Masters patron risks Augusta ban after bizarre Rory McIlroy incident

A Masters patron is risking a ban from Augusta National after a bizarre incident involving Rory McIlroy during the third round.

McIlroy, who held a six-shot lead heading into Saturday, saw that advantage evaporate as his closest rivals gained ground.

The reigning champion himself could only card a one-over-par round of 73, including a double bogey at the 11th hole.

That means that Cameron Young, who shot a round of 65, is now the co-leader alongside McIlroy heading into the final day of the 2026 Masters.

Despite his struggles, McIlroy received loud support and encouragement from the patrons at Augusta National, and that will likely continue on Sunday.

But he would have been caught off-guard on hole 17 by a bizarre shout from one of the watching spectators.

After McIlroy had hit his tee shot, the patron hollered: "Give me back my son!" in what was, apparently, a reference to the hit Mel Gibson film 'Ransom'.

Unfortunately for the patron, the television microphones caught the shout perfectly - so that everyone who was watching the action heard it very clearly.

According to SB Nation, back in 2018, patrons are given a pre-prepared memo once they arrive at Augusta, with a list of phrases that they absolutely must not shout out.

It is claimed that, after one shout, security guards will 'put one hole punch in the upper right corner of your badge' to signify a warning. Patrons are removed after their second warning.

It isn't known whether shouting 'give me back my son' is included on the list of banned phrases, but we'd take a pretty safe guess that it probably is.

The only grounds for an immediate ban from Augusta is shouting curse words or obscenities which, despite how unusual the fan's shout was, doesn't fall in to that category.

As far as McIlroy's closest challenger Young goes, the American expects the crowd to be mainly on his rival's side on Sunday.

"I don't get the sense I'll be the fan favourite," he said in his post-round press conference. "But I feel like the support, some fans that have cheered for me, have gotten louder over the past year.

"It will still be lop-sided, I think. Rory's a world favourite in the golf world.

"A year ago, if I'd have been in the same situation, it would have been very little [support for me]. Now, it's probably a little more. So I'll take what I can get and be happy with that."