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Nicklaus, who teed off in the Honorary Starters Ceremony again this year, won the Masters back to back in 1965 and 1966 \u2026Shutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n\t\t\t6.03pm<\/p>\n
\t\tScandinavians are on the charge\n <\/p>\n
Hovland, who started this week with a three-over round of 75, rolls in a huge putt at the 11th to get to six under and now has the course record \u2014 a nine-under 63 set by Nick Price in 1986 and Greg Norman in 1996 \u2014 in his sights. The Norwegian is five under for the tounament.<\/p>\n
Behind him, Ludvig Aberg is putting his Sunday struggles behind him. The Swede, who really should have won the Players and possibly even the Valero Texas Open over the past few weeks, has made birdies at his first two holes to get to five under for the tournament. <\/p>\n
And speaking of the course record, Woodland is seven under through 16. The American needs two birdies in his final two holes to tie with Price and Norman. Incredible.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t5.58pm<\/p>\n
\t\tTrouble off the tee\n <\/p>\n
We can dream of McIlroy winning a second Masters and sixth major championship but he\u2019s going to have to sort out his driving if he is to beat Cameron Young and the rest of the field today\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t5.52pm<\/p>\n
\t\tHas anyone won the Masters back to back?\n <\/p>\n
We had a look at this yesterday but, to remind you, with victory today Rory McIlroy will become the fourth player to win the Masters back to back. The only other previous players to do so are Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n
Nicklaus, who teed off in the Honorary Starters Ceremony again this year, won the Masters back to back in 1965 and 1966 \u2026Shutterstock Editorial<\/p>\n
![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/269a4011-4160-460b-b034-03f2c43abd74.jpg\")
\u2026 Faldo won consecutively in 1989 and 1990 \u2026Getty images<\/p>\n
![\"File](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bde45e99-b3da-470e-90df-dc9d3e48fb8b.jpg\")
\u2026 while Woods is the most recent player to pull off the achievement, winning in 2001 then 2002Reuters<\/p>\n
\t\t\t5.33pm<\/p>\n
\t\tJordan Spieth gathering momentum\n <\/p>\n
Very strong starts also for former champions Hideki Matsuyama (2021) and Jordan Spieth (2015), both of whom are two under par for their rounds. Spieth has had a really encouraging week given his last top ten in a major came back in 2023 and in the years since he has fallen from ninth to 61st in the world. Finding fairways off the tee has long been a problem, but he has hit 70 per cent of them this week \u2014 much higher than his PGA Tour average \u2014 and seems to be gathering momentum. That\u2019s particularly worth noting given the Open returns to Royal Birkdale this year, where Spieth won the Claret Jug in 2017. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t5.25pm<\/p>\n
\t\tSouthgate: Rory hung in there \u2014 he\u2019s well set\n <\/p>\n
Gareth Southgate has made a guest appearance in the Sky Sports studio at Augusta National. Asked about Rory McIlroy\u2019s chances after his six-shot lead, a record after 36 holes, disappeared yesterday, the former England manager said: \u201cI think perspective is a huge thing. Everybody is talking about him blowing a six-shot lead but he was one over par. I\u2019ve heard everybody saying he wasn\u2019t playing anywhere near his best and yet he hung in there.<\/p>\n
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Southgate joined Nick Faldo and Dame Laura Davies in the Sky studiosky sports<\/p>\n
\u201cThe resilience that he has developed over the years meant he recovered from the dropped shots and some of the other players were going to play well weren\u2019t they? And I\u2019m assuming that will happen today, that someone will come out of the pack and have an outstanding round, so it\u2019s not just about where he\u2019s at. He might feel over four rounds if that\u2019s his bad one he\u2019s in a pretty good place, I\u2019m guessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t5.14pm<\/p>\n
\t\tViktor Hovland finds form\n <\/p>\n
Viktor Hovland is rarely satisfied with his golf. At the Valspar Championship last year, he said on the Friday: \u201cIt sucks, I just don\u2019t have control over what I\u2019m doing,\u201d but two days later he had his hands on the trophy.<\/p>\n
You never quite know what to believe, but even he has to be happy with his start today. The Norwegian, who won the FedEx Cup in 2023 but is still chasing his first major title, is five under through his first nine holes and has got himself to four under for the tournament.<\/p>\n
It comes after Team Europe\u2019s \u201cforever single\u201d man had his new girlfriend caddying for him in Wednesday\u2019s par-three competition.<\/p>\n
![\"Ryder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/46c0c8bc-8632-4850-a897-d2903a2accca.jpg\")
Hovland, centre front, has always made a joke of being the only single member of Europe\u2019s Ryder Cup team\u2026Getty<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8fdf9348-fba7-4e6d-845e-cc8edb5d054b.jpg\")
\u2026but had new girlfriend Tuva Jensen caddying for him on WednesdayGetty<\/p>\n
