AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away from golfing immortality.

The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the 89th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club after producing one of his best rounds in a major championship with a 6-under 66 on Saturday that moved him to 12 under after 54 holes.

McIlroy, the world No. 2, needs to win an elusive green jacket to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to complete the career Grand Slam in the Masters era.

It will be McIlroy's 11th attempt at finishing the career Grand Slam, and this might be his best opportunity to do it.

"I think I still have to remind myself that there's a long way to go, just like I said yesterday, 18 holes," McIlroy said. "I, just as much as anyone else, know what can happen on the final day here."

LIV Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau is perhaps the biggest obstacle in his way. DeChambeau made a 48-foot putt from the fringe of the 18th green to get within two strokes of McIlroy. He made birdies on three of the last four holes to post a 3-under 69.

McIlroy and DeChambeau will tee off in the final pairing at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

It will be a rematch of their final-round duel in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. McIlroy missed two short putts in the final three holes, allowing DeChambeau to make a memorable shot from a bunker and par putt on the 72nd hole to win his second major, both coming in the U.S. Open.

"It will be the grandest stage that we've had in a long time, and I'm excited for it," DeChambeau said. "We both want to win really, really badly. You know, shoot, there's a lot of great players behind us, too. Got to be mindful of that and focus. It's about who can control themselves and who can execute the golf shots the best."

Canada's Corey Conners was third at 8 under, and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed and Sweden's Ludvig Åberg were tied for fourth at 6 under.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who struggled through an even-par 72 on Saturday, is among four golfers tied for sixth at 5 under.

After a birdie-eagle-birdie start erased his two-stroke deficit and gave him the outright lead Saturday, McIlroy led by as many as four strokes on the first nine. But his unsteady play around the turn -- he made bogeys on the par-5 eighth and par-4 10th -- cut his advantage to one.

McIlroy took control of the season's first major again with a birdie on the par-5 13th and a second eagle of the round on the par-5 15th. After blasting a 339-yard drive down the right side of the 15th fairway, McIlroy knocked his approach to 6 feet and sank the birdie putt to move to 12 under, four strokes in front of Conners and five ahead of Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and DeChambeau.

McIlroy might already have one arm in a sleeve of the green jacket if he hadn't carded double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17 in the first round. He finished the opening round at even-par 72 and trailed first-round leader Rose by seven strokes.

McIlroy rebounded to go 12 under in his past 36 holes. He is only the sixth golfer in Masters history to post consecutive 66s in the same tournament.

If McIlroy finishes the job Sunday, his seven-stroke deficit will tie the largest through 18 holes by a Masters winner. Nick Faldo (1990) and Woods (2005) also came back from that many.

"There's obviously pressure, but he has pressure every single week," said Jason Day, who is among those tied for sixth after a third-round 71. "He seemed very focused, determined to obviously accomplish that. It doesn't look like he's focusing on it, that's the thing. I know it's in the back of his mind, but I think he's running off so much confidence, and he has so much belief in his game that it's almost like he knows it's going to happen. And when you're playing like that, it's very dangerous."

McIlroy also will try to end a more than 10-year drought without a major championship victory. It is his 39th start in one of the big four since he last captured the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

McIlroy got off to a blistering start that has been rarely seen at the iconic course. In just three holes, he wiped out a two-shot deficit to Rose, making a 10-footer for birdie on No. 1, chipping in from 54 feet off the green for eagle on No. 2 and then rolling in another 7-footer for birdie on No. 3 to take the outright lead at 10 under.

He became just the sixth player in Masters history to go 4 under over the first three holes, according to ESPN Research.

"Yeah, obviously it was a dream start to get off to the start that I did," he said.

McIlroy wasn't done. After DeChambeau carded a bogey on the third, McIlroy made an easy par on the par-3 fourth to take a two-shot lead over DeChambeau and Rose.

McIlroy ripped a 342-yard drive down the par-4 fifth and knocked his approach to 8 feet. With another birdie, he was 11 under and three shots in front of DeChambeau and four in front of Rose and Lowry.

McIlroy made a 9-footer to save par on the par-3 sixth hole, becoming the first golfer in Masters history to start a round with six consecutive 3s on his scorecard. (He was also the first to do it with five straight.)

