Content on this page may include affiliate links. If you click and sign up/place a wager, we may receive compensation at no cost to you.
Rory McIlroy gave the home crowd plenty to roar about on Saturday, but he’s playing a distant fourth on the leaderboard
Scottie Scheffler’s march towards his first Claret Jug continued unimpeded Saturday as the three-time major champion moved ever-closer to his first win in The Open Championship. The world No. 1 shot a 4-under 67 to create further distance between himself and the field. He will go into Sunday’s final round at Royal Portrush with a four-stroke advantage over Haotong Li and a six-stroke margin over Rory McIlroy at his home nation’s course.
Scheffler has converted his last nine 54-hole leads into wins, and he looks primed for another runaway major victory Sunday in Northern Ireland. He’s made a habit out of eliminating Sunday drama in major conquests as his first Masters win came by three strokes (despite a four-putt on the 18th), his second green jacket was earned with a four-stroke margin, and he won his first Wanamaker Trophy at the PGA Championship earlier this year by five shots.
Whether that pattern will follow Sunday remains to be seen, but Scheffler will be a massive favorite to claim the Claret Jug. Should he do so, he will capture the third leg of the career grand slam in potentially dominant fashion with just a U.S. Open to go.
Recently having turned 29 years old, Scheffler is seeking to join a short list including Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — golfers who on the Masters, PGA Championship and Open before their 30th birthday.
There was some hope early in the round that weekend drama might get created as Matt Fitzpatrick tied Scheffler for the lead with an eagle on the 2nd hole. Scheffler dragged his feet to start the round, starting with six consecutive pars on a front nine that the rest of the field tore up, creating a bunched chase group behind him.
Leading the charge was McIlroy, who came out of the gate red-hot, making three birdies in his first four holes to move up the leaderboard and get the home crowd into a frenzy. But just as the tournament started to get interesting, Scheffler put a stop to any thoughts that he might slip back and leave the door open to the field.
A 380-yard drive on the par-5 7th left him just 206 yards in, and he stuffed a mid-iron to just outside 10 feet for eagle. He poured that putt in and backed it up with a birdie on the 8th to quickly dart out to a three-shot lead.
The back nine was much of the same as Scheffler made a couple rare miscues; however, each time he put himself in trouble, he calmly excavated himself from the thick rough and fescue and poured in long par putts to stay right on track.
With hope building from the rest of the leaders that Scheffler might stall out on the back and allow them to close the gap, he once again found some brilliance in the midst of a wobbly back nine. His lone birdie of the second side came on the 239-yard 16th, as he conquered the 7th hardest hole on the course with a cutting long iron that skipped up to 14 feet short of the pin.
It was his third straight day birdieing the hole known as Calamity Corner as he’s made Royal Portrush’s iconic hole the sight of his signature moments this week. Scheffler also completed his fourth bogey-free round at a major while separating himself from many of golf’s brightest stars.
Scheffler will be joined by Li in the final pairing on Sunday as Li has refused to fade away all week, but it will take something unbelievable for Li or anyone to catch the No. 1 golfer in the world. Scheffler does not generally come back to the field, and a round in the 60s feels like the bare minimum that he’ll produce Sunday on his way to putting both hands on the Claret Jug.
The chase group is headlined by McIlroy at 8 under, as he shot a spectacular 66 on Saturday that was one of the great rounds of his career given the stage and setting. The home crowd in Northern Ireland was begging for McIlroy to make a move on Moving Day and he obliged, but he’ll need to conjure up the course record 61 he shot as a 16-year-old amateur this Sunday if he’s going to reel in Scheffler and prevent the final round from being a coronation walk for the world No. 1.
See New Posts
Scottie Scheffler makes his third birdie of the week on the long 16th
It certainly feels like the door is closing on anyone else’s hopes of lifting the Claret Jug. Scheffler fired a low, cutting long iron into the front of the 16th green and ran it up to just below the hole as he continues to play one of the hardest holes at Royal Portrush to perfection. He poured that putt in to get to 14 under and briefly extend his lead to four, before Haotong Li birdied No. 17 in front of him to get to 11 under and keep a little pressure on.
Big finish in store
Matt Fitzpatrick gets one back on the par-4 15th to get within three strokes of Scottie Scheffler at 13 under. Scheffler has been sensational to close his rounds throughout his career and this week has been no different as he has played the final three holes in 4 under across the first two days. Ahead of Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li by three as he enters this stretch, Scheffler looks to summon another strong finish to take a little more oxygen out of this championship.
Rory McIlroy in the clubhouse with a 66
Northern Ireland’s favorite son acquitted himself well on Moving Day, transversing Royal Portrush and The Open Championship leaderboard with the second-best round of the day as he entered the clubhouse. McIlroy posted a nearly flawless 66 with a thunderous eagle on the 12th immediately atoning for his lone blemish, a bogey on the 11th. Staying within himself throughout the third round, McIlroy remained composed despite facing adversity on multiple occasions. He fed off the home-field advantage he possesses this tournament to go 5 under for the day moving up to T5 on the leaderboard — exactly five shots back of Scottie Scheffler (-13).
While Scheffler still has five holes remaining — and his lead could certainly balloon given he’s 4 under from the 14th through the 18th so far this week — McIlroy has at least put himself in striking distance ahead of Sunday’s final round. Given he missed the cut the last time The Open was held in Portrush, this has undoubtedly been a positive experience for the Ulsterman. Still, claiming another Claret Jug on the shores of Northern Ireland just over 24 hours from now would be an even greater accomplishment, and it would solidify one of the best seasons of his storied career.
