Masters 2018 Leaderboard: Live Look at Sunday Scores and Overall Predictions

World No. 24 Patrick Reed held the summit of the 2018 Masters leaderboard for the second round in succession on Saturday and enters Sunday's closing round with a three-shot cushion over second-place Rory McIlroy.

The race for this year's green jacket is almost at its climax at Augusta National Golf Club, with Reed chasing his first career major while McIlroy hopes to complete a career Grand Slam.

Charl Schwartzel is the only player from outside the world's top 20 to have won the Masters since 2010, but Reed is on course to record another upset.

Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm follow in third and fourth, respectively, and there's no telling how a collapse at the top may create an opening for a dark horse to emerge late on. The PGA Tour provided a look at the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday's decider via Twitter:

Visit the official PGA Tour website for a look at the live leaderboard in full.

Overall Predictions

We might be looking at a different Masters leaderboard today had Reed not flashed in two late eagles on the 13th and 15th on Saturday, albeit having at least birdied those holes in every round this weekend.

Nevertheless, he earned his three-stroke lead over McIlroy, who was swift in getting to work with the psychological warfare prior to resuming on Sunday, per the Telegraph's Paul Hayward:

Thursday's 69 is impressive as far as worst tournament scores go for Reed, having since recorded a 66 on Friday and a 67 on Saturday, not to mention being relatively error-free with two bogeys per day.

Clearly, the conditions suit the Augusta State University graduate, and ESPN's Ian O'Connor highlighted how McIlroy attempted to use those connections against his Sunday playing partner:

"

Rory McIlroy trying to put the heat on Patrick Reed already in that CBS interview. Mentioned his Augusta State ties. Said all the pressure's on him. And Rory is right.

— Ian O'Connor (@Ian_OConnor) April 7, 2018"

The closest Reed has come to winning a major championship prior to this came in the form of a joint-second-place finish at the 2017 PGA Championship, where he saved his best score for the final day.

The difference this time around is Reed leads and has his competition rallying from underneath him. That leaves his mental fortitude as the defining factor considering his performance on Saturday didn't leave a lot to be desired.

But McIlroy is steamrolling into momentum at the right juncture and was one of three contenders to card a 65 on Saturday—Fowler and Rahm were the others.

Simply put, their accomplishments indicate McIlroy at his best is a superior player to Reed at his best, and it should be noted the former already stole a share of the lead at one point on Saturday, as CBS Sports shared:

While Reed's form over the first three rounds shows there shouldn't be any concerns of wilting, it may be that McIlroy is just too good to keep restrained.

With three shots to make up, one can expect McIlroy to close that void and possibly force a play-off, where he would then have to hold his nerve if he's to add the final piece to his Grand Slam puzzle.

Prediction: McIlroy to win via play-off.