Ewan Murray’s final verdict has landed, so that’s the cue to wind down this live blog. Congratulations to the two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy, commiserations to Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose and Cameron Young, who ran him so close; and thanks to you for sticking with us over the four days. See you again next month for the PGA Championship. In the meantime, here’s how the top of that Leader Board looks after four days of drama that will live long in the memory.

-12: Rory McIlroy
-11: Scottie Scheffler
-10: Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Cameron Young
-9: Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns
-8: Max Homa, Xander Schauffele
-7: Jake Knapp
-5: Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day
-4: Viktor Hovland, Maverick McNealy, Matt Fitzpatrick
-3: Keegan Bradley, Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark
-2: Matt McCarty, Adam Scott, Samuel Stevens, Chris Gotterup, Michael Brennan, Brian Campbell
-1: Alex Noren, Harris English, Shane Lowry

In his Butler Cabin interview, Rory picked his tee shot at 12 as perhaps the most important of the final round. Here’s Andy Bull on how Rory defied conventional wisdom to take on Golden Bell.

The runner-up Scottie Scheffler, who came so close with that late charge, and will rue his second round of 74, speaks to Sky. “I put up a good fight this weekend … starting 12 shots back on Saturday is not ideal … to give myself a good chance on Sunday was definitely a good fight … come up short … but proud of how I played … I did some good stuff this weekend.”

A disappointed but stoic Justin Rose speaks to Sky Sports. “I was right there … two untimely bogeys at 11 and 12 … played well … gave myself every opportunity … Amen Corner got me this time … people have followed my close calls … they were really good to me … I thank everyone for their support … I’ll come back next year and give everything … I’ll be excited to do it.”

So Rory joins Jack, Sir Nick and Tiger in the elite club of players to win consecutive Masters. He becomes the 15th man to win six or more majors, tying Faldo’s second-place record as a European winner (behind Harry Vardon who had seven). Do we think he’ll stop here? He’s not going to want to stop here, is he.

18: Jack Nicklaus
15: Tiger Woods
11: Walter Hagen
9: Ben Hogan, Gary Player
8: Tom Watson
7: Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer
6: Rory McIlroy, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Phil Mickelson

For the record, that was a bogey up the last. A round of 71. It looked like it was all getting away from him after double bogey at 4, three-putting from close range, and bogey at 6. He seemed bereft of ideas, unsure how to turn the tide, struggling as he did all day yesterday. But then he did what the true champions do: he dug deep for a birdie-birdie blast at 7 and 8, shifting the momentum back in his direction, and never let up from there. Even if he did cause a few hearts to flutter with his approach that only just got over the water at 15, the putt from the swale at 16, the chip up the bank at 17, and then the drive into the trees on 18. Throw in his shenanigans in the pines on 13 yesterday, an ersatz reworking of Jordan Spieth at Birkdale that stemmed some bleeding and inspired a birdie bounce-back, and he’s been made to work for this title. Hey, he’s made all of us work while watching him do it! And yes, really, we surely wouldn’t have him any other way. It’s all part of the charm.

It was never going to be quite as emotional as last year … and yet it’s not far off. The tears aren’t far from the surface as he hugs every member of his family, all the generations, then the nearest Green Jacket. The entire gallery en fete! He made it tough for himself today – oh, and yesterday - but he got there in the end. Would we have him any other way? He becomes only the fourth player to retain his Masters title, after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. Oh, and it’s major number six, for those counting!

Cameron Young rolls in his putt. A disappointing final round of 73 for the Players champion, who led for a while on Masters Sunday, but at least the par gives him a share of third. He finishes the week at -10.

… and he very nearly holes it! The ball slides an inch wide right of the cup. He marks, waiting for his moment of glory. He allows himself a smile. After all that drama, that inevitable Rory drama, he’s made it!

Cameron Young’s second ends up in the swale to the left of the green. He bundles a chip up to 12 feet. That putt for a share of third. Over to Rory, who once again isn’t hanging around. He takes a read of his 12-footer …

… thumps out to 15 feet. He’ll have two putts from there for the Masters. Nothing certain. But he’d have taken this outcome while watching his tee shot carve away into trouble.

Rory finishes his route planning. It’s time to act. He whips over the trees … but where’s the ball?! The cameras haven’t found it yet. Ah, after a fashion, it’s sourced in the bunker front-left of the green. It’s half-plugged. Rory doesn’t fancy hanging about. He prowls around again, sizing everything up, before clambering into the green, and …

Cameron Young’s tee shot toys with the trees down the left, but stops near the bunkers. Meanwhile up on the green, Sam Burns pars for a final round of 73; he’s -9. Shane Lowry bogeys for an 80 to end the week at -1. And back down the hole, Rory prowls around the trees trying to work out a route to the green. He puffs out his cheeks again and mutters an eff-me under his breath. He can’t believe he’s put himself through the ringer like this.

