Masters Leaderboard 2026 Review of Top Scorecards and Player Stats on Day 3

Rory McIlroy entered Saturday at the Masters with a six-shot lead, the biggest advantage a golfer has held after 36 holes in the 90 iterations of the tournament.

However, the defending Masters champion is now tied for first with Cameron Young at 11 under after an up-and-down moving day. Young, meanwhile, shot a seven-under 65 and even briefly took a one-shot lead at one point.

Eleven golfers are situated between six- and 11-under heading into Sunday, setting up for a phenomenal final round.

As for Saturday's third-round action, here's a look at some of the notable themes, highlights and stats of the day.

Top 10 and Ties

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T1. Rory McIlroy (-11)

T1. Cameron Young (-11)

3. Sam Burns (-10)

4. Shane Lowry (-9)

T5. Jason Day (-8)

T5. Justin Rose (-8)

T7. Scottie Scheffler (-7)

T7. Haotong Li (-7)

T9. Patrick Cantlay (-6)

T9. Russell Henley (-6)

T9. Patrick Reed (-6)

Other Notables: Collin Morikawa (-5), Brooks Koepka (-4), Xander Schauffele (-4), Jordan Spieth (-1)

Entire leaderboard can be found via Masters website.

McIlroy and Young Tied for First

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McIlroy's struggles off the tee put him in bad spots for much of his round, particularly misses to the left. He's hit just 21-of-42 fairways for the tournament.

Driving troubles were the theme of the day. His first shot went right en route to a bogey. He did scramble well to make pars on the front nine and even found himself one-under through 10 holes and 13-under overall heading to the 11th.

However, disaster struck on the par-four 11th, when his second shot found the water. His fourth shot discovered the green from six feet away, but his bogey putt did not fall, leading to two dropped shots.

McIlroy's tee shot then went long and left on the par-three 12th, and his chip back to the green finished 14 feet from the hole. The par putt didn't fall, and McIlroy fell back to 10-under.

He parred the par-five 13th and found himself with 19 feet to go for his birdie on the 14th. McIlroy drilled that putt to get back to 11-under.

He then played the 15th perfectly, finding the green in two and nearly hitting a 23-foot eagle before settling for birdie.

McIlroy parred the 16th, but his tee shot on No. 17 caused him trouble again when he found the pinestraw next to a tree. He had a small window and hit a low shot through the green for his second. His third ended up 10 feet from the hole, and a par save landed inches short for a bogey.

Overall, it was a tense round for McIlroy to say the least. He lost the lead to Young when he dropped to 10-under but regained his form with back-to-back birdies.

Young was four-over through seven holes in this tournament, but he bounced back and finished the first round one-over. He caught fire on the back nine with four straight birdies and ultimately began Saturday at four-under.

Young dominated again Saturday with seven birdies through 14 holes. That included a chip-in on the fourth, an eight-footer on the 10th after a great approach and back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th.

The defending Players champion ran into big trouble on the 15th, though, when his third shot found the water. He was staring at the possibility of double bogey, but he hit a 111-yard approach shot to six feet. Young then made a six-foot bogey to only drop one shot.

He showcased his resilience and mental toughness on the next hole, though, by drilling a 27-foot birdie putt to get back to 11-under.

Young finished with back-to-back pars.

He'll now find himself in the final pairing Sunday with a great chance to win his first major.

Scottie Scheffler Storms Back Into Contention

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World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler entered Saturday at even-par, 12 shots behind McIlroy. Now he's in clear contention for his third Masters title in five years, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he wins it all.

Scheffler got an eagle on the par-five second and then made birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes to card a five-under 31 on the front nine.

He added another birdie on the 11th to move to six-under for the round and tournament.

Scheffler found the fairway on the par-five 13th and 15th but ground his way to save par after his second shots went awry. However, he birdied the par-three 16th from 10 feet out and then had back-to-back pars for his seven-under 65.

Scheffler's form hasn't been as great as usual in 2026, though many (or perhaps all) golfers would sign up for a win, three top-fives and six top-25s in six starts this year. He reminded folks why he's the best in the world at this sport on Saturday, and if he keeps that form up on Sunday, then he could easily become the ninth player to win three or more Masters tournaments.