In only his fifth Augusta National appearance, and also a year after missing the halfway cut and Cameron Young is 18 holes shy of being crowned the 2026 Masters champion.
Young superbly emerged from an indifferent opening round of 73 to produce scores of 67 and 65 to head to the clubhouse leading the 90th hosting of the Masters at 11-under.
At day’s end, the New York born Young found himself tied at 11-under with defending champion Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy had taken a Masters record-setting six-shot lead into golf’s traditional ‘Moving Day’ though the reigning Masters champ was headed in the opposite direction, particularly after finding himself a shot behind Young when he doubled the 11th and bogeyed the 12th.
YOUNG THROWS DOWN @TheMasters GAUNTLET ….
Heading to final round with Cameron Young & Rory McIlroy tied for the lead at 11-under.
Young posting a 65 and Rors a 73, and with nine players within five shots of Augusta National lead
Read: https://t.co/pEFxxE6jLF
Masters… pic.twitter.com/QDetYB8Pl7
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) April 11, 2026
McIlroy regrouped with birdies at 14 and 15 ahead of three closing pars, signing for one-over 73 for his 11-under tally.
McIlroy and Young will now head out in the final match of the 90th Masters with 11 players within five shots of the lead and among them is Sam Burns (68) at 10-under and the trio of Shane Lowry (68), Aussie Jason Day (68) and Justin Rose (69) at nine-under.
The effort by Young is easily his lowest in 15 rounds at Augusta National since making his debut in 2022.
“It feels pretty good. It’s a place that I love. I’ve been fortunate enough to play, this is my fifth Masters, and every time I come back it’s a special place to be. A Saturday 65 is not something I can complain about,“ said Young.
Young was quizzed if what he gained from winning The Players that could help him on day four of the Masters.
“I think in my press conference afterward, that really what I was trying to do was get ready to be playing late on Sunday at Augusta, “ he said.
“Now I’m here with what will be a late tee time on Sunday at Augusta, and that’s the best prep I could have asked for.
“I’ll try to run much the same process, same mindset as I did that day. I remember I did a great job of just staying where I was, knowing that everybody’s going to do some different things throughout the day. At some point most people are going to go on a run and most people are going to make a bogey or two.
“There’s no saying when that will be for me, but at the end of the day, you just have to stay kind of in your lane and play the best golf you can and see where you are with a couple holes to go. There’s not really much you can change before then“.
The 28-year-old Young first teed-up in the majors by missing the cut at the 2019 US Open though since then he has finished in the top-10 of a major on six occasions, including T7th in the 2023 Masters and T9th a year later at Augusta National.
Young’s best performance in a major was at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews, when he sensationally eagled the 72nd hole to finish runner-up to Aussie Cameron Smith with a score of 19 under.
However it was just a few weeks ago that Young really burst onto the International stage in capturing the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
Now a month later Young could find himself being fitted with a Masters green jacket.