Out comes the big stick. Rory takes a gulp, tees up his ball, and … sends a wild slice into the bushes and trees down the right. Oh my. His ball’s ended up sitting cleanly on pine straw, but there’s not an obvious route towards the green. Welcome to the world premiere of He Was Never Going To Do It The Easy Way II.

Justin Rose’s second into 18 falls off the false front. He chips up to six feet. In goes the putt. Par for a 70, and he’ll finish the week at -10. Still no Green Jacket for Rose, and he won’t be runner-up this year either. The best he can do is a tie for third. Meanwhile over on 17, Rory McIlroy tidies up, and he’ll have a two-shot lead coming up the last. That driver had better behave.

-13: McIlroy (17)
-11: Scheffler (F)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (F), Rose (F), Young (17)

Just as he did on Friday afternoon, Rory McIlroy pushes his approach at 17 to the right of the green and down the slope. He chipped in from here then … and he nearly does the same thing again. On Friday it was a scamper across the green; this one, with the flag a lot closer, was bumped into the bank and released to a couple of feet. He should save his par from a couple of feet … but then this is Masters Sunday, so let’s not assume anything.

Up on the 17th green, Shane Lowry taps in for par. We’ve neither seen nor heard from the 2019 Open champion for hours, and that’s because his bid was pretty much kaput when he battered his ball into the face of a fairway bunker on 5. Since then, he’s carded a couple of double bogeys, a couple of bogeys, and a couple of birdies. He’s seven over for his round and away down the standings at -2. A day to forget. Bogey for his playing partner Sam Burns, whose slim hopes are now over at -9.

… and in the meantime, Justin Rose chips up to three feet from the front of 17 … then misses the tiddler for par. It looks like yet more heartbreak for the three-time Masters runner-up. McIlroy then batters a fairway-splitter down 17, while Rose finds the second cut to the left of 18. If this was any old event on Tour, you’d call the result. It’s not, though, is it?

-13: McIlroy (16)
-11: Scheffler (F)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (F), Rose (17), Burns (16), Young (16)

The pressure’s on Rory McIlroy. He’s in the swale behind the 16th green, 45 feet away. But there’s almost 30 feet of left-to-right break! He sends his putt almost at a right-angle away from the hole, up the slope, the ball then u-turning and rolling serenely, elegantly, to cup-side. In your life have you ever seen a putt like that?! He taps in for par, and that’s a huge save in the circumstances. Cameron Young’s birdie effort horseshoes out, and his face crumples in the manner of a man who knows his race is almost certainly run.

… and right on cue, Rory air-mails his tee shot over the green at 16! He’s in the swale at the back. Plenty of work to be done from there. Cameron Young meanwhile lands in the centre of the green, the slope taking his ball down to 15 feet. It’s far from done and dusted.

Rory McIlroy rolls an almost perfectly weighted putt up the green to tap-in distance. Par, and an enormous banana skin avoided. Cameron Young can’t get up and down from the back of 15, and he really needed that to apply some heat on the leader. See also Scottie Scheffler, whose approach at 18 falls off the false front … and Justin Rose, who makes a similar error at 17. But there’s one last shy at glory from Sam Burns, who has followed up birdies at 13 and 14 with an outrageous 60-foot right-to-left swingers on 16! He’s -10. Too late? Probably. But again, if Rory stumbles …

-13: McIlroy (15)
-11: Scheffler (11), Rose (16)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (F), Burns (16), Young (15)

Scottie Scheffler splits the 18th fairway. Justin Rose slices his drive at 17 into the trees down the right … but the ball comes clanking back off a tree and into the fairway! And on 15, Cameron Young sends his second from the middle of the fairway over the back of the green, but not too far down the bank. Then Rory, forced to punch out from the pines, wedges into the green … but only just gets over the water! Audible gasps as the ball arcs over the water … descending too early maybe?! … no, it keeps going and holds the green! But that was too close for comfort. McIlroy takes a huge lug of air. A puff of relief. So close to disaster. But now he’s got two putts for par from 40 feet. Not ideal, but it could have been so much worse.

Justin Rose is left with a tricky downhill birdie putt on 16. A big left-to-right swing as well. He judges it almost to perfection, but the 27-footer stops one short. And in other Almost Perfect news, Scottie Scheffler’s straight downhill birdie effort on 17 somehow stays up on the left. One dimple to the side, and it would have been three birdies on the bounce. But he, like Rose, remains at -11. That might prove costly. Such a thin line between success and failure. They may now be reliant on Rory stumbling over the closing stretch. Which, well, y’know. We all remember last year. Anything could happen.

