Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland will form Sunday's final pairing as the 150th Open Championship heads for a thrilling conclusion.
The duo played together on Saturday and both shot third-round 66s to claim a share of the lead on 16 under at St Andrews.
However, it is not quite a two-horse race at the famous Fife links, with Cameron Young and overnight leader Cameron Smith four strokes behind, while Scottie Scheffler and Kim Si-woo are within five.
The highlight of McIlroy's round was a hole-out eagle from the bunker on 10, but he and Hovland were both wayward on their approach shots to 17 as signs of nerves started to show on the notoriously tricky Road Hole.
McIlroy was close up against the stone wall to the right of the green and ended up with a bogey five, while Hovland – whose shot came to rest on the gravel path – recovered to salvage par and restore parity at the summit of the leaderboard.
A pair of birdies at the last kept it that way, setting things up for what promises to be a memorable final day at the home of golf.
Elsewhere in the field on an exciting moving day, Shane Lowry carded back-to-back eagles on the ninth and 10th before the 2019 winner faded on the back nine to sign for a 69.
Patrick Cantlay threatened to join the fun at the sharp end of things when he got to 11 under through 12, but he dropped three shots in the remaining six holes to end up eight off the pace.
SHOT OF THE DAY
McIlroy turned a threat into an opportunity after putting his tee shot into the bunker at the 10th, with rival Hovland having landed safely short of the pin.
A superb bunker shot pitched just shy of the cup and rolled in for an eagle two that piled the pressure on Hovland.
To his credit, the Norwegian got down in two for a birdie that ensured he stayed level with his playing partner.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
On moving day in Fife, it was crowd favourite McIlroy who really clicked into gear.
A pre-tournament favourite, the 33-year-old found his groove to chart a course for his fifth major and first since 2014.
On this form, he will take some stopping on Sunday, even with Hovland for company.
CHIPPING IN
Jordan Spieth: "What's difficult about it is a lot of the pin locations are in these tiny little tucked corners where, if you hit it more than five feet by, it goes 50 feet away."
Shane Lowry: "It wouldn't take Einstein to figure out what went wrong on the back nine. My putting was horrific."
Bryson DeChambeau: "I don't think you ever know how to play this golf course fully. Every day it's different. It showcases a unique golf course each time the wind pops up or doesn't pop up. It's just different."
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME
- When McIlroy won The Open in 2014, he was 16 under after round three.
- The pairing of McIlroy and Hovland produced just one bogey between them on Saturday.
- Every winner of The Open at St Andrews has been within four shots of the lead heading into the final round.
I’ve knocked off a lot of rust – Tiger Woods pleased with progress in comeback
Tiger Woods felt he had made significant progress after completing 72 holes in his latest comeback from injury in the Hero World Challenge.
Competing for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery after withdrawing from the Masters in April, Woods carded a closing 72 in the Bahamas to finish level par for the week and 18th in the 20-man field.
The 47-year-old recovered from a double bogey on the third with three birdies in the next four holes and also birdied the 14th and 15th after dropping shots on the eighth and 11th.
“I think I’ve come a long way,” Woods told NBC.
“From being a little bit rusty to playing four days and knocked off a lot of rust which was great, and just the physicality of actually playing and competing again – I haven’t done this in a while.
“It was nice to get out here with the guys, have some fun and compete. I wish I would have played a little cleaner but there’s always next time.”
Asked about his pre-tournament prediction that he could be able to play one tournament a month in 2024, Woods added: “If you ask me right now I’m a little bit sore.
“But once a month seems reasonable. It gives me a couple of weeks to recover, a week to tune up. Maybe I can get into a rhythm. That’s what the plan was going into next year and I don’t see why that would change.”
In a separate interview with a group of reporters, Woods added: “Every day I got faster into the round. The first day took me a while to get a handle on it, second day was faster, today was right away.
“And that’s eventually, when I play on a regular basis, that’s normally how it is.
