Aside from their love of hitting the ball prodigious distances with their drivers, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau’s approach to winning the Masters could not be more different.
While McIlroy has spent this week blocking out “the noise”, DeChambeau has been feeding off the rising decibels echoing through the Georgia Pines at Augusta National.
While McIlroy strolled serenely and stony faced to the scorer’s hut after Saturday’s second successive 66, DeChambeau bounded up the hill with a beaming smile, energised by a closing 50-foot birdie – his 69th shot – high-fiving everyone and anyone.
While McIlroy planned to spend a quiet Saturday evening away from his phone and trying to stay awake for an episode of raunchy period drama Bridgerton, DeChambeau was ready to embrace his mobile and was looking forward to a late night spent watching action of a different sort, a James Bond film.
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The two look set for a final-round showdown on Sunday as they attempt to become Masters champion for the first time.
McIlroy leads on 12 under par, two ahead of DeChambeau.
There are others on the leaderboard with pedigree though. Canadian Corey Conners, something of an Augusta expert with three top 10s in his past six starts, is the next best at eight under and he is two clear of last year’s runner-up Ludvig Aberg and 2018 champion Patrick Reed.
But Masters Sunday is already being billed as a rematch by many – a chance for McIlroy to exact revenge after he capitulated in the final three holes at last year’s US Open and DeChambeau took full advantage.