After driving his tee shot deep into the trees, McIlroy saved par on the seventh. But then, just like that, he seemed to lose momentum. His drive on the par-5 eighth landed in a fairway bunker. He was forced to lay up and knocked his approach to the back of the green. He chipped to 8 feet and missed. A bogey dropped him to 10 under.

McIlroy missed a 5-footer for birdie on the ninth and made the turn at 4-under 32. He was two strokes in front of DeChambeau and three in front of Rose and Conners.

On the 495-yard 10th, McIlroy's second shot stopped 58 feet above the hole. He three-putted, missing an 8-footer for par. He fell to 9 under, only one ahead of DeChambeau and his playing partner, Conners, who made three straight birdies to move into a tie for second.

"I think when he plays his best golf, it's hard to catch him," Åberg said. "I don't think there's a lot of guys in this world that can catch him when he plays at his best."

The good news for McIlroy: Each of his four previous major championship victories -- in the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship and 2014 PGA Championship -- came when he had the outright lead after 54 holes.

The only time he failed to convert while holding a 54-hole lead in a major occurred at the 2011 Masters. He had at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds and took a four-stroke cushion into the final 18 holes. The then-21-year-old McIlroy collapsed and posted an 8-over 80. He tied for 15th at 4 under, 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa.

Fourteen years later, McIlroy has a chance to finally exorcise those demons.

"You know, I've got a lot of experience," he said. "I came in here talking about being the most complete version of myself as a golfer, and you know, I just have to keep reminding myself of that and remind myself that no matter what situation or scenario I find myself in tomorrow, I'll be able to handle it."

Alex Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes by unanimous decision to win the featherweight championship at UFC 314 at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Saturday. After five rounds, Volkanovski won by scorecards of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.

In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett dominated Michael Chandler in a third-round TKO and showed he's a problem for the lightweight division, especially because he's younger than all the top contenders.

Also on the card, Yair Rodriguez revived his career with an impressive performance to ruin Patricio Pitbull's UFC debut. When Rodriguez is at the top of his game, the already tough featherweight division is better than ever.

Brett Okamoto and Andreas Hale share their thoughts on these fights.

The kingdom Volkanovski reigns over looks different this time around

"Old Man Volk" is champion once again but the division is a lot different than the one he reigned over when he was champion from 2019 to 2023. Yes, it's only been two years but a look at the landscape at 145 pounds reveals that the division has seen an overhaul over the past 24 months. Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria have moved on to the lightweight division and there are new names that weren't knocking at the door looking for a title fight.

Volkanovski's initial featherweight title reign saw him spend more than half of his 145-pound title fights against Holloway. Chan Sung Jung has since retired while Brian Ortega has struggled with a 1-3 record in his last four fights. This run could be seen as far more challenging because the 36-year-old will be tested by a new breed of featherweights that include Movsar Evloev, Lerone Murphy and Jean Silva, who put together a blistering demolition of Bryce Mitchell on the main card. There are also recent signees Aaron Pico and Patricio Pitbull. And even though the latter fell short against Yair Rodriguez, it's not outside the realm of possibility that he works his way up the ladder.

Stylistic matchups and the youth of his opponents could present quite the mountain for Volkanovski to overcome. However, if he manages to make a couple of successful title defenses, Volkanovski has an opportunity to separate himself from fighters likeHolloway and José Aldo as the greatest featherweight in UFC history.

What we do know is that this is one of the deepest, most talent-rich featherweight divisions in recent memory. Volkanovski has his work cut out for him, but it will be a treat to watch based on his Saturday's performance. -- Hale

Pimblett is a huge problem at lightweight, especially because of his youth

If this sounds like a backhanded compliment, it's truly not. Pimblett's skills are legit and he'd be a handful for any lightweight in his prime. But the fact he's wading into the deep end of the lightweight waters at a time when those waters are filled with fighters in the twilights of their careers certainly doesn't hurt.

Pimblett, 30, is confident, talented and a very dangerous finisher. He's already fought Tony Ferguson (41), King Green (38) and Chandler (38). He's now targeting Charles Oliveira (35), Justin Gaethje (36) and Dustin Poirier (36). Again, I am not taking anything away from Pimblett -- but it's OK to point this out. He is coming into his prime at the best time possible for this division.

If Pimblett can keep this going, we could be looking at a UFC superstar. And let's be honest, the sport needs as many as it can get right now. The UFC is relatively star starved at the moment, if you compare it to other eras. That's cyclical and it'll come around, and Pimblett could be one of the key fighters to turn the tide.

