Sir Nick Faldo makes bold Rory McIlroy prediction after Bryson DeChambeau fightback

Sir Nick Faldo reckons Bryson DeChambeau's stunning closing birdie, which narrowed the gap to Masters 54-hole leader Rory McIlroy, could actually spur on the Northern Irishman come Sunday.

McIlroy delivered a second consecutive round of 66 to storm into the lead at 12-under-par at Augusta National on Saturday. It seemed he was set to take a three-shot lead into the final round.

However, LIV star DeChambeau pulled off an extraordinary birdie at the last to climb to 10-under, signing off with a round of 69.

DeChambeau's drive at the 18th ended up in the fairway bunker, but he managed to escape trouble with a clever bunker shot, landing on the fringe on the left side of the green. The two-time U.S. Open champion was left with a 50-foot putt for birdie, and it looked like he'd have to settle for a two-putt par to finish at nine-under.

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But the American read the left-to-right break perfectly and found the centre of the cup, leaving three-time Masters champion Faldo gobsmacked while on commentary duty for .

Yet, the Englishman believes DeChambeau's thrilling birdie could motivate McIlroy to tackle the final 18 holes in the right manner, reports .

"That was a golfing AI moment with all that calculation. I don't think a computer or AI could have calculated that putt for that result. How incredible is that? That's outrageous, isn't it? Gee," exclaimed Faldo.

"My goodness, we are going to have some kind of shootout tomorrow. [It] might be good for Rory because he can't rest on his laurels or anything or think 'I'm the one to lose this.' He's got to go out and play the same again."

Rory McIlroy began the day tied for third place at six-under-par, but quickly took the lead with a record-breaking start to his third round. The 35 year old, who is on the brink of ending nearly 11 years of major championship drought and completing the career grand slam, became the first player in Masters history to start with six consecutive threes – highlighted by a spectacular eagle at the second.

A brief stumble followed with dropped shots at eight and 10, but McIlroy bounced back by capitalising on the par-fives, converting a birdie opportunity at 13 before reminding everyone of Tiger Woods with a stunning approach into 15, setting up an eagle chance that he successfully took advantage of.

Despite missing three birdie putts over the final three holes, McIlroy managed to finish his round with his Green Jacket aspirations still very much alive. However, he will need to outperform an in-form DeChambeau in what looks set to be a direct contest between the rivals, who famously battled it out at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 just 10 months ago.

DeChambeau managed to outdo McIlroy in their previous encounter due to a series of late mistakes, and he'll be hoping for a similar outcome this Sunday after securing birdies at the 16th and 18th holes. Corey Conners is hot on his heels, finishing two-under for the day and eight-under overall for the tournament.