Scottie Scheffler, his tail up, sends his drive down the middle of 17. Then his second into the green. He’ll have an 18-footer for birdie. Back on 16, Justin Rose sends an adrenaline-fuelled iron over the flag, only just holding the green. And even further back, on 15, Cameron Young splits the fairway but Rory McIlroy deposits his tee shot in the trees on the right. Good luck predicting this, because Scheffler’s late arrival on the scene has shaken everything up.

Rory McIlroy’s uphill putt has a big left-to-right swing. He reads it perfectly, but doesn’t judge the distance so well. Well enough for a tap-in par, but that’s a shame for the leader. Then Cameron Young does the opposite thing: a perfect read that’s overhit. He leaves himself a tricky four-footer coming back, but in it goes for his par. Meanwhile over on 15, Justin Rose isn’t done yet either. He carves his approach miles wide right of the green. Opting to putt instead of chipping, he rolls through the swale and up onto the putting surface, from 45 feet to four. He tidies up for his birdie. Meanwhile par for Russell Henley at the last: a 68 and he joins Tyrrell Hatton as clubhouse leader at -10. It’s Masters Sunday, so of course everything is still up for grabs!

-13: McIlroy (14)
-11: Scheffler (16), Rose (15)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (F), Young (14)

Scottie makes his birdie at 16! And all of a sudden the two-time champion, who couldn’t get anything going for so long today, is making a belated move. Back on 14, Rory and Cam Young both find the heart of the green in regulation, but don’t get particularly close. Rory will give Young a read.

-13: McIlroy (13)
-11: Scheffler (16)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (17), Rose (14), Young (13)

Scottie Scheffler needs to keep the pedal to the floor now, if he’s to force Rory to stumble. McIlroy sends his drive down the right of 14, all good, but Scheffler guides his tee shot at 16 to nine feet, and he’ll have a straight look at another birdie. Meanwhile it’s a par-par finish for Collin Morikawa, who came back in 31 for a final round of 68 and a -9 finish.

That was one of the great Masters moments. Seconds between Scottie Scheffler sending the gallery at 15 into a frenzy and Rory McIlroy ripping the space-time continuum with similar antics at 13. The trading of haymakers by golf’s two biggest hitters.

Scottie Scheffler makes his big birdie putt on 15! A 20-foot right-to-left slider! What an outrageous birdie after all that nonsense in the pines! The gallery erupts! But it’s Bedlam Tennis, because seconds later, over on 13, Rory McIlroy rolls in his eight-foot birdie putt, and he extends his lead to three … and maintains the same advantage over Scheffler! What a back-and-forth that was! Out of the top drawer. That’ll live long as a proper Masters memory! Young, who has to make do with par, may feel this slipping away. But then we said that about Rory less than two hours ago, and now look!

-13: McIlroy (13)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (17), Scheffler (15), Rose (14), Young (13)

McIlroy and Young take different approaches to their third shots from the swale at the back of 13. McIlroy putts. A mammoth right-to-left break. It rolls ten feet past, but that’s not a bad result from there. Young opts to chip, and looks to have judged it perfectly. A right to left breaker as well, but not as pronounced. But the greens are baked, and the ball doesn’t stop. His heart in his mouth as it rolls towards the creek! But it stops a few feet short. And he’ll have an uphill look at birdie from 12 feet.

Justin Rose sends an awful second miles left of 14. But he redeems himself with a lovely bump up to tap-in distance. He blows his cheeks out with relief. He remains at -10. Meanwhile up on 15, Scottie Scheffler flays his drive into the woods down the right, then clips a branch while attempting to chip out. His ball remains in the straw … but does it really matter?! Because he spots a window and fashions a fizzer though it, whipping the ball into the centre of 15, from where he’ll have a look at birdie from 20 feet.

Cameron Young’s drive at 13 finds the second cut down the right. He sends his second over Rae’s Creek and into the swale back-left of the green. Then Rory McIlroy, having sent a 350-yard tee shot down the right side of the fairway, shapes to hit a 7-iron … then steps away as someone in the gallery coughs … then pulls his second into the same swale. He’s a bit further from the flag and on the downslope, so there’s a small advantage there for Young. McIlroy can be forgiven if he was thinking about what happened here last year, when he plopped his third into the water. Some fun matchplay shenanigans coming up!

Scottie isn’t giving up just yet. And having been forced to chop out from the trees down the left of 14, he uses the bowl shape of the green to bring his wedge from 57 yards to three feet. Par salvaged. Bogey would have surely put paid to his chances. But at -9, he’s still got an outside chance of making one last run. Meanwhile Xander Schauffele ends his week at -8 after a final round of 68. A return to form for the two-time major winner, just in time for major season.

Coming behind Scheffler, Justin Rose. He fires a stunning iron into the par-five 13th, over the creek from 208 yards to 30 feet. An outside chance for eagle … which he races eight feet past. He fails to get the one coming back, and that’s a careless three-putt par. He remains two off the lead at -10.