Pimblett is the real deal, he knows he's the real deal and the gauntlet of absolute killers at the very top is (mostly) fighters who are starting to slow down. He has a tremendous opportunity ahead of him. -- Okamoto

A "good" Rodriguez is so good for this division

The featherweight division is in a solid place, but it is so much more interesting and better with a great Rodriguez. And not just a great Rodriguez, a fired up one.

When he is on, he's nothing short of dazzling. That 2018 knockout of "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung in the final second was the greatest knockout in UFC history - until Max Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 last year. The spinning attacks, the flying attacks, the choke of Josh Emmett for the interim championship at UFC 284 in 2023 -- Rodriguez can do things that others simply cannot do. His best moments against Pitbull on Saturday came when he was under fire and in danger. Rodriguez can be a menace at times, and it'd be so welcome if he could be one always.

Don't get me wrong, his losses have come against elite talent, but I can't help but think I still haven't seen Rodriguez at top speed. I want to see him emotionally invested, if that's what it takes. I wouldn't mind seeing him fight Diego Lopes after they went at it during this week's press conference. Rodriguez has been great in flashes, but he's also been inactive at times, including when the UFC nearly cut him in 2018. I'm nitpicking a little, but I just want to see what Rodriguez looks like with a bit of swag. A bit of that arrogance people accused him of having before he lost in the UFC for the first time to Frankie Edgar back in 2017.

The 145-pound division would benefit greatly from that Rodriguez. -- Okamoto

CINCINNATI -- Elly De La Cruz has struggled at the plate in April, but on his bobblehead giveaway night Saturday, the Cincinnati Reds shortstop broke out in a big way.

On a 3-2 pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Andrew Heaney in the third inning, De La Cruz, batting right-handed, sent a towering fly ball into the left-field seats for his second career grand slam, lifting the Reds to a 5-2 victory.

Many of the 31,188 fans showed up early to grab a De La Cruz switch-hitter bobblehead, and they weren't disappointed.

"There were a lot of fans, and they are special to me," De La Cruz said. "It was crazy, electric. It felt really good. I hit it really well. When I hit it, I (could) tell it was gone."

The grand slam was an encouraging sign for De La Cruz, who was batting .153 this month and hadn't homered since going deep twice March 31 against Texas.

"I'm feeling good," De La Cruz said. "I'm feeling comfortable both sides of the plate. The results haven't been there but that doesn't matter. We just keep going."

He was 6-for-39 coming into the game. His manager wasn't concerned but recognized the importance of the grand slam.

"When you get to Elly, there's always that chance," manager Terry Francona said. "That was a game changer for us."

At 23 years and 91 days old, De La Cruz became the youngest Reds player to hit a grand slam at Great American Ball Park. He's just the sixth Reds player to hit two grand slams before the age of 24.

"He's a difference maker," said Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, who earned the victory in his season debut. "Everyone in the room knows that."

De La Cruz fell behind 1-2 to Heaney before working the count to 3-2. De La Cruz said he knew Heaney needed to throw a strike.

"3-2, trying to make a pitch, guy is a good hitter and he put a barrel on it," Heaney said. "Probably went to the well one too many times there. Tried to be competitive there and got beat to the spot."

Despite the early season slump, De La Cruz has been a run-producer for a Reds offense that began the month with three straight 1-0 losses. He's just the ninth National League switch-hitter since 1920 to have 16 RBIs in his team's first 15 games.

"He's always one swing away," Francona said. "As cold as guys get, they get just that hot. It'll even out. I don't worry about him too much. He's a fun player to be around."

HOUSTON -- A fan grabbed the baseball out of Mike Trout's glove after the Los Angeles Angels star reached into the right-field stands Saturday night to make what appeared to be a great catch against the Houston Astros.

Trout raced into the right-field corner on the fly ball hit by Yainer Diaz in the second inning of the Angels' 4-1 win, leaped and extended his left arm into the stands to make the grab. But a fan wearing an Astros jersey was also reaching for the ball at the same time.

The ball appeared to simultaneously glance off the fan's hand while Trout made the catch. The fan immediately snatched the ball from Trout's glove with his left hand.

Trout gestured emphatically to umpires that the fan had taken it out of his glove. The fan then looked as if he was trying to give the ball back to Trout, raising both arms while holding the ball in his right hand.

