Cameron Young strikes early and late for share of the Masters lead

AUGUSTA, Ga. | When Rory McIlroy imploded, Cameron Young pounced. The result is that the 90th Masters Tournament will not be a coronation walk through the azaleas and pines of the Augusta National Golf Club for McIlroy, the defending champion who sprinted to a six-shot lead through 36 holes.

Young, who won The Players Championship on March 15 in dramatic fashion, will have a say in the outcome, and he's brimming with quiet confidence about the prospect of following McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in winning a Players and Masters in the same year after he carved out a career-best 65 at Augusta during the third round on April 11 to earn a share of the lead with McIlroy (73) at 11-under 205. "It would be an incredible day," Young said if he should find a way to win the Masters to make it three years in a row for the Players champion to go on to win at Augusta. "I like the position I'm in.

It's just a matter of keeping myself in it tomorrow and doing the best I can to stay around the lead for as long as possible, and see what happens at the end. " Cameron Young opened with improbable birdies Young began the day eight shots behind McIlroy at 4-under and was not on a short list of possibilities should the defending champ falter. The smart money was on McIlroy's playing partner Sam Burns or the players in the previous twosome, 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed and Justin Rose, who lost in a playoff to McIlroy last year.

But Young flew under the radar in the final round of The Players when Ludvig Åberg was poised to cruise on the final day and this time he didn't wait, pouncing on move day. Young fired a huge opening salvo, driving the green of the 350-yard par-4 third hole to set up an easy two-putt for birdie. Battling Brian: Brian Harman continues to rally from a horrible Masters start Then came another startling development.