US Masters Saturday Betting Tips: 2-ball treble for Day 3 at Augusta

Day two of the 2026 Masters Tournament delivered plenty of excitement, with several fascinating storylines beginning to develop. However, it ultimately belonged to one man, as defending champion Rory McIlroy produced a sensational back-nine performance to storm into a six-shot lead as we head into the weekend.

Our golf tipster, Jamie Worsley, is back with his US Masters Saturday Betting Tips, which you can check out below...

*You can bet on the tournament and check out the latest US Masters 2026 Odds over on betfred.com

Leaderboard after round two:

1st – Rory McIlroy (-12)

T2 – Sam Burns (-6)

T2 – Patrick Reed (-6)

T4 – Justin Rose (-5)

T4 – Tommy Fleetwood (-5)

T4 – Shane Lowry (-5)

T7 – Wyndham Clark (-4)

T7 – Tyrrell Hatton (-4)

T7 – Haotong Li (-4)

T7 – Kristoffer Reitan (-4)

T7 – Jason Day (-4)

T7 – Cameron Young (-4)

Birdying three of his first four holes on Friday, Rory made a fast start to take a clear lead, but bogeys on the 5th and 10th holes allowed the field to close in, leaving us with a tantalising leaderboard, tightly-packed with star quality.

However, what followed was nothing short of spectacular. Birdying six of his final seven holes, including a sublime chip-in on the 17th, he surged ahead to claim a commanding six-shot lead – setting the largest 36-hole advantage in the tournament's history.

When McIlroy is in this form, he can feel almost untouchable. The weight lifted from finally securing that elusive Masters title seems to have given him the freedom to perform with the shackles off, and while winning at Augusta can never be taken for granted, the rest of the field will have to go some to surpass him this weekend.

A six-shot lead brings a different type of pressure with it, and if Rory does give the rest some hope today, we have a fascinating bunch of challengers queuing up behind him.

Former winner Patrick Reed continues to thrive in 2026 and is the nearest contender alongside fellow American Sam Burns, who made up for a generally disappointing day by picking up shots on three of the final four holes.

After finishing as runner-up to McIlroy in 2025, Justin Rose is back in the mix, sitting in fourth place. He’s joined by fellow Ryder Cuppers Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry – both close friends of Rory. Any of this trio would make for a compelling final-round pairing with our current leader, provided McIlroy avoids any disasters.

The eclectic group of players in seventh place includes two major winners in Wyndham Clark and Jason Day, the well-fancied and in-form Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton again looks like he’s finally got the hang of this place after top-15s in the last two years, and the unlikely duo of Haotong Li and debutant Kristoffer Reitan.

With the likes of Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele each stalking the top 10, there is no shortage of star power among the chasers as we head into what shapes up to be an intriguing third round at Augusta National.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders: Rory McIlroy 4/11, Tommy Fleetwood 14/1, Patrick Reed 16/1, Justin Rose 16/1, Sam Burns 20/1, Cameron Young 22/1

It is no surprise to find McIlroy a heavy 4/11 favourite, whilst Englishman Tommy Fleetwood just edges second-favouritism ahead of Patrick Reed and Justin Rose. Meanwhile, after a disappointing 74 on Friday, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler now trails Rory by 12 shots and can be found down at 55/1 on the board.

As for my pre-event selections, Xander Schauffele looked to be cruising into contention for much of the day before unravelling around Amen Corner and is now 10 shots off the lead. Hideki Matsuyama sits in the same position after a solid 70 on day two but both will need to make a serious move to have any kind of chance when we get to Sunday.

With Rory such a strong favourite, the outright market is of no interest right now, so instead I’m happy to just sit and wait to see how day three unfolds. After enjoying some success with a winning double on Friday’s 3-balls, I’ve taken a look at the 2-balls for round three and have selected three players who look value to get the better of their playing partners today.

Cameron Young to beat Jason Day

Cameron Young has been one of the best players in the field over his last 27 holes and after a supreme ball-striking display yesterday, I’m taking him to win this 2-ball against Jason Day.

Going four-over through seven holes, the weight of expectation seemed to get to Young early on Thursday. He soon shrugged off that disappointing start and has made just one further bogey in 29 holes since, picking up nine birdies to hit the top 10 as we move into the weekend.

Firing rounds of 69 and 71, Day has done little wrong but has had to rely heavily on the short game, ranking second in scrambling and sixth in SG: Putting after two rounds. Yet he sits outside the top 40 in each ball-striking stat.

Young, on the other hand, hit the ball better than anyone yesterday. He ranks second in SG: Off-the-Tee, inside the top 25 in SG: Approach and greens-in-regulation overall and has been steady with the short game.

Carrying momentum not just from this event but also from his year as a whole, I expect him to continue to climb the leaderboard over the weekend and unless Day can find some improvement within his ball striking, his short game will only keep him competitive for so long.

Scottie Scheffler to beat Ludvig Aberg

Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg is one of the pairings of the third round, and I expect the American to show some authority over his Swedish counterpart. Yesterday’s sloppy finish would’ve already stung prior to Rory going nuclear, and he’ll now be even more eager to remind everyone just why he’s been the most dominant player in the world in recent years.

Scheffler looked ominous in the opening round, where he ranked fourth from tee-to-green to shoot a two-under 70. He gave both of those shots away on Friday’s back nine, bogeying each of the par 5s, just as Aberg was signing for his own round of 70 to move back to level par for the week.

Aberg has been excellent in approach but has suffered on and around the greens, ranking as the second-worst scrambler in the field. Scheffler has produced the superior driving whilst looking much sharper with the short game – as he generally does – and with potentially firmer conditions placing increased importance on that area, he’ll have the edge in this battle of two extremely strong ball strikers.

Brian Harman to beat Corey Conners

To finish, I’m going to side with Brian Harman up against Corey Conners today. The form of both of these players has been similar coming into this week, and they now sit alongside each other at +4. However, Harman’s display yesterday bettered anything Conners has shown and with the course conditions playing into his short-game skills, I think he’ll enjoy the more productive moving day.

Despite birdying his opening two holes on Thursday, Harman struggled for the rest of the round and fell to a seven-over 79, leaving him well outside the cutline. He then began poorly yesterday, going three-over after four, but he battled back impressively, holing seven birdies to make the weekend.

Conners survived a poor ball-striking display in the first round due to his short-game play, firing a three-over 75. However, that is an area in which he’s typically unreliable and that showed yesterday, as he improved the long game but failed to make up any ground because of a poor putting and scrambling performance.

Harman matched Conners in the ball-striking department on Friday and as a player who historically ranks inside the top 25 in short-game play, I fancy him to keep advancing in the right direction on moving day.

You can load up the tipped treble directly to betslip by clicking below...