McIlroy makes Open charge, Scheffler stays ahead at Portrush
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland - Home favourite Rory McIlroy birdied three of his first four holes to mount a third-round charge as world number Scottie Scheffler maintained his British Open lead in perfect scoring conditions on Saturday.
The 36-year-old McIlroy began the day on three under par after two up-and-down rounds, seven strokes behind Scheffler, but roars resounded across the Dunluce Links as he made a dream start before reaching the turn at six under.
After his majestic round of 64 on Friday, world number Scheffler was becalmed at the start, three-putting for a par five at the second hole.
England's Matt Fitzpatrick, who began the day at nine under, missed a short par putt on the opening hole but responded with an eagle at the par-five second to join Scheffler on 10 under.
American Scheffler, bidding to lift the Claret Jug for the first time, sparked into life at the seventh with an eagle three.
China's Li Haotong was a shot back on nine under after a steady start.
With huge galleries swarming down the first fairway and massed around the green, McIlroy left himself a 36-foot putt for birdie and curled his effort into the cup.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Mindef, SAF units among those dealing with attack on S'pore's critical information infrastructure
Asia How China's growing cyber-hacking capabilities have raised alarm around the world
Asia At least 34 killed as tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Halong Bay
Singapore 1 dead, 1 injured after dispute between neighbours at Yishun HDB block
Singapore Vessels from Navy, SCDF and MPA to debut at Marina Bay in NDP maritime display
Asia Autogate glitch at Malaysia's major checkpoints causes chaos for S'porean and foreign travellers
Asia SIA, Scoot, Cathay Pacific cancel flights as typhoon nears Hong Kong
Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore
He was close to an eagle at the par-five second, settling for another birdie, and made up his third stroke of the day at the fourth after a superb approach left him a seven-foot putt.
MCILROY CHARGE
Northern Ireland's McIlroy, bidding to win the Open for the second time after his maiden title at Hoylake in 2014, made six successive pars to remain at six under after 10 holes.
He bogeyed the 11th but eagled the 12th with a snaking 56-foot putt to move to seven under, prompting wild celebrations in the crowd.
After two days of unpredictable conditions, the weather gods relented to spark a feast of birdies and eagles.
Early starter Russell Henley of the United States made five birdies and an eagle in a 65 to rocket up the leaderboard and take the clubhouse lead on six under.
No Englishman has won the Open since Nick Faldo in 1992 but Fitzpatrick was not the only player heading into the weekend hoping to end that drought.
Tyrrell Hatton, who this week said "three is the magic number" for pints of the local stout, roared into contention when his approach shot at the 607-yard par-five seventh landed on the green and curled towards the hole before wobbling in for an eagle three.
It was the second eagle at the seventh in successive groups after Scotland's Robert MacIntyre also made one.
American Brian Harman, Open champion two years ago at Royal Liverpool, started two shots off the lead, but made a terrible start as he double-bogeyed his opening hole to fall back to six under. He responded with a birdie at the next but made a bogey at the third.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele eagled the seventh and repeated the trick at the 12th before a birdie at the 15th lifted him within three shots of the lead. REUTERS
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Vos surges to opening stage win in Tour de France Femmes
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Road Cycling - Women's Road Race - Paris, France - August 04, 2024. Marianne Vos of Netherlands after crossing the line to win silver REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Dutch rider Marianne Vos claimed a jaw-dropping 258th career victory when she prevailed in the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes, a 78.8-km hilly ride from Vannes to Plumelec on Saturday. The three-time road world champion, 38, prevailed at the top of the Cote de Cadoudal (1.7km at 6.2%) after her Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand Prevot cracked in the final metres to finish third behind Kim Le Court of Mauritius. While Ferrand Prevot could not convert, she showed impressive strength when she attacked 700 metres from the line, a move that underlined the mountain biking Olympic champion's title credentials. Vos, who will wear the yellow jersey in Sunday's second stage, surged past in the final 50 metres and raised her arm in celebration, just like Ferrand-Prevot. After a dozen riders were involved in a crash as the peloton rolled towards the start of the stage, Maud Rijnbeek and Laura Tomasi formed the day's breakaway. Rijnbeek went solo after 23 kilometres before Tomasi was swallowed by the peloton. Swiss rider Marlen Reusser was involved in another crash at the foot of the Cote de Cadoudal, a 1.7-km ascent at 6.2%. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Woman taken to hospital after car falls into sinkhole on Tanjong Katong Road Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore NDP 2025: How Benjamin Kheng is whisked from Marina Bay to Padang in 10 minutes by boat, buggy Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore From libraries to living rooms: How reading habits take root in underserved S'pore children Asia Thai-Cambodia clashes spread along frontier as death toll rises Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur for resignation of PM Anwar Reusser, who finished second in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta, later abandoned with stomach problems, her Movistar team said. Defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, who beat Demi Vollering by just four seconds last year, finished fourth in the same time as the winner. Vollering was fifth, three seconds behind. REUTERS

Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Norris takes Spa pole on all-McLaren front row
Formula One F1 - Belgian Grand Prix - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium - July 26, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen poses with a trophy after winning the sprint race alongside second place McLaren's Oscar Piastri and third place McLaren's Lando Norris REUTERS/Yves Herman SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - McLaren's Lando Norris edged out his championship-leading teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri for pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. The Briton blasted around the long and flowing Spa-Francorchamps circuit in a best time of one minute 40.562 seconds, with Piastri a mere 0.085 slower, to secure his fourth pole in 13 races and 13th of his career. Norris will be chasing his third win in a row, in what looks like being a wet race on Sunday despite Saturday's sunshine, to cut the Australian's nine-point lead. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start third and Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen, winner of the 100 km sprint, qualified fourth for his team's first grand prix under the leadership of Laurent Mekies after Christian Horner was sacked. "The car has been flying all weekend, Oscar's been doing a good job all weekend so we're pushing each other a lot," said Norris, who was third in the sprint with Piastri second. "It's tough because you kind of see where your strengths and weaknesses are. And you learn from each other quickly. It's a good but tough battle that we have at the minute." Norris had been fastest in the opening phase of qualifying, with Piastri a close second, and the positions were reversed in the second segment before the top-10 shootout and the Briton coming out on top. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Woman taken to hospital after car falls into sinkhole on Tanjong Katong Road Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore NDP 2025: How Benjamin Kheng is whisked from Marina Bay to Padang in 10 minutes by boat, buggy Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore From libraries to living rooms: How reading habits take root in underserved S'pore children Asia Thai-Cambodia clashes spread along frontier as death toll rises Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur for resignation of PM Anwar "I felt like the car was very good again, but it's fine margins out there. It's obviously not a bad place to be starting but there was more in it, which is always disappointing," Piastri said. "After the sprint, I was aiming for P2," he said, referring to Verstappen winning from that position. Behind the top four, Alex Albon qualified fifth for Williams with George Russell sixth for Mercedes and ahead of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda. Racing Bulls had Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson eighth and ninth with Sauber's Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, last year's winner with Mercedes, failed to get through the first phase after his best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. The seven-times world champion, who has yet to stand on the podium since his move to Ferrari at the end of last season, will start 16th. REUTERS

Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Groves avoids crash to win Tour Stage 20, Pogacar retains lead
Find out what's new on ST website and app. PONTARLIER, France - Australian Kaden Groves completed his set of grand tour stage wins when he prevailed on the Tour de France's penultimate ride, avoiding a crash on slippery roads before powering to a solo triumph on the 184.2km journey from Nantua on Saturday. Groves's bike-handling skills were on display when he managed to stay up as Spain's Ivan Romeo and France's Romain Gregoire skidded out of control in front of him on a wet descent 21 kilometres from the finish. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider then attacked from a reduced breakaway bunch and never looked back in the remaining 17 kilometres, bursting into tears in a mix of disbelief and exhaustion after the line. Groves, who gave his team their third victory in this year's Tour after Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel also won, has seven Vuelta and two Giro d'Italia stage wins to his name. Dutchman Frank van den Broek took second place, 54 seconds behind, with his compatriot Pascal Eenkhoorn third, five seconds further back. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar spent a quiet day in the main peloton and made another step towards a fourth Tour title as he retained his overall leader's yellow jersey with a 4:24 advantage over Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard. The final stage is a 132.3km ride from Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris, where the peloton will cycle up the famous Butte Montmartre three times before the final laps on the Champs-Elysees. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Woman taken to hospital after car falls into sinkhole on Tanjong Katong Road Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore NDP 2025: How Benjamin Kheng is whisked from Marina Bay to Padang in 10 minutes by boat, buggy Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore From libraries to living rooms: How reading habits take root in underserved S'pore children Asia Thai-Cambodia clashes spread along frontier as death toll rises Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur for resignation of PM Anwar