"I jumped in, it was in my glove and the guy just literally took it out," Trout said after the game. "He was really apologetic. I learn new things every single day. Once I go into the stands, it's free game. Being in center field is a little different because I don't really get that play."

The Athletic reported that the fan's name is Jared Whalen, and the outlet spoke with him after the game.

"I just didn't know what was going on," Whalen told The Athletic. "I didn't realize it was a play. It was coming at my son's face. I just reached out."

Trout, who hit a two-run single in the first, moved from center field to right field this season to reduce wear and tear on his body and help him stay on the field.

First-base umpire Alan Porter ruled it a foul ball and not a catch. Angels manager Ron Washington came out to discuss the play with the umpires, but the ruling stood and was not reviewed by replay.

"He said it doesn't matter," Trout said of what he was told by Porter. "As soon as your glove goes into the stands, it's fair game. And if it hits their finger or the ball hits their hand, I guess it's ruled dead. I guess if you saw the replay, it hits his hand first, then goes in my glove. So even if I would have come back out (with the ball), they probably could have challenged it. That was my understanding."

Washington said he was told he could have challenged the play, but didn't want to risk losing his challenge at that point in the game.

"I thought he had it and we looked at it," Washington said. "It looked like a fan pulled it out of his glove as he was coming out, but I would have had to use a challenge. And if the umpires didn't do that, I would have lost it early."

Porter, who is the crew chief, told a pool reporter after the game that the play was reviewable, but is also a judgment call.

"The fly ball was in the stands -- it was not over the field of play," Porter said. "Once the ball is outside of the field of play, the fielder goes into the stands at his own risk. So, the ball being touched by the fan does not create spectator interference at that point."

Whalen and his son were escorted out of the section by security and moved to a different section. Trout had security bring the fan and his son to the Angels clubhouse after the game. In an exchange that was posted on social media by The Athletic, Trout gave the fan's son a bat and signed the ball. He also took a picture with the fan and his son.

"They were really apologetic," Trout said. "It didn't really affect the game. I have a kid myself. That kid was probably 9 years old, so just seeing him after the game, they were really nice people."

Diaz ended up flying out to center to end the inning.

The play was reminiscent of Game 4 of last year's World Series when two fans interfered with him and one pried a foul ball out of the glove of the Dodgers' Mookie Betts at Yankee Stadium. Umpires ruled that was fan interference and a catch by Betts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES -- The Chicago Cubs had a big night against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

One night after being shut out, the Cubs broke out for 14 runs and 15 hits in the final three innings of a 16-0 victory Saturday night to hand the Dodgers their first home loss of the season and their worst home shutout defeat in franchise history.

The Cubs finished with 21 hits, including nine for extra bases.

"The boys came out swinging, and it was pretty cool to see," said Chicago's Carson Kelly, who homered twice among his three hits and drove in three runs. "Kudos to our guys for working at-bats, really working counts, getting good pitches to drive and not missing them. We also ran the bases well and took our walks. ... I think it's just the mentality of this team that we're going to fight to the end no matter what the score is."

Michael Busch, once a top prospect in the Dodgers' farm system, had four hits, including a homer and two doubles, and drove in three runs. The first baseman is batting .308 (12-for-39) with three homers, six doubles and 11 RBIs in 10 career games against the Dodgers.

Ian Happ had three hits and scored two runs, and Miguel Amaya replaced the injured Seiya Suzuki (right wrist pain) in the fifth inning and homered among his two hits and drove in three runs.

Kelly keyed a five-run seventh inning with a homer 384 feet over the left-field wall against Dodgers reliever Ben Casparius and then crushed a 391-foot homer on a floater from infielder-turned-pitcher Miguel Rojas for a two-run shot in the ninth.

"You have to take a quick swing, not a big swing," Kelly said, when asked how hard it is to homer off a 40-mph pitch. "You have to find the right timing of it."

The Cubs pushed their major league-leading run total to 112, which is 21 more than the second-place New York Yankees (91), and they have outscored opponents by 41 runs, a margin nearly twice as much as any team.

Busch, who homered off Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki for a 1-0 lead in the second, came within inches of a monster game when he was robbed of a grand slam by center fielder Andy Pages to end the third.

"I saw him [make the catch] -- unfortunately," said Busch, a former minor league teammate of Pages. "He's a good player. I didn't want him to do that, so we're going to have to have a conversation."

