21 year old Irishmen Rory McIlroy will take a four shot lead into the final round at Augusta as he attempts to become the first player of his age to win the Masters since Tiger Woods did it in 1997. Rory says he remembers watching Tiger’s win that year with his father, “That’s when Tiger sort of grabbed all our imaginations and won it by 12 and broke so many records. It was a huge moment in the game of golf.”
It could be a similarly huge moment for golf if McIlroy can maintain his lead for his first major championship win. While he admitted that there would be some nerves as he teed off, he’s not approaching this final round as if he’s got a big lead.
“To be honest, I have to, in my own mind, start tomorrow fresh and just say, look, there’s no lead, there’s no nothing. I’ve just got to go out there and play solid golf. If I can do that, I feel as if I’ll have as good a chance as anyone; obviously with a four-shot lead. But I’ve just got to really try and say to myself that, you know, it’s a new day and we are going to go out and just do the same thing we have done the last three days.”
If McIlroy needs an example of the poise needed to win a Major, he won’t need to look any further than his final round partner, Angel Cabrera. The Argentinian has won two majors, including the 2009 Masters and roared back into contention with a third round 67 to put him at -8. Cabrera may be a full twenty years older that McIlroy, but he isn’t quite ready to pass the torch yet. “Yeah, the young kids are playing very well. I think they it deserve it; Rory, Jason.” he said, “But obviously I have won the Masters, so that should help me a lot.”
For up to date info from Augusta National be sure to check out our 2011 Masters stream.