The full Rory experience sets stage for epic Sunday

There are few things in sports as thrilling as Rory McIlroy on a heater in a major championship.

Think of Steph Curry hitting a barrage of triples, Usain Bolt blowing past the field, or Michael Phelps exploding to the wall in the pool. That's how electric it can be when McIlroy's otherworldly talents are on display.

And that's what we saw to begin his third round Saturday at the Masters, as the 35-year-old provided a start that had the voice of the Masters for the past 39 years, Jim Nantz, in absolute awe.

"Can't ever recall a greater start to a round at Augusta than what we've just seen," Nantz said.

McIlroy announced his presence with a 371-yard missile off the first tee. A stuffed wedge to 10 feet and a perfect putt later, and he was off and running with a birdie. McIlroy only went 369 yards off the tee on No. 2 and flew his second just over the green. An up-and-down for birdie would have been great, but he instead produced a chip-in eagle for an incredible 3-3 start to the day.

The 3s kept pouring with a curling birdie on No. 3, a tap-in par on No. 4, and an emphatic birdie in the center of the cup from 18 feet on No. 5. That made him the first man ever to start a round at the Masters with five straight 3s - a run that ended after one more on No. 6.

But just as the vibes were reaching an all-time high, there was a harsh reminder that rounds of golf don't end after seven holes. Major championships are four days for a reason, and that reason is why McIlroy remains stuck on four major wins and claimed his last one over a decade ago.

On the par-5 eighth, traditionally one of the easiest holes at Augusta National, a tee shot into a fairway bunker forced a layup that left 150 yards in for his third. You'd bet on McIlroy to stuff that fairly close, but he flew the green and failed to get up-and-down for par from behind the surface. That was his first bogey on the eighth hole since 2018 and poured some cold water on the red-hot start.

Another iron approach flew far too long on the 10th, leading to a three-putt bogey. The panic lights were starting to flicker, and the tension reached a boiling point when he left a 7-footer for par on the 11th. But he drilled it to calm the stirring masses.

The fun returned with the par-5 13th. After eagling the hole in incredible fashion Friday, McIlroy once again attacked with his second, ending up just off the green for a comfortable up-and-down for birdie.

By now, the golfing world is well aware of McIlroy's blunder on the par-5 15th from Thursday, when he chipped into the water and walked off with a double-bogey. There would be no such repeat Saturday after perhaps one of the best shots we've ever seen the World No. 2 hit. A majestic 6-iron from 206 yards to six feet set up his second eagle of the day and his third in his last six par 5s played.

That stretched his lead to four, and only Bryson DeChambeau - who you may remember him from a previous McIlroy major heartbreak - was able to cut into that lead over the final three holes. The electric DeChambeau came up with a birdie on 16 and a 48-footer on the last hole to make it just a two-shot deficit heading into Sunday.

The two will now play together in the final group. It's a matchup golf fans across the world have been dreaming of since DeChambeau's incredible 72nd-hole bunker shot secured the win at last year's U.S. Open.

So what do we expect Sunday? Recency bias suggests McIlroy struggles to close majors, but he's actually closed four majors out of five in his career when going into the day with a 54-hole solo lead.

That one miss? The Masters in 2011, when a 21-year-old McIlroy ballooned to a final-round 80 and crashed back to 15th-place. If you think that's in the past, it was just one month ago when he grabbed a fan's phone during a practice round at The Players after he chirped him about that collapse.

McIlroy is certainly performing better than DeChambeau through three rounds. The long-hitting LIV superstar is holding things together with a scrambling performance for the ages.

DeChambeau leads the field in strokes gained: around the green through 54 holes but finished in the bottom six on approach in Saturday's round. McIlroy holds a massive edge on the entire field in strokes gained: tee to green, a stat that suggests his form is more sustainable than DeChambeau's.

However, if we've learned one thing about McIlroy over the years, it's that you're just as likely to see a runaway victory as you are a heartbreaking loss.

It won't be long until we know which one we see this time around.