Sasaki (0-1) left with a 1-0 deficit after allowing one run and four hits in five innings, striking out three and walking two. However, the Cubs broke through against a Dodgers bullpen that entered the contest with a 2.15 ERA, the fourth-best mark in baseball.

Busch doubled and scored on Justin Turner's RBI single off Casparius for a 2-0 lead in the sixth, and Amaya (single), Busch (single), Dansby Swanson (single) and Nico Hoerner (sacrifice fly) drove in runs after Kelly's leadoff homer in the seventh.

Kyle Tucker had a two-run single and Amaya a two-run homer in the eighth, and the Cubs teed off on Rojas in the ninth.

The offensive outburst backed a superb start by Cubs right-hander Ben Brown, who used only two pitches -- a four-seam fastball that averaged 95.6 mph and a knuckle-curve that averaged 86.9 mph -- to blank the Dodgers on five hits in six innings, striking out five and walking none.

Brown (2-1) gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings of his previous start, a no-decision against San Diego.

"Just trying to do the exact opposite of last week," Brown said. "This past week was a grind working on things, mentally going through things, but I put in that effort, and it obviously showed tonight.

"I was able to slow the game down, slow the heart rate down, execute pitch by pitch and go back to where I was last year ... when my stuff is there, we can get through lineups like that."

"It's been a long time since I've had the chance to win a title on clay and I can't wait to try my luck again here," the 21-year-old said.

"I just had to be patient and believe that this moment was going to come again.

"Sometimes the people are not patient, they want me to make the final in every tournament."

A four-time major champion, Alcaraz has had a mixed start to the season, winning the Rotterdam Open but suffering some surprising losses during the hard-court season.

In Monte Carlo, the world number three made a quick start against Davidovich Fokina, going up an early break but faltering when serving for the set at 5-3.

Davidovich Fokina held firm to send the opener to a tie-break, but Alcaraz ran away with it and again went up an early break in the second set.

This time he was able to hold on to his lead, hitting 21 winners to Davidovich Fokina's 19 to reach his first Masters final since Indian Wells in 2024.

Meanwhile, Musetti, who ended Stefanos Tsitsipas' title defence in the quarter-finals, could not find his range in the opening set against De Minaur.

However, he claimed a crucial break in the second as the rain arrived, using his one-handed backhand to great effect to force a decider.

Another break allowed Musetti to serve for the match at 5-4 - but De Minaur, one of the best defensive players on the men's tour, broke back and ensured the match would be decided on a tie-break.

Musetti held his nerve well, taking control of the breaker and moving into the biggest final of his career as De Minaur planted a forehand into the net.

Watch the moment Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage beat Suzan Lamens and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands to secure Great Britain's place in September's Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

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Boulter and Burrage were playing together for only the second time, having practised as a partnership in the build-up to the competition.

"We went out there and we gave it our all. We swung and that is what we wanted to do," Burrage said.

"It was great to step on the court with Katie - good friends and good partners, I think."

It is a credit to Boulter that she came out after a disappointing loss to world number 70 Lamens in the singles.

She and Burrage claimed an excellent win against the formidable Dutch pairing - Lamens was on a 13-match unbeaten run at the BJK Cup while veteran Schuurs had not lost a match for her country since 2022.

Boulter and Burrage played with aggression, targeting Schuurs' serve in particular.

They hit 26 winners to 10 from the Netherlands, with Boulter cranking up her forehand in the deciding moments.

Schuurs was left in tears after the match, with her side now needing to compete in the play-offs to secure a place in the 2026 qualifiers.

Britain go on to compete at the eight-team Finals in Shenzhen, China from 16-21 September.

Connacht: Hansen; Jennings, Gavin, Aki, Treacy; Hanrahan, B Murphy; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham, J Murphy, Joyce, Prendergast (capt), Hurley-Langton, Jansen.

Replacements: Tierney-Martin, Dooley, Aungier, Dowling, Boyle, Devine, Ioane, Forde.

Racing 92: James; Naituvi, Habosi, Tuisova, Spring (capt); Lancaster, Le Garrec; Ben Arous, Escobar, Bamba, Palu, Rowlands, Baudonne, Kpoku, Joseph.

Replacements: Couly, Gogichashvili, Leota, R Taofifenua, Manyarara, D Taofifenua, Farrell, Chavancy.