Scottie Scheffler Surges, Closes Gap on Rory McIlroy at Masters with 7-Under 3rd Round

Scottie Scheffler put together an impressive performance in the third round of the 2026 Masters on Saturday.

Scheffler sat 12 strokes behind leader Rory McIlroy heading into moving day, but ultimately cut the deficit to five shots entering the clubhouse following a 7-under 65 at Augusta National.

It marked his lowest score in any round at the Masters throughout his career, via Justin Ray of The Athletic.

Speaking to CBS Sports' Amanda Balionis after his round, Scheffler said he feels he has a chance to capture another Green Jacket on Sunday.

Scheffler started off strong on Saturday, burying an eagle putt at No. 2:

The 29-year-old stayed sharp, ending the first nine with three consecutive birdies.

Scheffler added two more birdies before the third round came to a close, bouncing back after falling short of expectations through the first two rounds of the year's first major.

He recorded a 2-over 74 on Friday, putting an end to his streak of 11 consecutive Masters rounds at or below par.

"I would like to hole a few more putts," Scheffler said after Round 2, per Will Gray of PGATour.com. "I felt like it was rolling nice today, but balls just weren't dropping. Maybe my reads were a little bit off. It was frustrating to get back to Even, have a couple par-5s in front of me, and then not do many things I felt wrong and wasn't able to convert really basically anything coming down the stretch."

The four-time major champion is looking to capture his third green jacket after previously winning the Masters in 2022 and 2024. He's never finished outside the top 20 at Augusta National in any of his prior six appearances.

As for McIlroy, he's attempting to become the first player to secure consecutive Masters victories since Tiger Woods in 2002.