The Masters -- End of Third Round

One reason that the Augusta National Golf Club is the greatest golf course in the world is that it is so good at identifying the best golfer of each generation. Generation after generation, the Next Great Star has revealed himself with a very early win at Augusta. Nicklaus won here when he was 23. Seve was 23 when he won in 1980. Tiger was 21 when he won in 1997. Now Rory McIlroy, at the age of 21, is set to take his place in that line.

It is impossible to overstate just how thoroughly McIlroy dominated the field today. Even when it was close, he never let anyone get too far away from him. He simply kept hitting the ball down the middle and putting it on the greens, well aware that the difficult pin placements would prevent anyone from going too low. Then down the stretch he took over the tournament as so many others have taken it over -- with easy birdies on 13 and 15, and a long putt on one of the other back nine holes (this time it was 17).

Of course, Masters history is full of third-round leaders who collapsed under the pressure of the last day. But those collapses tend to happen to second- or third-tier golfers. Based on what we've seen over the last two years, McIlroy belongs in the first tier, and I expect him to win tomorrow.

As for the Americans, this tournament has underscored what many of us suspected -- there just aren't any world-class American players under the age of 35. That's not to say that the Americans won't win any majors -- there will always be the occasional Ben Curtis or Zach Johnson who pulls a surprise here and there. But unless Anthony Kim can put his game together, and start playing like he did before his injury last year, I really believe that the next American to win multiple majors -- whoever he may be -- is not currently on tour. Maybe he's in college. Maybe he's in high school. Maybe he's in middle school. But he's not in Augusta this weekend.

1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -12 (65+69+70=204)
T2. A. Cabrera (ARG): -8 (71+70+67=208)
T2. C. Schwartzel (RSA): -8 (69+71+68=208)
T2. K.J. Choi (KOR): -8 (67+70+71=208)
T2. J. Day (AUS): -8 (72+64+72=208)
T6. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (72+70+67=209)
T6. L. Donald (ENG): -7 (72+68+69=209)
8. B. Van Pelt: -6 (73+69+68=210)
T9. B. Watson: -5 (73+71+67=211)
T9. R. Fisher (ENG): -5 (69+71+71=211)
T9. F. Couples: -5 (71+68+72=211)
T9. G. Ogilvy (AUS): -5 (69+69+73=211)
T9. T. Woods: -5 (71+66+74=211)