Rory McIlroy’s pursuit of the career Grand Slam will carry into Masters Sunday.
The four-time major champion followed up his stellar second round with an impressive 6-under-par 72 third round at the 2025 Masters Tournament to take over the top spot in the clubhouse on Saturday. He will be paired on Sunday with Bryson DeChambeau, who beat McIlroy in the 2024 U.S. Open last year.
McIlroy, one of the biggest stars on the PGA Tour, led the entire way at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday, turning a three-stroke deficit entering Round 3 into a two-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round.
He will now head into Sunday’s final round looking to secure the final leg of the career Grand Slam and end an 11-year major championship drought. If McIlroy holds his lead to win that signature green jacket, he’d become the first golfer since Tiger Woods to accomplish one of golf’s hardest feats.
USA TODAY Sports provided complete coverage of all the action of McIlroy’s third round at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday at the 2025 Masters Tournament. Follow along for recap of his outing:
Rory McIlroy scorecard today: Masters Round 3 score, results
Results are courtesy of the official Masters leaderboard.
Saturday score: 6-under par
Overall score: 12-under par (first place)
Hole | McIlroy’s score
3 (Birdie)
3 (Eagle)
3 (Birdie)
3 (Par)
3 (Birdie)
3 (Par)
4 (Par)
6 (Bogey)
4 (Par)
5 (Bogey)
4 (Par)
3 (Par)
4 (Birdie)
4 (Par)
5 (Eagle)
3 (Par)
4 (Par)
4 (Par)
What did Rory McIlroy shoot today at The Masters?
McIlroy took full advantage of “Moving Day” at the Masters on Saturday as he shot an impressive 6-under par of 66 in the third round of competition.
Entering the day tied for third place, the Northern Irishman didn’t mess around to move up in the leaderboard as he started his round with six consecutive threes on the scorecard — which made for some Masters history as the lone golfer to do this.
Two eagles on Holes No. 2 and No. 15, both of which were par 5 holes, helped wash out his two bogeys on the afternoon.
Rory McIlroy Masters Round 3 highlights
Hole 1: McIlroy started his day with a birdie thanks to a strong 371-yard driver shot off the tee.
Hole 2: McIlroy’s hot start to Day 3 continues as he gets the roll on a beautifully placed chip shot to go in for a putt for an eagle. He moves into first place on the leaderboard.
Hole 3: McIlroy makes birdie on Hole 3 to move 10-under-par on the tournament. An exceptional start for the four-time major champion on ‘Moving Day’ at the Masters.
Hole 5: McIlroy pushes his lead to 11-under-par on the tournament with his third birdie of the day. He is shooting 5-under-par 16 on the afternoon through his first five holes.
Hole 6: McIlroy keeps his three-stroke lead by making par on Hole 6. Per The Masters’ official X (formerly Twitter) account, McIlroy has become the first player in the tournament’s history to start his round with six consecutive threes.
Hole 8: McIlroy can’t get his save himself for par on Hole 8 as hit putt shot goes just past the hole. He would then make bogey on his next shot, his first bogey since Thursday’s opening round, to drop him to 10-under-par in the tournament. He holds a three-stroke lead over the field.
Hole 10: McIlroy records his second bogey of the day, dropping his lead down to one stroke at 9-under par. His hot start on Saturday has now slowed down. It is the second bogey in the last three holes for McIlroy.
Hole 13: McIlroy capitalizes on the opportunity to get birdie on Hole 13 to push his lead back up to two strokes at 10-under par. It is the fourth birdie of the afternoon for McIlroy, who is now back to 4-under-par on the day.
Hole 15: Just when it looked like McIlroy might have gone cold, he struck back in a big win: recording his second eagle of the day to push his lead to 12-under-par in the tournament. The eagle came on the par 5 Hole 15 after his second shot — which went 205 yards — fell six feet from the pin.
Hole 18: McIlroy closes out his strong outing with a putt for par. He will be paired with DeChambeau in the final paring on Masters Sunday, as the two golfers duel for the green jacket.
Has Rory McIlroy ever won the Masters?
No, McIlroy has never finished atop the leaderboard at the Masters. The closest he has come to winning the Masters was finishing second in 2022 behind Scottie Scheffler.
If McIlroy can win the 2025 Masters Tournament, he will become the sixth golfer to accomplish the career Grand Slam, i.e. win each of the four major tournaments at least once in his career. He’d also take home an earning of $4.6 million for winning the Masters from the tournament’s record-breaking $21 million purse, which was announced by Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday.
Masters 2025 purse, payout
The Masters Tournament purse for this year is $21 million, which is a $1 million increase from last year’s tournament. The winner of the 2025 Masters Tournament will take home win earnings of $4.2 million, an increase of $600,000 from what Scheffler took home last year.
Here’s a breakdown of the payout for the top 10 finishers at the Masters:
1st place: $4.2 million
2nd place: $2.268 million
3rd place: $1.428 million
4th place: $1.008 million
5th place: $840,000
6th place: $756,000
7th place: $703,500
8th place: $651,000
9th place: $609,000
10th place: $567,000
When was the last time Rory McIlroy won a major?
McIlroy is currently in an 11-year major drought, with his last major tournament win being The Open Championship in 2014. He won his first major at the U.S. Open in 2011 and then followed that up by winning the PGA Championship in 2012.
What is the Grand Slam in golf?
There have been just five golfers to achieve the career Grand Slam, with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only two golfers in the history of the sport to win it three times.
Click here to read more on the career Grand Slam in golf.
Rory McIlroy Masters Shoes
McIlroy is currently rocking the limited edition Nike Victory Tour 4 shoes at the 2025 Masters Tournament. The Nike Victory Tour 4 has a touch of the Masters incorporated into them with the Azalea flowers on the back of them.
When does Rory McIlroy tee off today?
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
McIlroy will tee off at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 12 in Round 3 of the 2025 Masters Tournament alongside Corey Conners.
Masters 2025 Leaderboard
Click here to view the full leaderboard from USA TODAY.
How to watch Rory McIlroy at The Masters today?
TV channel: CBS
Streaming options: Masters.com | Masters App | Fubo (free trial) | Paramount+
CBS will carry McIlroy’s entire round three at the Masters on Saturday, as the network’s live coverage starts at 2 p.m. ET and will run through 7 p.m. ET. You can also stream McIlroy’s round on Saturday on Masters.com, the Masters App, Fubo, which carries CBS and offers a free trial to new subscribers, and Paramount+, CBS’ subscription streaming service.
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