Rory McIlroy, fighting case of the lefts at Masters, rushes to range for fix

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rory McIlroy is fighting a case of the lefts and if he wants to repeat as Masters champion he will need to fix it before the final round.

That’s why McIlroy hightailed it to the range after conducting his post-round press conference. It is tradition for the leader to do his question-and-answer period at the press center but McIlroy’s manager requested that his man speak at a podium outside of scoring instead so McIlroy could work on his game before darkness fell.

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On a day when the course was gettable, yielding two 65s and playing to a scoring average under 71, McIlroy backed up shooting 1-over 73 and his six-shot lead at the midway point is gone. McIlroy has been caught by Cameron Young and a logjam of contenders are piled up behind them.

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

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Best photos from the third round of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National

“Didn’t quite have it today,” McIlroy said.

He had several misses to the left, beginning at the par-3 sixth, where he escaped with a tidy up-and-down, but he wouldn’t be so fortunate when he tugged his approach at No. 11 into the water and made his first double bogey of the tournament. One hole later, he missed left at the par-3 12th and made another bogey. Even his birdie at 14, he pulled his wedge.

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“He should get to the (tournament practice facility) because he’s got something to work on…he has continued with these left misses,” said Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee. “This miss at 6 was flat out awful. You knew sooner or later trouble was going to come.”

Added Chamblee: “He’s got some work to do and things he has got to clean up.”

His Golf Channel colleague Paul McGinley disagreed and was less concerned about McIlroy’s swing getting across the line and coming in steep.

“I think he’s more complete and stronger mentally than he’s ever been before,” McGinley said. “He doesn’t have to play his best to win, we saw it at Sawgrass last year.”

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McIlroy knows he’s going to have to be sharper on Sunday to claim a second Green Jacket.

“There was just a couple where I had maybe awkward numbers or trying to take a little bit off and I missed those ones left,” McIlroy said. “So something to maybe go and work on tonight and, again, try to figure that out.”

After a long day at the course, McIlroy was grinding some more on the range with caddie Harry Diamond by his side, trying to dig it out of the dirt and neutralize his ball flight.

“I think for me it’s just about keeping my lower body moving. If I can just get my lower body moving through impact, then that should sort of fix it,” McIlroy said.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy works to fix swing at 2026 Masters after third-round 73