The Open: Rory McIlroy begins third round ‘ready' to chase down leaders as Royal Portrush sees first hole-in-one of the week

Belfast Telegraph

19-07-2025

one minute ago
Leeeeeean
McIlroy's leaning as soon as he's hit his approach up the hill into the first and for good reason. With the pin tucked on the left hand side of the green and just over the false front, he errs on the side of caution and aims a bit right but pushes it even beyond that. Good for distance but he'll have 36-feet for birdie.
Jordan Smith will have even longer than that after a similarly cautious effort from the fairway. Not a great start for these two and they have testing putts that slope dramatically from right to left.
5 minutes ago
Gareth Hanna
DeChambeau's 68 fails to live up to early hype-train
There was a time when it looked like Bryson might go significantly lower than the three-under 68 he has signed for.
6 minutes ago
Adam McKendry
Standing ovation
Rory takes iron off the opening tee and it's down the left half of the fairway. No first tee dramas today and the World No.2 is roared off the tee to a standing ovation from the crowd, who immediately start to leave the grandstand en masse.
Playing partner Jordan Smith goes with a hybrid and he's hit a cracker too. Wonder how his heart rate is going this afternoon.
15 minutes ago
Wallace and Gr-Im-it
Alright, not my best pun of the day, but we have two more breaking the -4 barrier as Matt Wallace and Sungjae Im - who are playing one group apart - both reach that mark having played their first seven holes in four-under.
Im, playing in the first group, has done it the adventurous way, birdieing four of his first five holes with a bogey at the third thrown in for good measure, and then birdieing the par-five seventh, while Wallace in the group behind has bunched his birdies, opening with back-to-back at the first and second and then adding two more at six and seven.
Two different ways to do it but the same result, they're on the move.
17 minutes ago
Gareth Hanna
Next on the tee: Rory McIlroy
Well, it's now or never. Needs a low one as he's now rated a 30/1 shot to clutch the Claret Jug tomorrow night. Scottie Scheffler, surprise, surprise, is the odds-on favourite thanks to his lead at the top. Matt Fitzpatrick is a rather generous 19/4 despite started the day just a shot behind.
Gareth Hanna
Wynds of change on the leaderboard
Well, that's a bit overstated, but Wyndham Clark has at least climbed on to the foot of the leaderboard at -1 with his fourth birdie of a blemish-free card at hole 12. And he's been joined there by hole-in-oner John Parry, who has added a birdie at 15 to go to five under par for the with three to play.
38 minutes ago
Gareth Hanna
Phil the thrill!
It's a front nine for the galleries from Phil Mickelson anyway... although not quite how he'd want it. Just the one par in an eventful nine holes that brought three birdies and five bogeys for a two-over 38 to see him make the turn at +2 for the week. It ended in particularly frustrating fashion, with a vicious lip-out at the ninth.
45 minutes ago
Ollie's started 'dell
Finland's Ollie Lindell, who is 291st in the world rankings and last year finished third on the Challenge Tour's order of merit, is into the top-10 at the Open Championship as he birdies his opening two holes to get to -4 early doors. Is he the unexpected man to go low today and get himself into contention?
48 minutes ago
Shane finally has a birdie
He's had to wait 10 holes to get it but Shane Lowry has finally put a red number on the scorecard as he holes a putt from just off the green for the three at the par-four and to finally get something behind him.
Back up to level-par for the tournament, as is Jon Rahm who also birdied the 10th, and headed to 11 trying to get something going on the back nine.
56 minutes ago
HOLE-IN-ONE!
We've had a couple of close calls today already but we finally have an actual hole-in-one as John Parry holes his tee shot on the 192-yard par-three 13th!
That's an achievement in itself but it's also taken the Englishman up to -3 for the week and he's now four-under-par for the day!
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Magic on 13.It's a hole-in-one for John Parry. pic.twitter.com/uNw5j9JMyP— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2025
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57 minutes ago
Gareth Hanna
Rory on the range
Rory McIlroy (-3) is at the driving range with under an hour until his 2.30pm tee-time this afternoon. He starts the day seven behind world number one Scottie Scheffler, so it seems it's going to take something seriously special to get him right in the mix. But he is Rory McIlroy.
Today 12:37 PM
Gareth Hanna
Second eagle of the day!
It comes for Tommy Fleetwood on two as, playing alongside Justin Thomas for the third day in a row, he more than makes up for bogey at one by rolling in a lengthy eagle attempt and punching the air. Goes to -2.
Today 12:29 PM
Clubhouse leader
Out in the first group of the day but holding the clubhouse lead after a birdie on the par-four 18th, Corey Conners is currently the man to beat as a five-under 66 sees him shoot up into a share of 10th at -4! That will obviously be beaten as the day goes on but, for now, that's the score to be caught.
Really tidy round for the Canadian, only one blemish on the scorecard at the par-four ninth, but six birdies mean he should have an afternoon tee time for the final round!
Today 12:27 PM
An unexpectedly tough hole
Eleven groups have now made their way through the ninth hole and there has been only one birdie, from Takumi Kanaya, and four bogeys. It is a tough hole in general but today it looks like it's going to cause some serious problems.
Not to Wyndham Clark, though! The former US Open champion rolls in the second birdie of the day at the hole for his third gained shot of a bogey-free front-nine to turn in 33 and become the latest to hit -3!
Today 12:27 PM
Gareth Hanna
Bryson's frustrations show
That run of birdies on the front nine feels a long time ago now. A poor tee shot on the downhill par three 13th drops into the front bunker and, despite nearly holing it, he can't save par as the bunker shot runs out and he doesn't make it coming back. Club smashed into the sand sums up the fall-back to -1.
Today 12:22 PM
Back nine bites back
Henrik Stenson is the latest to drop back to -3 as he flies the par-four 14th green long and left and cannot recover to save par, missing the par putt from 30-feet and falling back courtesy of his first bogey of the day.
Scoring has really dried up over the last hour or so. What had looked like a day where someone could potentially go very low has suddenly become a slog for plenty.
Stenson still the lowest tournament score on the course, alongside Corey Conners, at -3.
Today 12:14 PM
Gareth Hanna
'GO ON BRYSOOON….. MY MVP!'
Two guys have been shouting that before every shot these last few holes. Got to admire their consistency if nothing else.
Their man gets pin high in two on the par five but his eagle putt pulls up a couple of feet short.
Ooooo his birdie putt isn't very MVP either as it misses left and he stays -2. A nasty three-roll.
Today 12:11 PM
A birdie!
Yes, it's a birdie for Maverick McNealy on, of all holes, the par-four 11th as he hits in a brilliant approach to six feet and holes the putt!
Fairways in regulation: 7/9
Greens in regulation: 11/11
Putts: 21
Birdies: 11
Pars: 10
Score: -1 (E for the tournament)
Quoted message
Today 11:38 AM
Adam McKendry
Maverick watch
Why not? This has the potential to be a special (yet boring) scorecard from the American.
Fairways in regulation: 6/7 (a miss to the left at the ninth!)
Greens in regulation: 9/9
Putts: 18
Pars: 9
Score: E (+1 for the tournament)
Today 12:08 PM
Adam McKendry
Shane's stuttering stays
Even when presented with a par-five that most of the field have birdied so far, it's just a par for Lowry who remains +1 for his round and the tournament having failed to pick up a shot all day.
Rahm does likewise. This group is flat, no matter how much the crowd try and pick them up.
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