Rory McIlroy survived multiple assaults on his Masters lead in the third round to emerge four strokes clear. That put him in pole position to become the first Irishman to win the Masters, the first European since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999 and, at 21 years and 11 months, the second-youngest winner behind only Tiger Woods in 1997.
The Ulsterman battled hard for a two-under 70 that put him at 12-under par, four strokes clear of a international quartet consisting of Jason Day, Angel Cabrera, Charl Schwartzel and KJ Choi.
“I’m not getting ahead of myself, I know how leads can dwindle quickly. I need to play as well as I have,” said McIlroy.
Woods, meanwhile, endured a torrid day with several lip-outs and near misses that had him shaking his head in despair as he had to settle for a 74 and a five-under total.
He trailed McIlroy by seven strokes in a tie for ninth place, which left his hopes of winning a first major since 2008 and first title of any sort since November of 2009 in tatters.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2011.
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