McIlroy closes in on Masters triumph

Rory McIlroy carried a four-stroke lead into Sunday's final round of the 75th Masters, the 21-year-old Northern Irish prodigy on the verge on his first major title and a wire-to-wire victory.

Rory McIlroy carried a four-stroke lead into Sunday's final round of the 75th Masters, the 21-year-old Northern Irish prodigy on the verge on his first major title and a wire-to-wire victory.

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McIlroy, in only his 10th major tournament, has been poised under pressure, surrendering only two bogeys through 54 holes to stand on 12-under par 204, four strokes ahead of K.J. Choi, Angel Cabrera, Jason Day and Charl Schwartzel.

It's the largest Masters lead since Tiger Woods opened a nine-stroke edge on the field on his way to winning his first major title in 1997 by a record 12 strokes, a victory that helped inspire a young McIlroy to play golf.

Tiger tumbles
Tiger Woods stumbled to a two-over par 74 on Saturday to lead an American collapse in the third round.

One day after firing a 66, Woods was unable to put together a solid follow-up round and shared ninth on five-under 211 through 54 holes.