Scottie Scheffler hasn’t taken full advantage of the par-fives this week. He’s eagled the 2nd twice, and birdied the 8th twice. But he’s yet to birdie either 13 or 15 this week, bogeying both on Friday, and the 13th costs him again today. He lays up in front of Rae’s Creek, then wedges to 11 feet, but can’t make the birdie putt. Slightly deflated, he then sends his drive at 14 into the trees down the left, and is forced to hack out. Right now, it doesn’t look like the world number one has enough juice in the tank to make the final push. He remains -9 for now.

Young’s birdie effort is always kinking off to the right. A chance for McIlroy to put a bit of distance between himself and the field … and he rolls in the gentle left-to-right slider for birdie! After starting so shakily, he’s regained control of this Masters. But if history teaches us anything … and it does … there is still an awfully long way to go, and there’s many a slip, etc.

-12: McIlroy (12)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (15), Rose (12), Young (12)
-9: Morikawa (16), Scheffler (13)

Forgive me, the distances aren’t of a piece. Not quite. Rory is six feet 11 inches away, the closest to the hole at 12 today; Young is 14 feet and three inches away, which is still the sixth best result of this final round.

Rory McIlroy with a glorious wedge into the par-three 12th! His ball lands 25 feet to the left of the pin, and guides right to seven feet! The pressure’s cranked up on Cameron Young … who having conquered the island 17th green at Sawgrass to win the Players, knows a thing or two about shots like these. And he follows Rory to similar distance! Another two big putts coming up in this final group … but they’re for birdie this time.

Rory pours his par putt in! That’s a big par saver. Young makes his shorter par putt too. They remain at -11 and -10 respectively. Meanwhile over on 16, Collin Morikawa makes it five birdies in a row after whipping his tee shot to four feet. He’s -9! Out of nowhere!

McIlroy faces a 60-foot putt up to the pin. The drink behind. He’s understandably not going to race his putt at the flag … but he shouldn’t be so timid that he leaves it 13 feet short. Young is a little bit tentative as well, his effort from 40 feet stopping four short. Two big par putts coming up.

Turns out Cameron Young’s drive ended up a little bit too far to the right down 11 for comfort. He’s got overhanging branches to deal with. No problem, though! He works out a low cut that turns into the front of the green and stops 40 feet from the flag. Rory McIlroy, from a better position, but very much mindful of his getting wet here yesterday afternoon, aims for the fat portion of the green, front right. A long way from the pin, but dry.

Russell Henley doesn’t hit his birdie putt on 14. It dies apologetically to the right. Just a par. And it’s just a bogey for Justin Rose at 12; a staunch five-footer limits the damage. Meanwhile it’s four birdies in a row for Collin Morikawa, between 12 and 15. A wee bit too late for the two-time major winner, surely, but this will whistle him up the standings. He’s -8.

-11: McIlroy (10)
-10: Hatton (F), Henley (14), Rose (12), Young (10)
-9: Scheffler (12)

Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young take turns to make two-putt pars from the back of 10. They move on. Both send no-nonsense drives down 11. Meanwhile up on 14, Russell Henley arrows his second straight at the flag, leaving a 15-foot uphill birdie chance. And then back on 12, Justin Rose sends his tee shot long and left of the green, then duffs his chip into the bank. He putts up, and rolls a clumsy effort five feet past. This could end up being very costly.

The final group arrives at the 10th tee … so welcome to the start of the 90th Masters Tournament, everyone! Rory McIlroy, who so famously came a cropper here in 2011, takes 3-wood that leaves him with a long shot in. He sends his ball onto the fringe at the back of the green. Cameron Smith follows him there, a wee bit inside, so he’ll get a read on his putt. Meanwhile up on 13, Russell Henley makes bounce-back birdie, while on 11, Justin Rose’s par putt slithers wide left. Amen Corner takes a little chunk out of the leader.

-11: Rose (11), McIlroy (9)
-10: Hatton (17), Henley (13), Young (9)
-9: Scheffler (12)
-8: Homa (F), Schauffele (16)

Justin Rose finds the centre of the 11th fairway with his drive … but, surely mindful of the watery grave guarding the front left of the green, sends his approach way right. He’s got a huge bunker to negotiate from the bottom of the swale, and that water’s still on the other side. So he does pretty well to land his ball softly in the middle of the green. But he’ll still need to make a downhill 15-footer if he’s to save his par and remain in sole ownership of the lead.

Cameron Young’s long par effort on 9 has a huge right-to-left swing. He does exceptionally well to tickle it down to close range, but that’ll be a third bogey in four holes. Rory can’t make his birdie putt, and wanders off wearing a stoic grin that quickly segues into a grimace. But he’s up on the deal with his playing partner. Meanwhile up on 17, Tyrrell Hatton chips to six feet from the back of 17, a fine effort across the big green, then dribbles in the par saver. He’s so close now to posting something that will ask serious questions of the folk who’ll still be out on the course.

