Rory McIlroy’s golden eagles put him within sight of Masters destiny | The Masters

It's now or never. Certainly it is now or never.

Rory McIlroy will lead the Masters deadline round for the first time since 2011. The sentence threatened to appear once again in his own Shakespeare tragedy, before barely doing justice on Saturday of the high-drama at Augusta National, where McIlroy created history, before reestablishing the sunlight between himself and the field. The sentence barely does justice to what McIlroy is on the verge of. We are now in a position to fear what will give him on earth if he can't win.

The stress, tension, pressure and pain associated with McIlroy's quest to win a Grand Slam was completely evident on the third day of Georgia. Still, by the end, McIlroy was taller. He whispers, but it appears that this major has been comprehensively conquered by the demons whose tendency to get in his way. The scale of support McIlroy has at Augusta was also abundant and clear. There must be someone in the gallery who doesn't want him to wear a green jacket.

McIlroy's second consecutive 66 is 12 under par, meaning Bryson Dechambeau will be forced to do two shots. Corey Connors has two more. The layer of poetry added here is provided by the presence of decanberg. Last year it was Deccanbo who broke McIlroy's heart at the US Open. McIlroy doesn't need anything for granted – and his focus was very impressive this week – but the possibility of leveling the score with DeChambeau cannot be ignored. This has a range of conclusions for age masters. In the final act of the third day, Deccanbeau completed the 69 from 16 yards away from the 18th green.

Those who claim that the Masters only started on Sunday with the Back 9 are grossly wrong. The scale of Saturday's sports drama was from the screenwriter's best. McIlroy opened five threes in a row. This was the first time that it took place in the Master Round. He added the sixth for a good measure. McIlroy was dominant. At 2:53pm, he chipped in for me from behind the second green, and he took the tournament lead for the first time in this edition. On a 13-hole stretch, McIlroy was to move from seven drifts of the lead to its owner with two.

The advantage of McIlroy was 4 when walking from the 8th tee. This felt easy. It's too easy.

McIlroy's drop shot on the 8th was a tattered shot. His playing partner, Connors, produced some spectacular birdies on the 9th and 10th. McIlroy Three put the latter. He had only one room now. McIlroy may have been wobbling in the old days. The cliché McIlroy is affected by scar tissue. Instead, the 35-year-old version birded on the 13th, doing the second bright thing in the Pal 5 on par 5. With the 6-foot Eagle Putt being converted, McIlroy was once again a quartet of strokes forward.

Deccanbo wound both sides of the tap-in birdie into the crowd on the 16th. The Californian seemed ready to chase McIlroy through the penultimate hole. McIlroy had 10 feet on Birdie there, but his chance was not left. The Northern Irishman was lucky at the end, and his drive cracked before rebounding to safe ground.

On the day of the move, I felt that Rudig Åberg's trajectory was noticeable. After age 69, the Swedish is under the age of six. Oberg had the opportunity to put more pressure on the people above him at the end, but he pushed his birdie putt. If he falls to one shot here, that moment becomes a reference point. McIlroy's Ryder Cup teammate, Åberg, knows everything about the strength of his leaders. “I think it's difficult to catch him when he plays the best golf,” Åberg said. “I don't think there are many people in this world who can catch him when he plays his best. I can say he has a lot of confidence in his game.

Scotty Schaeffler failed to make the expected progress. Patrick Reed did so, his 69 also moved him to the previous shot of the world. Another past winner, Zach Johnson, is hiding under the age of 66 after being 4. Open and US PGA champion Xander Schauffele sits in the same as Johnson. Jason Day's 71 tweaked him to minus 5. Shane Laurie bogeyed the final bogey for the same position. Tyrrell Hutton's romantic relationship with Augusta National is heading for divorce court again.

Amidst the chaos, Min Wooly was given a one-shot penalty after being determined to have moved the ball, not when he hit a golf shot on the fairway on the 13th. Jordan Spieth complained about the muddy ball. This is a theme that Masters organizers probably ignore us all. Augusta National has announced record-breaking prize money for this year's tournament. This means $4.2 million will be awarded to the winner. McIlroy stopped caring about money long ago.

He admitted that he barely slept before the Sawgrass playoffs in March, and JJ Spaun was ultimately seen as the player championship was claimed. More throws and spins await you. But it may be worth it. My goodness, it may be worth it.