R&A...153rd Open Championship.. Tee Times Leaderboard
WEATHER : Some fine weather forecast for the final day of the 153rd Open. While there is a small chance of some drizzly showers in the morning, conditions are expected to stay dry and bright in the main, some clouds are expected to move in as we move towards evening.
Light winds for the most part, gusting to 15mph NNE later in the day. High 21*c.
World Number One Scottie Scheffler sits in pole position to claim his first Open Championship title after stretching his lead at Royal Portrush to four shots with a flawless third-round 67.
Scheffler, who won his third Major crown at the US PGA Championship in May, went into the day with a slender one-stroke advantage before being caught at the summit after opening his round with six straight pars.
But he regained the outright lead in style with an eagle on the seventh and never surrendered it again as birdies at the eighth and 16th moved him to -14
Chinese star Haotong Li was his nearest challenger on -10 after mixing four birdies with two bogeys in his 69, with Matt Fitzpatrick another shot back in solo third -9.
Home hero Rory McIlroy was among the group on -8 following a stunning 66 which featured one of the shots of the day - a monster eagle putt on the 12th which sparked wild celebrations from his adoring fans, he hailed it "one of the coolest moments I've ever had on a golf course"
Sitting seven shots off the lead at the halfway stage, Northern Irishman McIlroy needed to get off to a strong start at Royal Portrush on Saturday and he did just that, carding three birdies in his first four holes.
McIlroy, who birdied the 15th to head into Sunday on -8 enjoyed his magic moment on the 12th green, saying: "It's absolutely incredible out there, the atmosphere has been electric all day.
"Just an absolute pleasure to play in front of my home crowd, my fans and I'm really just trying to hang in there and stay in it.
"Obviously the leaders are still a few shots in front but I played well enough today to at least feel like I have a chance going into tomorrow."
He added: "Scottie Scheffler, he's inevitable. Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he's become a complete player. He's so good around the greens, he's improved so much with his putter. It's going to be tough to catch him tomorrow if he keeps playing the way he does.
"But if I can get out tomorrow and get off to a similar start to what I did today and get the crowd going, hopefully he feels that a couple of groups behind me and you never know.
"I just need to go out and play another really good round of golf tomorrow and we'll see what happens."
Scheffler has a great opportunity to add the third leg to his career Grand Slam quest on Sunday, having won the US PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament twice he takes a commanding four-stroke lead into the final round.
He said: "I like being out here competing. This is why we work so hard, it's 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."
edit **** Canada's Corey Conners had one of the rounds of the day, finished off with a long birdie putt on the 18th -5 66 T22 -4. He will play with veteran Englishman Lee Westwood in the final round
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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