-12: Rose (10)
-11: McIlroy (9)
-10: Hatton (17), Young (9)
-9: Henley (12), Scheffler (12)
-8: Homa (F), Schauffele (16)

Cameron Young has enjoyed his fair share of luck this week. Three big pings back into play from the woods. But he doesn’t get one this time, down the right of 9. He’s forced to punch out from the pine straw, and his ball ends up in a divot. That’s dreadful luck, and he’s not able to get any sort of action on his wedge in. He finds the green, but back right with the pin front left. A very testing two putts for bogey coming up. Meanwhile his partner Rory McIlroy, definitely re-energised, screws his wedge from the centre of the fairway, 135 yards out, to six feet. Potentially another big swing coming up.

Russell Henley makes his first mistake of the day. His tee shot at Golden Bell, the iconic par-three 12th, nearly disappears into the picturesque but dangerous azalea bed at the back. He chips up to seven feet, but gets up and out of the par putt too early. Bogey, and he slips back to -9.

“Be lucky!” Tyrrell Hatton shouts after his ball as he sends it towards the tall pines down the left of 17. And he gets a break. There’s a window to shoot through for the green … but he doesn’t take full advantage, his ball toppling off the back-left, with the flag away on the other side. Still, a chance to get up and down to save his par, which he’d have probably taken when he was making that aforementioned plea.

The patrons ooh with concern as Cameron Young sends his chip from the bottom of the swale to the right of 8 onto the bank on the other side. But he meant to do it. He uses the tilt to bring his ball back onto the green, stopping five feet short. That’s a work of genius, and it’s worthy of the birdie that follows. Then Rory’s eagle putt. It’s always coming up short. But it’s close enough for birdie. Both players nudge a shot closer to the leader.

-12: Rose (9)
-11: Young (8), McIlroy (8)
-10: Hatton (16), Henley (11)

Rory McIlroy suddenly looks re-energised. He sends his drive at the par-five 8th down the left-hand side of the fairway … then slings a fairway wood around the trees and into the heart of the green, the ball rolling up to 25 feet. He’ll have a great look at eagle! Cameron Young is off the green to the right. Meanwhile it’s four birdies in a row for Tyrrell Hatton, who fires his tee shot at 16 over the flag, before rolling the eight-footer into the cup! He’s -10, and if he can get home safely, he’ll be posting a number!

… then Rory McIlroy, having wedged over the flag to eight feet, tickles in the downhill putt for birdie! A big momentum shifter, a two-shot swing between the members of the final group, and how quickly the picture can change on Sunday afternoon!

-11: Rose (8)
-10: Henley (10), Young (7), McIlroy (7)
-9: Scheffler (9)

A big mistake by Cameron Young from the centre of the 7th fairway. He dunks his approach into a bunker guarding the front of the green. He can’t get up and down, and that’s two shots gone in as many holes. Before that, he’d dropped just one in 31. The pressure of Masters Sunday, patrons. Justin Rose is the sole leader of the Masters!

Back-to-back birdies for Tyrrell Hatton at 13 and 14. He’s -8, and if he can make his way home strongly, could post something that would at least ask a question of the players currently above him.

Rory McIlroy, having sent his tee shot at the par-three 6th over the back, elects to putt up from the swale. He only just gets the ball up on the putting surface. That’s poor, and he’s left with a 15-footer he can’t make. It’s been a miserable weekend for the defending champion so far, and by the defeated look on his face, that doesn’t look like changing any time soon. A man who knows he’s misplaced his mojo and the jig is up? Well, perhaps, but Cameron Young, having lagged up to six feet from 70, lets his par putt slip by on the low side. A slight pull. McIlroy is doing his best to play himself out of this Tournament, and yet he’s not cut adrift just yet.

-11: Young (6)
-10: Henley (9), Rose (7)
-9: Scheffler (8), McIlroy (6)
-8: Burns (7)
-7: Homa (16), Hatton (13)

Scottie Scheffler takes putter from the fringe at the back of 8. He rolls up with confidence, and it looks like dropping … but this one slingshots out to the right. Scheffler high-kicks in frustration. But that’s a par, one he’d have snatched your hand off for when watching his drive disappear into the pines.

Should Cameron Young close this out today, he’ll tie the Masters record for the biggest comeback after 36 holes. That currently stands at eight, set by Jack Burke in 1956. Should either Scottie Scheffler or Russell Henley make it, they’d obliterate the record by four additional strokes. But there’s an awfully long way to go before we consider any of this seriously, and Young lands on the wrong portion of the 6th green, leaving himself 70 feet away; Henley also leaves himself a long two-putt for par, on 9; and Scheffler, though he’s able to advance his ball from the trees on 8, sends his third over the back of the green. Yep, an awfully long way to go.

