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Cameron Young takes solo lead at 2026 Masters, Rory McIlroy falls to second after six-stroke lead

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh04/11/26griffin_mcveigh

Rory McIlroy went to sleep on Friday night in Augusta with a six-stroke lead at the 2026 Masters. And before his round was even completed on Saturday afternoon, everything had vanished. There is a new leader on Moving Day, as Cameron Young sits atop the leaderboard.

Young was actually further back than six when walking onto the first tee, needing to make up eight strokes on McIlroy. He has been incredible in the third round and once again found another birdie on the 16th hole. A nice putt from range originally put him into a tie for first with McIlroy. However, the solo lead came shortly after.

“Oh, can you believe it?” the CBS broadcast asked. “He was eight back at the start of the day.” You can check out the full moment here.

Of course, there is still a ton of golf to take place at Augusta National. Young will get some time to watch McIlroy and a few others finish out their rounds from the clubhouse. He will certainly be hoping to walk in there with the lead. If nothing else, there is a great chance he is a part of the final group of Sunday afternoon.

Cameron Young came to 2026 Masters with confdience due to win at The Players

This nice run from Young is not coming out of nowhere. The American has been playing some really nice golf lately. Seven starts during the 2026 season have all seen made cuts. To make matters even better, Young finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before winning The Players.

He even admitted what winning The Players did for him from a confidence standpoint. Young certainly feels like he is able to get the job done right now.

“Certainly a confidence boost,” Young said. “It’s more validation that when I play well, I can put myself in those situations. I feel like I’ve been in plenty of them the last four, five years. Nice, over the last eight months or so, to have two of them, kind of, shake out my way.”

Young has been in the Masters field four times before this year. Results have been completely opposite of one another. Two missed cuts are on the resume, while two top 10s are also there. His best finish came in 2023 with a T-7. An opportunity to best himself once again is certainly there and maybe even earning a green jacket.