Masters Sunday: Final Round Preview

Sunday, the final day of a golf tournament, sure some tournaments finish on a Saturday, or even a Monday or Tuesday if the weather is bad.

Sunday is the day of roast dinners, Yorkshire puddings and apple pie with custard. Sunday is the day when trophies are lifted and a champion is crowned.

Sunday is the day when Tiger wears red and Seve wore navy blue and white.

Masters Sunday is the day history is made.

Masters Sunday is the day when the roars are louder, the shots are greater and everything is just that little bit more important.

Masters Sunday is the day when memories are made, dreams come true and golfers are created.

My first memories of Masters Sunday are of Nick Faldo holing the birdie putt on 18 in 1996 when he came from 6 back of Greg Norman to win by 5, completing an 11-shot turnaround the likes of which not seen in many years. I remember Mark O'Meara holing a similar putt to win in 1998, Tiger Woods completing the Tiger Slam in 2001, Phil Mickelson winning his first major in 2004 and Tiger holing the impossible chip at 16 in 2005.

The old saying is that The Masters doesn't start until the second nine on Sunday, this is partly because that is all that used to be shown of the tournament on television and because it is arguably the greatest second nine in world golf. Prodigious, brutal par fours like the 10th and 11th, risk-reward par fives like 13 and 15, stunningly beautiful and challenging par three's like 12 and 16 and one of the iconic finishing holes in world golf like 18.

Nicklaus shooting 30 on the second nine to win in 1986 happened when I was 2 1/2 years old, but it has been replayed so many times it feels like I actually watched it happen live.

Masters Sunday is a day which inspires children, usually watching with their family, to take up the game. Children like Nick Faldo who was in awe of Jack Nicklaus.

Masters Sunday is a day which can make a career, like Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Mike Weir. Masters Sunday is a day which can bring heartache to a player, time and time again, like Greg Norman. Masters Sunday is a day which can launch a dynasty, like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Simply put, Masters Sunday is and will forever remain, the single greatest day in the golfing calendar. The roars of an Open Championship, the difficulty of a US Open, the beauty of Augusta National and the colours of spring. Masters Sunday is a day to cherish.

What will this Masters Sunday bring?

Coming up today on SHANK

• 7pm Live final round blog

  
  

• After play The Masters Tonight

Much of the focus for many today will be on Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose or Shane Lowry, but beyond doubt the biggest story ever in golf could be written by China's Haotong Li.

If a Chinese golfer was to win The Masters it would be one of the most important events we have ever seen, and could lead to a golfing explosion in the world's second-most populous country. Haotong Li was a prodigious talent, winning the Volvo China Open at the age of 20 in 2016 before shooting a round of 63 at Royal Birkdale to finish 3rd at the 2017 Open. Then in 2018 he defeated Rory McIlroy in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, claiming the biggest title of his career, and moving inside the world's top 32 players.

Then injury and loss of form saw him slump to just inside the world's top 500. He was on the verge of quitting professional golf in his 20's. Then a stunning return to form came in 2025 with victory at the Qatar Masters, and 8 other top tens earning him a 13th place finish on the Race to Dubai, and one of the 10 PGA TOUR cards on offer to DP World Tour players.

Now he will play in the fourth to last group on Sunday, alongside the World Number One, Scottie Scheffler.

Speaking of Scheffler, maybe it could be a case of when the year ends in 6 for him.

In 6 of the 9 years when The Masters has been played in a year which ends in 6, the 54-hole leader has failed to win The Masters. In 2016 it was Jordan Spieth who held a 5-shot lead with 9 to play, and ended up missing out to Danny Willett; in 1996, infamously it was Greg Norman who saw a 6-shot lead become a 5-shot deficit to Nick Faldo; 40 years ago Jack Nicklaus shot 30 on the back nine to break the hearts of many including Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros; in 1966 Gay Brewer had built a 3-stroke lead with just 8 to play, only to lose out to Jack Nicklaus in a playoff; in 1956 Ken Venturi let an 8 stroke lead slip, allowing Jack Burke Jr. to claim the title, and in 1936 Harry Cooper blew a 4-shot lead over the final round.

Scheffler started round three a full twelve shots off the lead, his Saturday heroics reduced the deficit to 4, and it reminded Nick Faldo, on Sky commentary duty of his remarkable comeback at Le Golf National in Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Scheffler, the 2024 Masters Champion, began the final round in France 4 shots back of joint leaders Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, and through 9 holes of the final round he was five shots off the pace. A stunning second nine holes of 29 saw him win the Gold Medal by a single shot from Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood. It was an extraordinary comeback victory, and another such comeback today would give Scheffler his fifth Major title and he would join the legends of the game with 3 or more Green Jackets.

