McIlroy Holds Big Masters Lead, Can He Be Caught?

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, shot a 2-under-par 70 yesterday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, to reach 12-under par at the season’s first major championship.  He holds a four-shot lead, the biggest going into the final round since 1997 and Tiger Woods.   McIlroy, who turns 22 next month, is seeking to become the second-youngest Masters champion after Woods.

Angel Cabrera of Argentina, the 2009 Masters champion, is four strokes behind McIlroy, as are Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, K.J. Choi of South Korea and young Jason Day of Australia.
Cabrera, who also won the 2007 U.S. Open, will be paired with McIlroy in today’s final round.

McIlroy’s 54-hole lead is the biggest since Woods held a nine-stroke advantage 14 years ago. Woods went on to claim the first of his four Masters titles by a record 12 strokes, a win that came 3 1/2 months after his 21st birthday.

McIlroy was seven years old at the time and said he recalls watching  Woods' victory with his father.  Now he has the chance to duplicate the feat.  After struggling on Saturday, Woods is seven strokes off the lead, but don't count him out.

If Woods gets off to a strong start, the players ahead of him will start to feel the pressure and anything could happen.  Watch out for Cabrera though, this is the type of situation where he tends to play well, and K.J. Choi played well on Saturday.

Those two will keep McIlroy within their sights and hope to catch him on the back nine.