Rory McIlroy ready to 'make a run' and thrill Royal Portrush
Six years ago, he failed to make the weekend by a stroke after a terrible first day, but there was no danger of that this time around as a second-round 69 left him three-under and within five of clubhouse leader and former champion Brian Harman.
Since 1970, 89% of Open winners have been within four of the lead after 36 holes so McIlroy will have to buck that trend, but he is feeling good about his game.
"I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend.
"I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that.
"I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run.
"I've been somewhat close to my best over the first two days in little bits here and there.
"I'm going to need to have it all under control and have it sort of all firing over the weekend to make a run."
The Masters champion mixed the majestic with the mediocre over the front nine before gaining some control after turning for home.
Last in the field for driving accuracy on Thursday after hitting just two fairways, he struggled to recalibrate his radar early on but that did not prevent him making birdie at the first from 18 feet after finding the semi-rough.
However, he was a foot from driving out of bounds at the par-five next and had to take an unplayable lie and eventually chipped to seven feet to save par.
The 176-yard third caused him problems as his tee shot caught the bank of a bunker, forcing him to stand in the sand and choke down halfway on the shaft of his wedge with his ball well above his feet and that resulted in a bogey.
A 348-yard drive and approach to six feet brought a birdie at the next but the driveable par-four fifth caused him problems after pulling his three-wood into a bunker, which produced the response, "don't go in there - idiot".
Another bogey followed and despite hammering a 372-yard drive down the par-five seventh he came up short with his approach, chipped to nine feet but missed the birdie attempt.
There were more missed fairways, although seven found over the course of his round represented a significant improvement, but he was able to pick up two shots coming home without further drama.
His eagle putt grazed the hole at the 12th and chipped an 87-yard approach to 17ft for another birdie on the 14th.
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Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Scottie Scheffler insists he was unaware of Rory McIlroy's charge as he took command of The Open at Portrush
The world number one was not at his very best but as roars rang out all over Royal Portrush as McIlroy shot 66 to go into the final round six shots behind, he relentlessly pushed forward to edge closer to the third leg of the career Grand Slam. "I feel good," said Scheffler, who eagled the seventh, birdied the eighth and followed stellar par saves at the 11th and 14th with his third birdie two of the week at the 16th. "I had another good day today. I made a couple of nice par saves. I had a really good par save on 11, really good par save on 14 and I did some good stuff. "Like you said, I was pretty patient most of the day but felt like I was hitting it really nice. Just sometimes major championships it can be tough to make birdies, and today was one of those days where I just had to give myself some looks and was able to hole a few. "I'm just trying to execute, not overthinking things. I feel like I've been doing the right thing so far, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow." Asked if he was aware of McIlroy's charge, he was in no mood to give the Holywood star any encouragement, even if he was aware of the Holywood star's move up the leaderboard to joint fourth. "Ehhh, no," Scheffler said as he headed for home to recharge for a final round pairing with China's Haotong Li, who trails him by four shots on 10-under after a 69 Scheffler added a third major title to his two Masters victories by claiming the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in May and admitted it would be satisfying to add a Claret Jug to his collection and leave himself needing only the US Open to join McIlroy in the career Grand Slam club. "Yeah, it would be nice, but I'm not going to be thinking about that tonight," said the American, who leads the putting statistics and lies second for strokes gained on approach. "I'm going to be going home, trying to get some rest and get some recovery and then get ready for tomorrow." ADVERTISEMENT Ominously for the chasing pack, Scheffler has converted his last nine 54-hole leads into wins. Why he's such a good front runner is a mystery to him. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said. "I like being out here competing. This is why we work so hard is to have opportunities like this, and I'm excited for the challenge of tomorrow. "Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I've put myself in a good position. "Going into tomorrow, I'm going to step up there on the first tee and I'm going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway, and when I get to the second shot I'm going to be trying to get that ball on the green. "There's not really too much else going on." As for the chasers, Haotong feels he has nothing to lose when he heads out with Scheffler in the final group at 2:30pm after almost quitting the game due to swing yips two years ago. "I'm actually quite looking forward to it," he said. "Four shots behind, kind of like play for second, especially play with world No. 1. "I just try to play my best out there and hopefully make something happen. "For sure, nothing to lose. Especially from two years ago, swing yips, couldn't even pull the trigger until now. It's a massive step for me." Fitzpatrick will play in the penultimate group with McIlroy and at five strokes adrift, he knows it won't be easy to catch a player of Scheffler's calibre. "Let's be realistic, he's five ahead," he said. "It's not easy. But if you get off to a good start, then obviously put a bit of pressure on early doors and hope for the best, really." McIlroy also knows it will be tough to catch Scheffler from six shots behind. "Yeah, he's playing like Scottie," McIlroy said. "I don't think it's a surprise. Everyone's seen the way he's played or plays over the last two or three years. "He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes. It looked like he could have made bogey on 14 there. "He's turned himself into a really consistent putter as well. So there doesn't seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you're trying to chase down a guy like that, it's hard to do. But he's incredibly impressive." The Down man planned to watch "Oppenheimer" to distract himself from his task. "I started 'Oppenheimer' last night," he said. "Try to get through another hour of it tonight and maybe finish it tomorrow morning. "Apart from that, just keep my mind off of things. I always do better with distraction. So if I can just distract myself and get my mind on something else, that's always a good plan for me.'
The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Rory McIlroy beams with pride as he pays tribute to ‘one of the coolest moments I've ever had' after charge at The Open
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The 42
11 hours ago
- The 42
'It was very strange' - McIlroy's wild third round at the Open features bizarre two-ball trick
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