Australia's Jason Day was in the thick of things 15 years ago when Rory McIlroy melted on the final day and Charl Schwartzel won, with Day finishing in a tie for second, The 2015 PGA Champion was inside the top 10 last year, and will begin the final round today 3 off the lead. His improved form has seen him return to the upper echelons of the game, recording 6 top 10 finishes over the last 12 months, but the stark fact is that Jason Day has won just one tournament in the last 8 years. Does he have the ability to get into serious contention today, and the guts to get over the line? You have to question both.

Playing alongside Day, in an Ashes Battle, will be Justin Rose. Nobody who hasn't won this tournament has a better record around Augusta National, and he will surely figure prominently when we get to the second nine holes on Sunday once more. The 2015, 2017 and 2025 Runner-up has won the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines earlier this year, and he has the resilience to stick around when the pressure ramps up, as it will do today.

It is 10 years since an Englishman won the Masters, and Rose would love to crown his illustrious career by becoming the third Englishman to don the Green Jacket. The fact is, all four English wins in this tournament have come from behind on the final day.

In 1989 Nick Faldo started the final round four shots behind Ben Crenshaw, winning in a playoff against Scott Hoch. 12 months later Faldo was three behind Raymond Floyd, and incredibly he prevailed again in a playoff. 6 years on, and 30 years ago he entered the final day 6 shots back of Greg Norman, and we all know what happened. Then in 2016 Danny Willett trailed the leader Jordan Spieth by 3 after 54, and by 5 after 63 holes, remarkably coming out on top.

Rose began the final round 7 back of McIlroy last year, and a round of 10 birdies saw him shoot 66 and finish in a tie, heading to another playoff. Rose has done almost everything in the game, winning on all six continents, winning the US Open, claiming Olympic Gold and being number one in the world, along with lifting the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai titles. Almost nobody would begrudge him a first Green Jacket.

In the penultimate group we have American Sam Burns, and Ireland's Shane Lowry.

I interviewed Sam Burns when he played in the US Junior Ryder Cup team at Blairgowrie in 2014, and 12 years on he could claim his first Major title. On a course where putting is so important, Burns is comfortable, as one of the best putters in the world. Burns has won five times on the PGA TOUR but not for three years, and without recent experience of getting over the line it would seem like Burns is the underdog today.

His playing partner this afternoon is Shane Lowry, and the 2019 Open Champion is looking to emulate his good friend Rory and become the second Irish winner of The Masters. His third round was highlighted by a hole-in-one at the par-three sixth hole, becoming the first man to have 2 or more aces in The Masters. His shotmaking ability make him a serious contender today, and being inspired by Rory's exploits he could feature prominently at the end of the day.

The final pairing are the two most recent Players Champions and start the final round with a 1 shot lead. Cameron Young surged through the field with a round of 65 to set the clubhouse target at 11-under-par, and there are now 8 players within four shots of the leaders. Young defeated fellow European Ryder Cup player Matt Fitzpatrick to win last month's Players Championship at Sawgrass, and his play on Saturday suggested he could definitely add a Green Jacket to that trophy on Sunday.

Young, who came to prominence at the 150th Open, here in St Andrews, 4 years ago, made his breakthrough last year with a first PGA TOUR win at the Wyndham Championship, before claiming The Players a few weeks ago. The American, from New York, is 28 and was born a month after Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters, and he will head into Sunday with a share of the lead and a chance to emulate the icon by making The Masters his first Major triumph.

Young began Saturday 8 shots adrift of McIlroy, but remarkably took the lead after McIlroy's bogey on the 12th hole, and with 8 birdies of his own he put himself into Sunday's final group.

McIlroy may have thought he would come into the final round with a comfortable lead, having started six clear on Saturday, but in some ways it may be a good thing he is in a battle. Rory will have to fare better off the tee today to have any chance of successfully defending his title, but given the way he won it in 2025 there can be no doubt he is the favourite, and if he does perform the way we all know he can then History Beckons for the Northern Irishman.

60 years ago in the 30th Masters Jack Nicklaus won his 6th Major title, at Augusta. 30 years ago in the 60th Masters Sir Nick Faldo won his 6th Major title, at Augusta. Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away from winning his 6th Major, and equalling the number won by Europe's modern great, pulling to within 1 title of the record set by Harry Vardon more than 112 years ago.

Enjoy the final round of the 90th Masters.

SHANK, by Matt Hooper