“I think the best part of the week is the way I drove it. I drove it on pretty much a string all week. Granted, these fairways are big. I felt like I had my ball speed up, which was nice, and I was hitting the middle of the face the entire week, which is nice.
“So it’s not like I have to go and try and find something the next few weeks or something going into next year; what I’ve been working on is right there and maybe just [need to] tighten up a little bit.”
Rory McIlroy says rule change ‘will make no difference to the average golfer’
Rory McIlroy believes “elite pros” and equipment makers are to blame for an expected rule change which will reduce how far golf balls travel.
Golf’s governing bodies announced in March the proposal of a Model Local Rule (MLR) to give tournaments the option to require the use of balls which would travel around 15 yards less.
R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers and USGA counterpart Mike Whan confirmed that the MLR would apply in their own elite events, most notably the Open Championship and US Open, respectively.
McIlroy and Tiger Woods spoke out in support of the proposal but it was opposed by the PGA Tour and strongly criticised by top equipment manufacturing company Acushnet and former world number one Justin Thomas, who plays their market-leading Titleist balls.
In response to what Slumbers termed “very strong pushback”, the R&A and USGA are now understood to be on the verge of announcing a revision to the way balls are tested, which will effectively make current versions non-conforming and require shorter balls to be made.
Golf Digest, which first reported in detail on the revision, say it will apply at the elite level from 2028, but also for recreational players from 2030.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, McIlroy said: “I don’t understand the anger about the golf ball roll back.
“It will make no difference whatsoever to the average golfer and puts golf back on a path of sustainability. It will also help bring back certain skills in the pro game that have been eradicated over the past 2 decades.
“The people who are upset about this decision shouldn’t be mad at the governing bodies, they should be mad at elite pros and club/ball manufacturers because they didn’t want bifurcation.
“The governing bodies presented us with that option earlier this year. Elite pros and ball manufacturers think bifurcation would negatively affect their bottom lines, when in reality, the game is already bifurcated.
“You think we play the same stuff you do? They put pressure on the governing bodies to roll it back to a lesser degree for everyone. Bifurcation was the logical answer for everyone, but yet again in this game, money talks.”
In response to a follower who queried his view that the change would make no difference to the average golfer, McIlroy wrote: “I don’t believe an average golfer giving up 5-10 yards off the tee is going to have a material effect on their actual score, handicap or enjoyment of the game.”
Tiger Woods says fatigue to blame for dropped shots in closing holes
Tiger Woods admitted he was battling mental and physical fatigue after his second comeback round “stalled” at the Hero World Challenge.
Woods, 47, delivered a two-under-par 70 to leave him on one-over par through 36 holes following ankle surgery after his withdrawal from the Masters in April.
But the 15-time major winner was left thinking what might have been after he picked up three bogeys and just one birdie in his concluding six holes.
Woods reached the turn at the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas with four birdies on his scorecard.
“Overall the round was better than yesterday, for sure,” said the American. “The start was better, the middle part of the round was better.
“I missed a couple putts there towards the end I thought would have kept the round going and unfortunately it kind of stalled out a little bit.”
Asked if physical and mental fatigue had contributed to his end-of-round “stall”, Woods, who dropped four shots in three holes between the 15th and 17th on Thursday, replied: “It’s all of the above. I just haven’t done it. I haven’t played in six months.
“Things are not as sharp as they normally would be. There has certainly been some good in there and I have just got to make sure that the good is more consistent than it has been.
“I can play at home, I can walk, beaches, and do all those things. But it’s different when you’re at game speed.
“You can simulate all you want at home and I had it the best I possibly can. We played a lot of money matches, but it’s just different. The mind’s racing more, the anxiety, the emotions are just different. You can always drop a ball at home, no big deal. Here it’s going to cost you.
“Other things are bugging me and bothering me, but the ankle’s fine. This week is a great beta test to figure out what I can do, and what the plan is going forward, and just analyse what it’s like to compete and play and the things I need to strengthen and work on in the gym to be ready for next season.”
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