It may be Rory McIlroy’s homeland, but it’s once again shaping up to be Scottie Scheffler’s week.
Scheffler is one round away from his fourth major championship in four years after opening up a four-stroke lead at the Open Championship on Saturday in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
Scheffler posted a workmanlike 4-under-par 67 at Royal Portrush to get to 14-under 199, with China’s Haotong Li (69) his closest pursuer at 10 under. On a day where the majority of the field shot under par — and six of the top eight players made at least one eagle — Scheffler kept his round bogey-free to remain in the driver’s seat.
“I think the card could look stress-free, but I had two really nice par saves on the back nine that were key,” Scheffler said. “I made a nice 8-ish footer on 11, another one on 14, so two really important putts I felt like. I think anytime you can keep a clean card around a major championship, you’re going to be having a pretty good day.”
Matt Fitzpatrick played in the final pairing with Scheffler and hung with him for much of the front nine before settling for an even-par 71. He’s alone in third at 9 under, and he and Tyrrell Hatton (8 under) hold outside chances at being the first Englishman to win the Open since 1992.
The fans in Northern Ireland would rather see their native son McIlroy charge from six back to capture an emotional major triumph. McIlroy’s eventful day featured a bizarre shot that unearthed another golf ball buried in the rough; he buried a 56-foot eagle putt one hole later on his way to a 66.
Tied with McIlroy and Hatton (68) at 8 under are Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup and Harris English, each of whom shot 68 Saturday. Defending Open champion Xander Schauffele carded two eagles in a round of 66 and sits in eighth at 7 under.
Fitzpatrick erased an opening bogey by chipping in for eagle at the par-5 second to tie Scheffler for the lead. Up ahead, Hatton drew within two of the leaders when he holed out for eagle at No. 7 from 139 yards; his ball landed softly on the green, took some sidespin to the left and dropped into the cup.
The tournament seemed wide open as Scheffler opened his round with six straight pars. But he stuck his second shot at No. 7 to 10 1/2 feet and rolled in the eagle putt, followed immediately by a birdie at No. 8 to reach 13 under.
No. 11 was a pivotal point, as both Scheffler and Fitzpatrick hit poor drives and second shots. Scheffler landed in a native area high above the green, but chipped on and saved par.
Fitzpatrick, in contrast, barely got his third shot onto the surface and settled for bogey, giving Scheffler a three-shot edge over him and Li. Fitzpatrick had two more bogeys and a birdie the rest of the way in.
“(Putts) just wouldn’t go in. That’s the long and short of it,” Fitzpatrick said. “They went in yesterday. They didn’t go in today.”
Putts were going in just about everywhere else. The round of the day was Russell Henley’s 65, which featured a 26 1/2-foot eagle putt and vaulted him to 6 under. England’s Lee Westwood — the 52-year-old LIV member playing in his first major in three years — rebounded from a front-nine 40 with a remarkable back-nine 29, where he made seven birdies and reached 5 under.
Then there was McIlroy, whose round began with a 36-foot birdie putt. He made bogey at No. 11 after he hit a strange shot that somehow dug up a hidden golf ball buried in the rough. But one hole later, he rolled in a 56-footer for eagle up and over a ridge, thrilling the thousands of fans there to cheer him on.
“There was a few moments on the course, the eagle putt on 12, a couple other long putts, even the putt on 1, some of the loudest roars I’ve ever heard on the golf course,” said McIlroy, who holed 131 feet of putts Saturday. “Incredible to play in front of all those people in that atmosphere, and I’m excited to get one more day of it tomorrow.”
Li, a 29-year-old with four wins on the DP World Tour, has only one top-10 major finish in his career — third place at the 2017 Open. He leads the field this week in greens in regulation (46 of 54), fewest bogeys or worse (three, tied with Scheffler) and par-4 scoring (6 under).
He will be the first man from China to play in the final Sunday pairing at a major, and he’ll do so alongside the undisputed best golfer in the world.
“I’m actually quite looking forward to it,” Li said. “Four shots behind, kind of like play for second, especially play with world No. 1. I just try to play my best out there and hopefully make something happen.”
Scheffler has held the 54-hole lead at a major three times. He converted those leads into victories at all three.
“This is why we work so hard is to have opportunities like this, and I’m excited for the challenge of tomorrow,” he said. “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.”
–Field Level Media