\t\t\t4.59pm<\/p>\n
\t\tGary Woodland continues comeback\n <\/p>\n
How is the scoring so far today and what are the early indications for how the players at the top of the leaderboard might fare later? Well, the majority of the field already out on the course are under par, with the pick of the rounds so far coming from Gary Woodland. <\/p>\n
It was life or death for Woodland in 2023. Facing surgery to remove a lesion on his brain, he wrote letters to his wife and three children in case he did not make it through. In the months since he has been plagued by crippling post-traumatic stress disorder, but the American completed a remarkable recovery\u00a0a fortnight ago by winning the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open by five strokes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Woodland\u2019s tumour was on his amygdala, the area of the brain that manages fear and anxiety, and it left him \u201cfear-driven every day, mostly about death\u201d. He is still easily startled and has been found crying in bathrooms or hiding in his car, but he is four under for his round today. Well played, Gary. <\/p>\n \t\t\t4.40pm<\/p>\n \t\tA magical scene\n <\/p>\n A word on how special it can be here. Yesterday I was on an early story, was clear of my work obligations by the late afternoon and went down to the course (Owen Slot writes). There are very few viewing advantages given to the media here, but at the back of the 18th there is one that is truly outstanding: a small bank of eight chairs underneath the TV tower. Given that pretty much everyone else in the press centre was on deadline, I chanced it that there might be one of the media spots left and indeed there was.<\/p>\n From there I watched the last five pairings come in one by one. Pair by pair they emerged from the dark corridor where they hope their drives have evaded the trees and then up the hill towards us. I don\u2019t know how many hundreds were there on the banks surrounding the green, but for every pair, pretty much every patron got to their feet to cheer them in.<\/p>\n Then the contrast of the absolute silence when each of them went about their work to finish the round: the baking Georgia afternoon, the glorious views of the golf course below us, the sound only of occasional birdsong. Really special. Magical. Then standing ovations again after they\u2019d holed out and marched off to the scorer\u2019s hut.<\/p>\n Just a slight reality check. Yes, very magical. No, we still don\u2019t know if the birdsong is genuine or if it\u2019s being piped in. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll ever know. And that pure silence was broken when Rory McIlroy was on the green by the far-off sound of a car alarm going off.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, a very privileged place to be.<\/p>\n \t\t\t4.30pm<\/p>\n \t\tSergio Garc\u00eda warned after snapping driver\n <\/p>\n The 2017 champion made the cut but has struggled at this year\u2019s tournament, and at seven-over through seven, he\u2019s rather let himself down here. After a wayward tee shot at the 2nd, the Spaniard smashes the tee box, then snaps the head off his driver after clattering a cooler box with it.<\/p>\n According to Doug Ferguson, a golf writer at AP, the chairman of the competition committee spoke to Garc\u00eda on the fourth tee and gave him a code of conduct warning. Good thing he\u2019s got a lifetime exemption.<\/p>\n \t\t\t4.20pm<\/p>\n \t\tFighting talk from Rory McIlroy\n <\/p>\n The defending champion was bullish after his round last night\u2026<\/p>\n \t\t\t4.10pm<\/p>\n \t\tScottie Scheffler snipes back\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a clip of that Scottie Scheffler interview\u2026 <\/p>\n “That’s just a terrible question” \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler was not best pleased with this reporter’s question after his superb third round display at Augusta \ud83d\udde3\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/Wk9sbun4w6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t4.00pm<\/p>\n \t\tJon Rahm \u2014 a former champion on the slide\n <\/p>\n At 9.53am yesterday, long before Rory McIlroy had even got to the golf course and while it seemed that most of the patrons were still in the queue for the shop, Jon Rahm stepped on to the first tee (Owen Slot writes).<\/p>\n This was not the early hour on a Saturday that Rahm would ever be hoping to start a round. Certainly not at the Augusta Masters and especially not at this Masters, coming as it has after some good recent form on the LIV Tour. Some had tipped Rahm as their pick to win here, at the very least to be late out over the weekend; no one had tipped him as a player whose early Saturday meanderings would go largely unnoticed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.50pm<\/p>\n \t\tPicture perfect\u2026\n <\/p>\n \t\t\t3.40pm<\/p>\n \t\tHole locations revealed\n <\/p>\n \t\t\t3.30pm<\/p>\n \t\tWeather update\n <\/p>\n As has been the case for the whole tournament, the weather is set fair at Augusta, meaning the already baked course will only play faster.