Harry How/Getty Images

Here's The Masters Leaderboard Heading Into Sunday - Rory McIlroy In Front By 2

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Apr 12, 2025 7:03 PM ET

Three down, one to go. Could this be the year that Rory McIlroy finally ends the curse and wins his green jacket?

For the first time since 2014, Rory McIlroy has the lead after three rounds in a major. Barring a collapse or someone else's surge, he'll certainly be in contention for the Masters title tomorrow afternoon.

McIlroy had an incredible day at Augusta National Golf Club, recording two birdies and an eagle on his first three holes and adding another birdie on the fifth. There was some shakiness between the 8th and 10th with a pair of bogeys, but he settled back down with a birdie on 13, another eagle on 15 and finished with three straight pars to finish with a score of 66, bringing him to minus-12 through three rounds.

He now heads into the final round with commanding but not insurmountable lead in the Masters. One more double-bogey like he had on Thursday and that opens the door for just about anyone sitting behind him to surge and snatch yet another green jacket away from him.

Here is the current top-10 leaderboard:

1. Rory McIlroy, -12

2. Bryson DeChambeau, -10

3. Corey Conners, -8

4. (tie) Patrick Reed, Ludvig Aberg -6

6. (tie) Jason Day, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler -5

10. (tie) Zach Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im -4

As you can see, Bryson DeChambeau is right in a position to challenge Rory for that green jacket. They'll likely be battling all the way to the end of the back-nine tomorrow.

Patrons walk by the the leader board as rain falls during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 12, 2019. (Photo by Augusta National via Getty Images)Augusta National/Getty Images

It's been some time since McIlroy was in this position heading into the final round at Augusta. The only time in his career that he's been the runner-up in the tournament was the 2022 Masters, when he lost by three strokes to an unstoppable Scottie Scheffler.

Were it not for the double bogeys that he recorded on Thursday, he might have the green jacket all but locked up. Those two ill-fated holes cost him a whopping four strokes, turning a potential round atop the leaderboard into one where he was closer to the cut line than the front of the line.

Will this be the one? Will McIlroy finally end the curse, win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: