Masters 2025: With a 2-shot lead, this is the time for Rory McIlroy at Augusta National. It has to be

AUGUSTA, Ga. — This is the moment, right?

We’ve been here before. Plenty of times over the last 3,898 days, in fact. So it’s easy to doubt that this is finally the time that Rory McIlroy accomplishes the thing that’s been hanging over his career.

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But after his historic showing on Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club that put him two shots ahead of the field entering the final day of play at the Masters, this has to be it. He may not ever get a better chance.

McIlroy posted a second-straight 66 in the third round of the Masters on Saturday, which moved him to 12-under on the week and sent him into the final pairing with Bryson DeChambeau on Sunday with the green jacket on the line.

“I still have to remind myself that there’s a long way to go, just like I said yesterday,” he said. “18 holes. I, just as much as anyone else, know what can happen on the final day here.”

McIlroy opened Saturday with two birdies and an eagle, which came off a chip-in on the par-5 second, to immediately jump into the lead after starting two shots back.

By the time he reached the seventh hole, he had made six straight 3s — which is a Masters record.

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“It was such a great way to start,” McIlroy said. “Just to come out of the blocks like that, I think, as well from finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today, it’s quite a long time. There’s a lot of anticipation and sort of anxious energy that builds up. You want to get out there and play.

‘So you know, with all of that to go out and start the way I did, was amazing.”

McIlroy bounced back from a pair of bogeys on the back side, too, and stuck his approach at the par-5 15th — where he made one of his two double bogeys on Thursday — just six feet from the pin to set up another eagle. When that one fell, McIlroy’s lead had ballooned to four.

But DeChambeau cut the lead back down to just two after he made three birdies in his last four holes, which got him into the last group with McIlroy.

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“It’s going to be a little rowdy and a little loud,” McIlroy said of tomorrow’s final pairing, which is likely a bit of an understatement.

It’s not just the fact that McIlroy has a chance to avenge his loss to DeChambeau from Pinehurst last summer. But it’s what’s on the line for him when it comes to his career. A win for McIlroy would mark his first major title since the PGA Championship in 2014. That dry spell has felt more like a curse at times. He's never won at the Masters, either, which is the last victory he needs to become just the sixth golfer, and the first since Tiger Woods, to win the career grand slam.

That’s a lot of pressure.

Unlike his opponent, McIlroy planned to head home from the course on Saturday night, relax and put his phone away. The goal was to stay awake through the second episode of the third season of Netflix’s “Bridgerton.” He fell asleep during the first episode on Friday night.

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With everything that’s looming in the final round, and he’s well aware of what’s coming, McIlroy is trying to keep a steady head.

“I came in here talking about being the most complete version of myself as a golfer,” McIlroy said. “I just have to keep reminding myself of that and remind myself that no matter what situation or scenario I find myself in tomorrow, I'll be able to handle it.”

By Sunday night, this will be the best moment of McIlroy’s career. Or, if the green jacket lands on somebody else's shoulders, it will be right up there with the worst.

There’s no inbetween anymore.