Former champion Rory McIlroy and Norwegian Viktor Hovland and will take part in the lead in the final round of the 150th British Open in St Andrews after finishing Saturday at level 16 under par.
The duo came out together in the penultimate pair on Saturday afternoon after sitting at 10 under par at night, three shots behind Australian Cameron Smith, leader in the middle of the stage with 13 under par .
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McIlroy and Hovland lead the standings 02:38
McIlroy, the 2014 Open champion, posted his second 66 of the week with five birds, as well as a sensational eagle two in the 10th, where he participated from a bunker on the green side.
He has been described as potentially the most important in McIlroy’s career, should he win this weekend, having turned the Open in his favor.
Out of context, the eagle on the 10th put him in a tie to lead with Hovland.
“You can believe the scenes,” Matt Southgate said in a comment The Open radio.
“It’s an amazing bunker shot. I can’t believe what we just saw. Rory McIlroy just makes a jump at everyone.”
The only flaw of his card was a bogey in the difficult 17th. Hovland, the world number nine who has never been ranked in the top 10 in a major, recorded an excellent 66 of six under par with six birdies – including four in a row from the third – and no shots lost.
Sunday runs the risk of becoming a straight turn between the two who are four shots ahead of U.S. closer rivals Smith and Cameron Young.
Smith and Young came out on the last pair of the day on Saturday, but Smith hit the first and never got started in a 73-on-one round over the pair.
That left him 12 minus for the championship, as did Young, who had a 71. South Korea’s Kim Si-woo and world number one Scottie Scheffler, the Masters champion, will play Sunday with 11 minus, while Dustin . Johnson is 10 below.
Tommy Fleetwood fired a fine of 66 for sitting back down next to his English compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick, the U.S. Open champion, and Australian Adam Scott.
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Australian Cameron Smith is still in the running. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) Source: AFP
Despite his severe drought since winning a quarterfinal in three years at the 2014 PGA Championship, lifting the Claret Jug for the second time would end an excellent year for McIlroy.
The 33-year-old has finished in the top 10 of the other three majors in 2022 and won the Canadian Open last month.
“It’s been like this all year. I felt almost in control of everything,” McIlroy added.
“I think the results and consistency have supported it.”
At the other end of the spectrum, it was a tough two days for Tiger Woods, as the 15-time senior champion missed the cut again above what could be his farewell appearance at St Andrews.
COMPLETE THIRD ROUND LEADER>
Hovland pulls out a beautiful eagle | 00:47
Woods thanked McIlroy for a “tip of the lid” as the couple crossed paths in their round.
And McIlroy hopes the American will have a chance to return home from golf to make a bow instead of his fights this week.
“It would have been a fantastic time if it had been eight below instead of eight above,” McIlroy said of his interaction with Woods. “Everyone hopes it’s not the end of their Old Course career. I think they deserve it, and we deserve it, to make another crack at it.
“I hope the Open comes back here in four or five years and gets there again, because, with the good that has been throughout his career and the good that has been in The Old Course, I think he has improved with him. ”
Meanwhile, Hovland said lifting the Claret Jug at the British Open on Sunday could be as good as his career at the tender age of 24.
Hovland, a three-time PGA Tour winner, has yet to finish in the top 10 of a major, but he believes there would be no better place to win his first than at St Andrews.
“I don’t think there’s any other place that surpasses it,” Hovland said. “It’s crazy where I grew up and so far from playing the PGA Tour, the European Tour, for that the major championships. Just being here is very special.
“To have a chance to win one, I have to pinch myself. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop tomorrow.”
Viktor Hovland is looking for a great victory. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
Hovland and McIlroy were teammates in the Ryder Cup in September, when the U.S. stormed an overwhelming 19-9 victory.
Despite the high risk, the camaraderie between the two was evident as they shared smiles and jokes on their way around the golf house.
And Hovland believes there are elements of a future Ryder Cup partnership between the pair.
“It would be a lot of fun. I think we would have a good time,” he added. “Statistically and all of that, I don’t know how you would put everyone together and form the best team, but I think we have a good relationship and we would definitely feed off of each other.”
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