{"id":12792,"date":"2026-04-12T03:32:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T02:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/?p=12792"},"modified":"2026-04-12T03:32:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T02:32:28","slug":"masters-2026-rory-mcilroys-augusta-stumble-opens-door-for-sunday-shootout-in-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/?p=12792","title":{"rendered":"Masters 2026: Rory McIlroy&#8217;s Augusta stumble opens door for Sunday shootout in Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">The Masters looks set to deliver an enthralling conclusion after a third-round stumble by defending champion Rory McIlroy opened the door to a star-studded chasing pack at Augusta National. <\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Everywhere you look there are intriguing stories to be told.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Will world number one Scottie Scheffler complete a remarkable weekend and set a new record of coming from 12 shots back after two rounds to win a third title in five years? Will Justin Rose finally get over the line at his 21st attempt after three runners-up finishes?<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Will Shane Lowry and Jason Day add to their solitary major triumphs? <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Or will Cameron Young, who is tied with McIlroy for the lead on 11 under, follow in the footsteps of the five-time major winner and Scheffler and make it a hat-trick of players to complete the Players Championship-Masters double, while breaking his major duck?<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">There are others who have legitimate shouts of claiming a first major title. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sam Burns is one off the pace, Li Haotong is four back. And you can look as far down the leaderboard as Patrick Cantlay given an out-of-sorts McIlroy let slip a record six-shot halfway lead during a dramatic Saturday at Augusta National.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sunday promises to be a captivating shootout.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;m still tied for the best score, so I can&#8217;t forget that, but I do know I&#8217;m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win,&#8221; said McIlroy who struggled with all aspects of his game on Saturday. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;d like to think that I&#8217;ll play a little bit freer [on Sunday] and I&#8217;ll play like I&#8217;ve already got a Green Jacket.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Masters looks set to deliver an enthralling conclusion after a third-round stumble by defending champion Rory McIlroy opened the door to a star-studded chasing pack at Augusta National. Everywhere you look there are intriguing stories to be told. Will world number one Scottie Scheffler complete a remarkable weekend and set a new record of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}