<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.20pm<\/p>\n \t\tIrritable Scottie Scheffler\n <\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler<\/a> is another challenger who has not been at his best over three days (Rick Broadbent writes). Even after his round of 65 he was needlessly snippy about a softball opening question regarding what he might have scored.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just a terrible question,\u201d he said. \u201cNext question. Awful.\u201d Nobody is looking for sympathy for journalists, but he literally went on to give an answer to that reframed question. It hints at an irritability about the current state of his game, but his class is such that he could still win a third green jacket today.<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.10pm<\/p>\n \t\tHere we go again\n <\/p>\n Buckle up. This could be quite a ride. At least eight players are still in this, and it could be more, after McIlroy let his six-stroke lead slip on Saturday (Rick Broadbent writes). The warning signs were there and it is remarkable that he is still tied for the lead when he ranks worst in the field for fairways hit. That will surely have to improve to see off such a loaded challenge. <\/p>\n Justin Rose<\/a> is one of those who will certainly feel he has a great chance. A year ago he started the final day seven back, feeling he had given it away on a dismal Saturday, but made the play-off. This time the gap is only four. Shane Lowry has been superb with his irons. Jason Day has been playing wonderfully. The par 5s will inevitably be key and if the greens are crispy the approaches will create rich drama. Huge buzz around Augusta this morning.<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.00pm<\/p>\n \t\tRelive the third round\n <\/p>\n While we wait for the big guns at the top of the leaderboard to get under way, let\u2019s remind ourselves of a frantic third round\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\t\t2.50pm<\/p>\n \t\tGreen Jacket can liberate \u2014 but Rory McIlroy proves Augusta\u2019s never easy\n <\/p>\n McIlroy knows intimately of the torturous cycle of chasing the Green Jacket, but breaking it appeared to genuinely liberate him for 36 holes (Tom Kershaw writes). The past year has doubled as a global tour for Augusta\u2019s prize garment, with appearances in Northern Ireland, Dubai, India and Australia. Only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods<\/a> and Sir Nick Faldo have managed to extend the fashion show into a second consecutive year, but the number of multiple winners at Augusta is no coincidence. The sense of catharsis invariably eases the pressure, and the equation is not just psychological. The champion can return whenever he pleases, so long as he is accompanied by a member. Never short of a willing host, McIlroy lost count of the number of recent day trips he took to learn Augusta\u2019s secrets.<\/p>\n But while the act of winning may get easier, it is never easy. \u201cI\u2019ve heard it said that once you win a championship for the first time, the second one is sort of anticlimactic. You can\u2019t prove it with me. Winning a second title gave me just as much of a thrill as the first one,\u201d Arnold Palmer wrote after claiming the second of his four in 1960.<\/p>\n \t\t\t2.40pm<\/p>\n \t\tOur guide to the Masters\n <\/p>\n Get to grips with everything you need to know about the Masters, from Amen Corner to the players to watch, using Angus Oliver\u2019s handy guide. <\/p>\n \t\t\t2.30pm<\/p>\n \t\tThat old chestnut\u2026\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe Masters doesn\u2019t start until the back nine on Sunday,\u201d is one of golf\u2019s most famous adages. Though it\u2019s often attributed to the three-time champion Gary Player, it\u2019s generally accepted to be a part of Masters<\/a> folklore.<\/p>\n It proved true last year as Rory McIlroy held his nerve to win his first title \u2014 can he do the same today?<\/p>\n \t\t\t2.20pm<\/p>\n \t\tRory McIlroy lets record lead slip\n <\/p>\n![\"Gary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3309387e-9fdb-47ee-a8cf-dc7758c39e0b.jpg\")
Woodland recovers from a brain surgery ordeal that left him with PTSD and for which he continues to take medicationPUMA Golf<\/p>\n![\"Golf](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/c83eda1a-2d54-4c4f-8230-494248cc49f7.jpg\")
Woodland made four birdies in the first ten holes of his fourth roundEPA<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/176659e6-67cf-4d48-9255-fc99f2257c7c.jpg\")
The Spaniard snapped the head off his driver after smashing a cooler box<\/p>\n![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a09385e2-98e2-4282-b106-732ee5333935.jpg\")
Rahm, the 2023 champion, barely made the cut this time roundMatt Slocum\/AP Photo<\/p>\n![\"Scottie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a13edd63-7d66-41d5-a396-fd7c1515a2c1.jpg\")
The two-time champion is tied for seventh on seven-under par Andrew Redington\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e83b2bf2-cb43-41d1-b009-38f636b9de3e.jpg\")
After years of heartache in pursuit of the Green Jacket, McIlroy finally had his moment last yearMike Segar\/Reuters<\/p>\n
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McIlroy is looking to become the first player to defend a Masters title since Tiger Woods in 2002Hector Vivas\/Getty Images<\/p>\n