Westwood ties Open record
The former world No. 1 narrowly misses a 15-foot birdie bid on the last for a slice of history on his own, but he will settle for a share of the low nine hole score in Open history. After turning in 4 over, Westwood found a different gear on the back side with six birdies against three pars. He shot 40-29 for a ho-hum 69 that did not include a nine-hole score in the 30s.
Scottie Scheffler with a Houdini act on No. 11
The first really bad shot of the day from Scottie came on the tough 11th as he jammed his iron into the ground and hit a hot pull into the long grasses on the hill left of the green. It looked like an impossible spot to get up-and-down from but Scheffler got the ball to come out soft and trickled it to 12 feet away, and calmly poured that in for par. All the while, Matt Fitzpatrick was making a bogey himself so Scheffler’s lead is now three.
Rory McIlroy adds another birdie after kissing the flagstick on 15
McIlroy is now 5 under on his day and 8 under for the tournament, five back of Scottie Scheffler, after his fourth birdie in the third round on the 15th. McIlroy had a wedge from 156 that caught a flyer out of the first cut, but landed just short of the pin and bounced square into the flagstick and fell to just inside 4 feet from the hole. He capitalized on that good break to add a birdie to his eagle earlier on the back and move a little closer to Scheffler.
Masterclass from Scheffler
Amid the magic tricks and Northern Ireland roars, Scottie Scheffler has kept about his business. After a slowish start, Scheffler has summoned sensational shotmaking in his three holes of the front nine to play them in 3 under and command a two-stroke lead over the field. He hit 8 of 9 greens in regulation on that side.
Scottie Scheffler backs up his eagle with a birdie on the 8th to extend his lead to two
While Rory tries to mount a charge on the back nine, Scheffler is doing his best to put this thing out of reach late on the front. After an eagle on the 7th, Scheffler backed it up with a birdie on the 8th after a perfect iron shot to hole high. No one has been willing to challenge that pin all day, but Scottie played a little out right but instead of going deep like most of the field, hit it inch perfect on the yardage to set up a straight up the hill look for birdie. Now he’s -13, which is two clear of Fitzpatrick, four clear of Haotong Li and six ahead of McIlroy and company at 7 under.
Rory McIlroy creates a roar with an eagle on No. 12
After the insanity of the double ball strike on No. 11, McIlroy bounced back from that bogey with an eagle on the 12th, pouring in a long putt from the back of the green that crept over the ridge and funneled into the bottom of the cup to send the crowd into a frenzy. That keeps him in the mix, tied for fifth with Xander Schauffele and Harris English at 7 under. He’ll need a couple more coming in and some help from Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick to have a real shot at winning, but it’s been incredibly fun to watch Rory saunter around Royal Portrush today with his A-game.
Scottie Scheffler eagles the 7th to reclaim the solo lead at -12
After six pars to start his round, Scheffler came alive on the par-5 7th with an eagle to jump to 12 under, moving one ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick who made birdie. They’re now putting some distance between themselves and the field, as Haotong Li is -9, Tyrrell Hatton is -8 and Xander Schauffele is -7 in pursuit.
Rory McIlroy hits two balls on one swing
One of the strangest things you’ll ever see at a major championship just happened to McIlroy. A wayward drive right on the 11th put him near the gorse bushes, but he drew what appeared to be a great break when he found a trampled down area where spectators have been. However, when he hit his shot, he dug up an embedded golf ball under his that wasn’t visible. That ball popped straight up and landed at his feet, while McIlroy’s ball ended up coming up well short of the green.
Hats off for Hatton
“I’ve fatted it,” Hatton uttered when he struck his third shot into the par-5 7th. Well, it’s a good thing he did because it found the bottom of the cup for an eagle-3 and pushed his name to 3 under on the day and 8 under for the championship. Hatton is out here smiling and having a good time. Awesome stuff.
Russell Henley matches the low round of the day with a 65 to get in the clubhouse at -6
Henley got on a heater in the middle of his round, punctuated by an eagle on No. 12, and while he couldn’t keep it going down the difficult closing stretch at Royal Portrush, he got himself into the clubhouse with a 6-under 65 to match the low round of the day by Corey Conners. Henley began the day at even par but is now in a big tie for 4th on the leaderboard, four back of the co-leaders at 10 under. Given the scoring conditions it’s unlikely he’s still in the top 5 by the end of Saturday, but he put himself in strong position for another top 10 at the Open.
Matt Fitzpatrick ties Scottie Scheffler for the lead at -10
While the rest of the field piles up birdies, Scottie Scheffler has gotten off to a sluggish start. He saved par on the first but couldn’t take advantage of the par-5 2nd and made another par, allowing Matt Fitzpatrick to join him at -10 with a chip-in eagle. On the par-3 3rd, Scheffler made a rare mistake missing right of the pin and having his ball roll off the side. He jammed his birdie putt up the hill and well past the hole, forcing him to make a long par putt just to stay in a share of the lead.
A scratchy start from the world No. 1 has given some life to those chasing behind — although Rory McIlroy still sits at -6 after failing to birdie the par-5 7th after a terrific tee shot.
See More