Cameron Young sends his ball over the back of 5. His chip back up isn’t all that, but he walks in the 15-footer to save his par. Young and Scottie Scheffler are taking turns to make the big saves that win you tournaments like this.

-12: Young (5)
-10: Henley (8), Rose (7), McIlroy (5)
-9: Scheffler (7)
-8: Burns (6)
-7: Day (6)
-6: Homa (15), Hatton (12), Cantlay (8), Lowry (6)

One of the shots of the week from Justin Rose! He’s in the pines down the right of 7. It doesn’t look as though there’s much on, but he manufactures a low cut under the branches and into the heart of the green, a combination of side-spin and the bowl shape of the putting surface taking his ball to the right and back down to tap-in range. He punches the air knowing that’s just a couple of inches away. He’ll be tapping in for a birdie that will take him to -10.

Scottie puts everything into his drive at the par-five 8th, and loses it way left for the second hole in a row. He drops his driver on the follow-through as his ball disappears into the pines. Danger over there. But up on the green, Russell Henley chips up close from the back and tidies up for birdie. It’s his 37th birthday today, and this could end up being quite the gift. He’s two off the lead at -10!

Scottie Scheffler makes his second outrageous par save in a row! Having sent his drive into the trees down the left of 7, he can only knock his second to the left of the green. His chip trundles 11 feet past, but he strokes the putt coming back into the centre of the cup, and sometimes par saves feel even bigger than birdies. Just ask Rory McIlroy. He remains at -9.

Big bother for Shane Lowry on 5. He sends his drive into the big fairway bunker down the left. Then he catches the top lip of the trap with his second, the ball pinging back and to the left. He does very well to manufacture a low hook from the trees into the front of the green, but he’s left with a putt of over 100 feet, and three more strokes later, it’s a double. At -6, that’s probably his race run.

The 2015 and 2016 champion Jordan Spieth is the new clubhouse leader. Birdie at the last, the reward for sending his second pin high to 12 feet, and that’s a 68 for one of the most entertaining players on Tour. He finishes his week at -5, and c’mon Jordan, get it done next month in the PGA at Aronimink, complete that career slam.

Russell Henley could be the surprise package to spring out of the pack. He nearly replicates the fairway heroics of Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton on 7, but his iron from 150 yards stops a couple of turns short. Never mind, it’s a birdie that brings the local hero, who tied for fourth in 2023, right into the mix! And the perennial bridesmaid Justin Rose isn’t going anywhere: he fires his approach at 5 from 238 yards to 30 feet, and rails home the birdie putt! They’re both -9 now, alongside Scottie Scheffler, who makes a 15-foot putt from the fringe at the back of 6 to save his par after a clumsy chip. This Masters is really getting going now.

-12: Young (3), McIlroy (3)
-9: Henley (7), Scheffler (6), Rose (5)
-8: Burns (4), Lowry (4)
-7: Matsuyama (16), Day (5)

Rory rolls his birdie putt in on 3! That up and down from that bunker way down the bank should pick him up. He re-joins Cameron Young, who takes a careful two putts for par, in the lead. Meanwhile on the long par-four 4th, Sam Burns stops the rot by getting up and down from the front of the green … but Shane Lowry three-putts to drop back and join him at -8.

-12: Young (3), McIlroy (3)
-9: Scheffler (5), Lowry (3)
-8: Henley (6), Day (4), Rose (4), Burns (4)
-7: Cantlay (5)

Yes, this could be Cameron Young’s year all right. He carves a wild drive into the trees down the right of 3 … but the ball clanks off a tree trunk and back out into the fairway! He wedges on in two. The golfing gods continue to smile down on him. Unless they’re storing up one heck of a sucker punch on the back nine. Meanwhile Rory finds the Scheffler-Burns bunker, and whips one of those hard-yet-somehow-soft splashes up and over the ten-foot face, to ten feet.

Sam Burns drives into the bunker front-left of 3. Scottie got up and down from it; Burns leaves his ball in. He gets out with his second attempt, but can’t make the six-footer he’s got for par. That fast start didn’t last long. He’s -8. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rory hit the fairway on 2,” writes Simon Farnaby, perhaps stretching a point for comic effect, then following with some words which Family Website Editor tells me I’m not allowed to publish.

Cameron Young, having been slightly fortunate to see his ball squirting over the bunker, rolls in the left-to-right putt. He had a couple of big breaks from the trees yesterday, at 13 and 17; perhaps this is destined to be his year. Then it’s Rory McIlroy’s turn … and he gives his putt a little bit too much on the left. Cameron Young leads the Masters by himself!

