LIV Golf at The Masters 2025: DeChambeau, Reed in top five after third round
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The third round of the 89th Masters Tournament ended with a ton of movement at the top of the leaderboard.
Seven LIV golfers — Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Joaquin Niemann, Jon Rahm, and Charl Schwartzel — remain in contention after the cut was set at 2-over after the first two rounds. The seven remaining LIV golfers share a combined five Masters titles among them, with Rahm’s 2023 win being the most recent.
DeChambeau continued to shine, finishing the day in second place, while Reed ended Round 3 tied for fourth.
Rory McIlroy captured the solo lead after shooting 6-under on this wild Saturday. Corey Conners, who went from a five-shot deficit to one shot behind McIlroy in a span of three holes, closed with eight straight pars for a 70. He ended in third place, four shots behind. No one else was closer than six shots of McIlroy. Justin Rose, who had a one-shot lead at the start of the day, shot 75 and was seven shots back, falling to tied for sixth.
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Here are the highlights from Round 3 at Augusta National:
Day 3 leaderboard
1. Rory McIlroy (-12)
2. Bryson DeChambeau (-10)
3. Corey Conners (-8)
T4. Patrick Reed (-6)
T4. Ludvig Åberg (-6)
T6. Jason Day (-5)
T6. Scottie Scheffler (-5)
T6. Shane Lowry (-5)
T6. Justin Rose (-5)
[RELATED: 2025 The Masters odds: ‘Bettors have started to file in on Bryson’]
Rory McIlroy has masterful start at Augusta and closes in on career Grand Slam
McIlroy raced out to the best start the Masters has seen in its 91-year history, with six straight 3s on his scorecard that shot him into the lead Saturday and left him 18 holes away from that coveted green jacket and the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy chipped in for eagle as part of his amazing start, and then he delivered another eagle late in the round as contenders were lining up behind him, a majestic 6-iron to 6 feet on the par-5 15th hole that carried him to a second straight 6-under 66.
“It was an awesome day and puts me in a great position going into tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I just have to stay firm and just stay in my own little world.”
At stake Sunday is a chance to become only the sixth player to capture all four professional majors, a feat last accomplished nearly 25 years ago by Tiger Woods at the British Open.
Bryson DeChambeau continues to impress in third round
McIlroy led by two shots over a familiar foe — DeChambeau, who delivered some magic of his own with a 45-foot birdie putt to start his round and a putt from nearly 50 feet for birdie on the 18th hole that gave him a 69.
Patrick Reed and Ludvig Åberg make Saturday moves at the Masters
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, shot a 3-under 69 to at least give himself an outside chance of chasing down McIlroy over the last 18 holes. Reed closed with three birdies over his final six holes. Åberg also made a late move, with three straight birdies from Nos. 14-16 in his round of 69. Both were at 6-under 210, six shots behind McIlroy.
“You just never know, but you’d have to expect to go out and play the best round you’ve got,” Reed said. “I’m thinking for me to be able to win this golf tournament. I’ve got to shoot my lowest round I’ve ever shot on Sunday out here.”
Despite having left the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV Golf, Reed has maintained his usual busy schedule, playing individual events on the European and Asian tours. That hasn’t stopped him from falling outside the top 100 in the world ranking, but the 34-year-old Reed said his ball-striking may be better than ever.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler fails to make a move, trails by 7 shots
The defending Masters champion failed to take advantage time and time again, leaving him seven shots behind McIlroy with one round left.
Scheffler wasn’t particularly sharp Saturday and failed to give himself many birdie opportunities. In fact, he spent the vast majority of the day scrambling to save par and the reality is his even-par 72 could have been much worse.
“I just couldn’t really get anything going,” Scheffler said. “I had to scramble a lot today, actually. I got off to a good start (with a birdie on No. 2), but after that I didn’t really feel like I gave myself enough opportunities, and the opportunities that I did have, I didn’t really quite take advantage of.”
A Scheffler comeback isn’t impossible. Anything can happen on Sunday at the Masters.
In 1956, Jack Burke Jr., a 33-year-old pro who hadn’t won a tournament since 1953, trailed leader Ken Venturi by eight strokes entering the final round and rallied to win after shooting 71. Venturi, then a rookie, collapsed with an 80.
Scheffler, who is tied for seventh, would need a huge day — probably even better than his personal-best round of 66 at Augusta National — and several others to collapse, including McIlroy, who seems intently focused on snapping his decade-long majors drought and joining an elite group of players who have won golf’s career grand slam.
Min Woo Lee penalized for causing his ball to move on 13th hole
Lee was penalized one stroke after his third round in the Masters on Saturday after tournament officials determined he caused his ball to move on the 13th fairway, turning his par on the hole into a bogey and his score into a 5-over 77.
Augusta National said in a statement that Lee asked for an official after he noticed his ball had moved, and it was later determined that “his actions near the ball did cause it to move.”
Lee, a 26-year-old Australian with a big following on social media, won his first PGA Tour title two weeks ago at the Houston Open. He’s playing in his fourth Masters, with his best finish a tie for 14th three years ago.
Former Masters champ Zach Johnson shoots 66, his best at Augusta National
Zach Johnson was feeling nostalgic after his third round at the Masters on Saturday.
The 49-year-old made six birdies during an eight-hole stretch making the turn and managed to shoot 6-under 66 despite a late bogey. It was the best score by the 2007 champion in 65 career rounds at Augusta National, and one that seemed to have come out of nowhere — going 28 consecutive rounds at the Masters since his last in the 60s.
Johnson made the cut on the number at 2-over par on Friday. At the time he finished his third round on Saturday, he was 4 under for the tournament and in a tie for 11th, a jump of 29 spots on the leaderboard.
His unexpected charge began hours before the rest of the leaders teed off with a 41-footer for eagle at the par-5 second. But it really got going at the ninth, when Johnson made the first of back-to-back birdies.
At the famous par-3 12th, known as the “Golden Bell,” he stuck his approach from 155 yards inside 15 feet for another birdie. On the next, Johnson laid up short of Rae’s Creek, hit a wedge to 2 feet and made birdie again. And that patient, conservative approach continued to pay off with another birdie at the par-5 15th, when Johnson dropped another tidy wedge within 3 feet.
His finest shot may have come at the par-3 16th, playing 170 yards over the water. Johnson stuck it inside a foot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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