at the Masters, and you're making a hole-in-one. It's pretty cool."

Watch every shot from Scottie Scheffler's third round. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Doh6tvhr4i

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026

Scottie Scheffler is also back in contention after matching Young's day with a bogey-free 65 of his own, putting him four strokes back of the lead.

The world number one, who carded his first over-par score at Augusta for three years on Friday, said: "It wasn't maybe that bad, but it definitely could have been lower.

"But I did what I needed to do. I went out and executed to give myself some opportunities. More of that tomorrow, and I think I'll be in a good spot."