-12: Young (2)
-11: McIlroy (2)
-9: Scheffler (4), Burns (2), Lowry (2)
-8: Henley (5), Li (4), Day (3), Rose (3)
-7: Cantlay (5)

Rory takes his medicine from the fairway bunker at 2. He’s got no option really. He wedges out to the centre of the fairway, then sends his third into the green to 15 feet. He’ll have a chance for birdie. As will Cameron Young, who only just gets his chip over the bunker guarding front right, but gets away with it, and will have a similar putt to Rory.

Bounce-back birdie for Shane Lowry at 2! The reward for a lovely wedge bundled into the front of the green, the camber taking his ball round to four feet. He’s back where he started at -9. But his partner Sam Burns ends up running up a double, little short of a disaster on one of the few gimme-birdie holes around this grand old place. And a backwards step for Justin Rose, who fails to lob a chip up from the bottom of the bank at the par-four 3rd. That’s cost him a shot.

-11: Young (1), McIlroy (1)
-9: Scheffler (4), Burns (2), Lowry (2)
-8: Henley (5), Li (4), Day (3), Rose (3)
-7: Hatton (9), Cantlay (5)
-6: Matsuyama (14), Åberg (10), Knapp (7)

Trouble for the joint leader Sam Burns on 2. He finds the trees down the right. He’s forced into a penalty drop, then a hack out … and then he flies the green with a wedge. Straight into the gallery sitting behind. Meanwhile back on the tee, Rory McIlroy’s driving travails continue apace, as he sends his ball into the fairway bunker on the right. He won’t be able to take a shy for the green from there.

Rory McIlroy is left with a pretty straight birdie putt on 1, certainly by the standards of Augusta National. But he doesn’t hit it at all. An early disappointment, though nothing on last year. Par for Cameron Young as well. Up on 3, Scottie Scheffler responds to his failure to birdie 2 with an up-and-down from greenside sand on 3. His playing partner Haotong Li makes birdie too.

-11: Burns (1), Young (1), McIlroy (1)
-9: Scheffler (3), Rose (2)
-8: Henley (4), Li (3), Day (2), Lowry (1)
-7: Hatton (8), Cantlay (4)

Some admin / recognition of notable final rounds. Keegan Bradley is in with a 66, equalling Gary Woodland’s best-of-day; he’s -3 overall. A 69 for the 2020 champ Dustin Johnson; he ends the week at level par. Maverick McNealy joins Viktor Hovland in the clubhouse lead at -4 after equalling his 67.

An opening birdie for Sam Burns in the penultimate group. A lovely downhill putt from 30 feet, and he joins the leaders at -11. His playing partner Shane Lowry however takes a heavy-handed chip from the front of 1, and bogey takes him the other way. No birdie for Scheffler on 2, meanwhile, but Tyrrell Hatton follows up his spectacular eagle on 7 with birdie at 8.

-11: Burns (1), Young, McIlroy
-9: Rose (1)
-8: Scheffler (2), Day (1), Lowry (1)
-7: Hatton (8), Cantlay (3), Henley (3), Li (2)

Scottie takes putter from the back of 2. He only just gets his putt through the fringe, though the margins are small, and it still dribbles down to six feet. But he’s not 100 percent happy with that. A thin-lipped smile as he considers his birdie putt. Meanwhile a bogey for Viktor Hovland on 18, and he ends the week with a 67 at -4. That round promised more. He’s the new clubhouse leader, though.

Justin Rose isn’t wasting time either! He chips in from the swale to the right of Tea Olive, and the three-time runner-up moves to within a couple of the lead at -9. The gallery, who wouldn’t say no to the genial Rose getting his flowers at last, erupt in delight. Meanwhile over on 2, Scottie Scheffler fires his second into the green, but over the back. Still a decent opportunity to get up and down from close-ish range, though. A sense that this Masters is about to catch fire, and the leaders aren’t even out yet. Fingers crossed for an all-time classic. Another all-time classic. Two in two years too much to ask?

You’ll have noticed Tyrrell Hatton popping up at the bottom of that updated Leader Board at -6. That’s because he’s just holed out for eagle on 7 from 131 yards, landing his ball 15 feet over the flag and spinning it back into the cup! Earlier on today, Aaron Rai did the exact same thing, from 137 yards, so it’s been a good day on Pampas for the English. Rai ended his week at +5 after a round of 70.

Scottie Scheffler isn’t wasting time. A high cut around the branches from the pine straw down the left of 1 into the heart of the green. A mirror-image version of the wedge Bubba Watson played from the trees at 10 to win the play-off in 2012. He’s seven feet away. In goes the birdie putt, and if the leaders weren’t already worried^†, they are now^††. Bogey for his playing-partner Haotong Li, though, the cost of leaving his approach short.

