Rory McIlroy has a big lead at the at the Masters after 36 holes. It usually ends well.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy took a record six-shot lead into the final 36 holes of the Masters. Here’s how the six players who had five-shot leads after 36 holes finished at Augusta National:
Scottie Scheffler, 2022
In his debut as the No. 1 player in the world, Scheffler looked the part with rounds of 69-67 in a roaring wind to build a five-shot lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry and Sungjae Im.
Scheffler had to salvage bogey from the trees on the 18th on Saturday for a 71 as Cameron Smith cut his lead to three shots. Scheffler walked up to the final hole with a five-shot lead and four-putted for double bogey, about the only thing that went wrong for him. He won by three shots over McIlroy, who holed a bunker shot on the last hole for his best finish at the time.
Jordan Spieth, 2015
Coming off a runner-up finish in his Masters debut the year before, Spieth opened with rounds of 64-66 to break a 36-hole scoring record that had stood for 39 years. He was at 14-under 130 and led by five shots over Charley Hoffman.
Spieth set the 54-hole scoring record (200) and led by four shots, and went on to win by four over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. So dominant was this performance that no one got closer than three shots of Spieth over the final 54 holes.
Raymond Floyd, 1976
Floyd opened with rounds of 65-66 to build a five-shot lead over defending champion Jack Nicklaus in what became the most impressive scoring week at the time. Floyd set records for low start by a champion (65), the 36-hole record (131) and the 54-hole record (201), all of which stood until Spieth’s win in 2015.
Floyd shot 70 in the third round to expand his lead to eight shots over Nicklaus, and a closing 70 matched the 72-hole record (271) set by Nicklaus in 1965.
Jack Nicklaus, 1975
Already a four-time Masters champion, Nicklaus opened 68-67 to build a five-shot lead over Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper and Tom Watson. The Golden Bear was prescient when he said he hoped for a 10-shot lead after the third round: “I’ve been coming to Augusta for many years. I’ve seen many strange things happen.”
Indeed, Big Jack shot 73 in the third round and was overtaken by Tom Weiskopf, who shot 66. That set up as thrilling a back nine as the Masters has ever seen, marked by Nicklaus making a 40-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to outlast Weiskopf and Johnny Miller.
Herman Keiser, 1946
Keiser had served three years in the Navy when he returned to the first Masters since the end of World War II. In a field of top stars, Keiser shot 69-68 to build a five-shot lead over Jimmy Thomson, a big hitter from Los Angeles. All the headlines were whether Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead could track down a player who had only one PGA Tour title.
Keiser finished strong Saturday for a 71 to keep his five-shot lead, this time over Hogan. He shot 74 on the last day and held on to beat Hogan when both three-putted the 18th hole.
Harry ‘Lighthorse’ Cooper, 1936
The third Masters had so much rain that the first round didn’t start until Friday, and when Sunday was washed out, the final two rounds were played on Monday. Cooper shot 70-69 to lead by five shots over Bobby Cruickshank.
In the third round Monday morning, Cooper shot 71 as Horton Smith, the first Masters champion, shot 68 to cut the lead to three shots. Smith rallied on the back nine with a 50-foot chip he sank for birdie on the 14th and a birdie on the par-5 15th. He shot 72 to win by one over Cooper, who faded with a 76. Cooper ended his career without a major.
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