Patrick Reed keeps his Masters lead, withstanding a flurry of 65s

Augusta, Ga. • Saturday looked a lot like a Sunday in the Masters, with a bunch of golfers making eagles, shooting 65s and creating a stir all around Augusta National Golf Club.

Credit the weather, the shotmaking ability and the fearlessness of some of golf’s young stars for a day that will be tough to top. Not much could happen in Sunday’s final round to eclipse the show these guys staged Saturday, when former Augusta State golfer Patrick Reed posted a 67 and barely added to his lead.

Reed is 14 under par through 54 holes, but Rory McIlroy’s 18th-hole birdie gave him one of the day’s three 65s and left him only three strokes behind. Sunday’s final twosome will re-enact their 2016 Ryder Cup match, won by Reed. Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm, the other members of the Saturday 65 Club, are within five and six shots, respectively.

Each of those four players made at least one eagle, with Reed’s pair of 3s at Nos. 13 and 15 coming in key moments. He had just bogeyed the par-3 No. 12 and was feeling the heat from McIlroy before responding in a big way.

“The biggest thing is, because I was in the last tee time, I had the last holes to play that those guys were birdieing,” Reed said. “I knew that I had opportunities coming up.”

He maximized those chances with two eagles, including a chip-in on No. 15 from near the 16^th tee. Saturday’s fireworks were the kind of stuff that traditionally happens on the back nine on Sunday at Augusta National, where the final-round hole locations are accommodating and designed to produce drama. In this weekend’s case, the greens were softened just enough by light rain Saturday morning, while the forecasted wind and adverse weather stayed away.

The convergence of those elements led to low scoring — notably on the front nine, which is usually tougher than the back nine. McIlroy chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 and made three birdies for a front-side 31, which brought some big possibilities into play for him. But he failed to birdie No. 13 — luckily finding his ball in the azaleas and making a par — while picking up birdies on Nos. 15 and 18, where his tee shot bounced off a tree and into the fairway.

“I wish I was a little closer to the lead,” McIlroy said, “but I’m in the final group and I’ve shot 65 on moving day at the Masters. It’s all I can ask for.”

Fowler’s 65 launched him into third place and came after he shot 70-72 to begin the tournament. Rahm had opened with a 75, before playing his way into fourth after a 68-65 effort.

Reed’s third round was more adventurous than his pursuers’ experiences. It featured his fourth run of three straight birdies over two days, meaning he made 12 of them in a 28-hole stretch. He birdied Nos. 8, 9 and 10 on Saturday, and then added those two eagles to offset three bogeys.

Tony Finau, a Salt Lake City native and Lehi resident, faded to a tie for 15^th place with a 73. Nobody in the top 10 comes close to matching his Utah ties, although the Utah Junior Golf Association considers McIlroy an alumnus. McIlroy once spent a summer living with a family in Orem and playing in UJGA events with the Finau brothers, who are about his age (28).

If McIlroy wins Sunday and completes the career Grand Slam, the the UJGA will claim him even more strongly. But to do so, he’ll have to overtake Reed. That might require another 65, which is asking a lot.