-11: Young, McIlroy
-10: Burns
-9: Lowry
-8: Scheffler (1), Day, Rose
-7: Knapp (4), Henley (1)
-6: Åberg (7), Hatton (7), Schauffele (5), Reed (2), Cantlay (1), Li (1)

^{†: They were
††: They already were}

Jake Knapp doesn’t have much of a record in the majors. A tie for 55th at the 2024 Masters, a couple of missed cuts at the PGA, another missed cut at the US Open. But the 31-year-old Californian did tie for 12th at the Players last year, and is poised to build on that here. An opening round of 73 followed by a pair of 69s, and with birdies at 1 and 3 he’s moved up the standings to -7.

Viktor Hovland responds magnificently to that double-bogey blow on 15. The pin on the famous par-three 16th is in its traditional Sunday position, front left, very accessible thanks to the downward camber of the green. Hovland finds the sweet spot that gathers his ball to six feet, then tidies up for birdie. He’s back to -5, and that’s the eighth birdie at 16 this afternoon already, with only 14 players having gone through so far.

Scottie Scheffler isn’t the only player looming large in the leaders’ rear-view mirrors. But you can bet your last shiny cent that Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy will consider him the most dangerous one. A world number-one ranking and two Green Jackets kind of add to the aura. Starting the day four behind at -7, it’ll take some effort from Scheffler, but if anyone can, Scottie’s the man. So having teed him up thus, he sends his opening drive wide of the bunker on the right-hand side of the fairway. He might have to punch under some branches from there. We’ll see. He’s going around today with Haotong Li, who he played with on the final day of last year’s Open at Portrush. A good omen for the big man? We’ll see about that as well. Li launches long down the left-hand side of the track.

Turns out Viktor Hovland’s momentum-saving efforts on 14 were all for nought. Hitting his second into 15, he air-mails the green, sending an absurdly overhit iron onto the bank behind and into the pond near the 16th. He can’t find the green with his chip back up, and that’s a double-bogey seven. Again, he isn’t the first, he won’t be the last, and it’s a reminder that the carpet can be whipped from underneath your feet at Augusta National in an instant. He’s -4.

Marco Penge was making a good fist of his Masters debut. Especially as the 27-year-old from Crawley, the reigning Spanish Open champion, took a triple-bogey eight at the 2nd on Thursday. Not the most auspicious start to his Augusta National career, but he limited the first-round damage to 76, then shot 69 and 71. Sadly his final round isn’t going so well, and he’s just dumped two balls in the water at the iconic par-three 12th, the first spinning back off the bank, the second from the dropzone not even getting over to dry land before dunking into the drink. A quadruple-bogey seven. He isn’t the first, he won’t be the last, and things could have gotten a whole lot worse, just ask the Towering Inferno …

Bogey at the last for Jon Rahm. A diminuendo end to a fine round of 68. You have to wonder how much buyer’s remorse Rahmbo has for joining the LIV tour: the 2021 US Open champion and 2023 Masters winner has never been the same player since. Still, his recovery this week from an opening round of 78 will give him a little succour. He ends his week at +1, one shy of the current clubhouse leader Gary Woodland.

We’re in that little major-championship sweet spot, the brief period of calm before the whipping up of a Sunday storm. So while we’re waiting for the leading players to take to the course, there’s time to indulge in a wee spot of Masters nostalgia. This episode of This Golfing Life, a wonderful new golf podcast hosted by the award-winning journalist and author Dan Davies, dives deep into the career of the 1980 and 1983 champion, the legendary Seve Ballesteros, and comes much recommended. (Fans of Paddington and Maurice Flitcroft may enjoy this episode too.) Get on it!

… so it’s probably time to update the Leader Board for the first time today. This is where we’re at for the moment. Meanwhile Viktor Hovland whips his second at 14 over the trees and into the heart of the green, and despite knocking his 25-foot birdie putt six past, tidies up to maintain his upward momentum. Quite a few of these lads, The Hov included, will be rueing their slow starts this week.

-11: Young, McIlroy
-10: Burns
-9: Lowry
-8: Day, Rose
-7: Scheffler, Li
-6: Hovland (14), Åberg (4), Knapp (1), Cantlay, Henley, Reed

Welcome, patrons, it’s time to clamber aboard the rollercoaster. Now then, if the wild and wonderful scenes of Moving Day are anything to go by, many things are possible today. The most likely is that either Rory McIlroy or Cameron Young will win: that’s because the last nine winners have come from the final pairing on Sunday. But there is precedent of a win from as far as eight shots back after 54 holes: Jack Burke Jr. pulled off that particular trick in 1956. Admittedly he only had three players ahead of him on the Leader Board, and it was blowing a field-scattering hoolie, but an eight-stroke comeback is an eight-stroke comeback, whichever way you spin it. Therefore anyone starting the day as low as -3 is technically in with a chance. At least according to the historical data. Even if they have 17 more players ahead of them than Burke did. And today’s conditions are benign. So let’s be realistic. But those are the facts, flat on the page.