An on-fire Rory McIlroy will take a commanding six-shot lead over Rickie Fowler into the final round of the 143rd British Open tonight.
But it wasn’t plain sailing for McIlroy overnight on the demanding Hoylake course.
He took a four-shot lead into the third round, but at the turn Fowler had caught him, and Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Victor Dubuisson, and Jim Furyk were breathing down his neck.
At that stage the oldest major was anyone’s to win.
In the last eight holes, McIloy burned off his pursuers by turning up the heat with a birdie, bogey, par, birdie, par, eagle, bogey, eagle.
The 4-under stretch did the trick.
That took the Northern Irishman to 16-under, leaving Fowler, Garcia, Johnson, Dubuisson, and the veteran Furyk in his wake.
It was a phenomenal display of power and precision.
The leaderboard reads:
Rory McIlroy – 66 66 68 – 16-under
Rickie Fowler – 69 69 68 – 10 under.
Sergio Garcia – 68 70 69 – 9-under.
Dustin Johnson – 71 65 71 – 9-under
Victor Dubuisson – 74 66 68 – 8-under.
Realistically, the last four are the only possible threats to McIlroy in the frame, who will have to fall in a heap to be beaten
World number one Adam Scott’s the best of the Australians at 6-under, with Marc Leishman 5-under. But both treaded water on moving day.
Scott carded nine straight pars going out, but stormed home with five birdies and a double for his roller-coaster 69.
Leishman had five birdies, a double, and a bogey in his 70.
Of the other Aussies, Matt Jones is on plus-1, while the other three are all on plus-4 – John Senden, Jason Day, and Rhein Gibson
Defending champion Phil Mickelson has been like Gulliver, he’s traveled Hoylake and couldn’t buy a putt, he’s at 1-under, while Tiger Woods is at 3-over after rounds of 69 70 and 71.
Overnight he was in all sorts of strife with five birdies, a triple, a double, and a bogey – very un-Tiger-like.
So the scene is set for a stunning Rory McIlroy victory to go with his 2011 US Open, and 2012 USPGA.
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