Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland turned in such a stunning exhibit of how to play the Old Course when it’s hard and fast it’s only right that they get the chance to do it all again in the last group in the final round of the 150th Open on Sunday.
Both shot fantastic rounds of 66 to separate themselves from the field, creating the prospect of a never-ending duel at a price so precious that McIlroy calls it the holy grail of the sport.
On the one hand, the Northern Irishman who hasn’t won a major in eight years but has clearly rediscovered his mojo. On the other hand, the prodigious 24-year-old who will one day become the first Norwegian to win a major – which could very well be this one.
Rory McIlroy (left) and Viktor Hovland (right) face each other on Sunday to win the Open
McIlroy and Hovland put on a show on Saturday as they pulled back from the closest challengers
The pair started the third round with three strokes from the lead but played so well that they are now four shots away from the two Camerons, Smith and Young, who found playing in the latter group a difficult experience, taking 73 and 71 shots respectively. .
Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 69 to get five strokes adrift alongside Korean Si Woo Kim. US Open champions Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood enjoyed good days but are definitely too far back seven strokes behind.
The bunker just before the 10th green on the Old Course isn’t one of those with a name well-known in the golf world, but McIlroy is about to change all that.
If he continues to win, they will surely have to call it something to commemorate the moment when fate and the sands of time realigned for him.
McIlroy had the support of the crowd and they wanted him around the St Andrews track
Entering the bunkers here is supposed to sound the death knell for a player’s hopes. McIlroy’s stroke of genius—ironically the first bunker he’d been in all week—had the opposite effect. It filled a rabid home crowd with the belief that the agonizing wait to see him win his fifth major might finally come to an end.
Bunker shots from about 40 yards are generally considered to be the most difficult to play in the game and this one required McIlroy to land the ball on a postage stamp-sized field to get the ball close. That’s exactly what he did when the ball landed softly and rolled into the hole.
The R&A built new grandstands at the loop at the end of the course this year to create atmosphere and at the time they must have been so glad they did.
McIlroy’s miracle undoubtedly generated the loudest sound heard on a golf course at a major for many years.
Indeed, you may have to go back to Seve Ballesteros’ victory in 1984 to find the last time a crowd rooted here so hard that one man could win. It comes with as many downsides as it does benefits, of course, but so far the 33-year-old has skilfully ridden the incredible wave of emotion only to find that for the first time since his last win, he was leading a major together with one round to go. at the 2014 USPGA Championship in Valhalla.
Fittingly, the two will do it all again on Sunday for the final round of the 150th Open
This was McIlroy’s seventh round in an Open at this course and the sixth time he has broken 70. It’s the stage where so many of the game’s greats have left their mark and now he has the chance to join them and cement his own legacy.
Of course it won’t be easy. Not with a golfer as skilled as Hovland matching him step by step and shot by shot.
“I know he’s going to get all the support and I’m the underdog, but I’m really looking forward to it,” Hovland said. “It’s going to be special.”
This was a poignant day where the world’s best players were given all the encouragement to show what they’ve got. There were at least four par-fours that were rideable and four more where players could get their tee shots within throwing distance of the green. There was only a warm breeze for protection.
Between them and a low score stood the wiles of the Old Course, the fervor of the fairways, the grandeur of the occasion and one or two juicy pin placements. American Kevin Kisner underlined the possibilities with a 65, as did Shane Lowry with back-to-back eagles in ninth and 10th. Fleetwood posted a 66.
Among the front runners, it was Hovland who left the gate the fastest. This has always looked good to him and especially in this polished condition as hardly a chip is needed, the weakest part of the Norwegian’s game. He recorded four birdies in a row from third.
Huge crowds created a brilliant atmosphere and it’s ready for a duel for all ages on Sunday
McIlroy had his own chances, but had to be patient before his first win arrived with a two-putt birdie on the fifth par five. Another two-putt birdie followed on the ninth for the moment on the 10th that took this Open to a whole new level. Even Scheffler playing the adjacent 11th grinned. It was truly a magical moment.
McIlroy and Hovland skillfully overcame the treacherous gaps that followed, while other contenders lost their minds. Only Australian Smith will know what he did when he tried to hit a long iron on the 13th while standing in a bunker with the ball well under his feet. You have to take your punishment in such situations and the Old Course dealt quite a bit of lashing for his audacity when he made an ugly double bogey.
Dustin Johnson was another who lost ground with moments of frenzy, bogeying on the 13th and then taking four off the back of the 14th to drop another blow.
McIlroy showed what to do, as he went through the green on the fearsome 17th and close to the wall that runs past the road that gives the hole its name. He took his medicine with a bogey, the only blemish by him or Hovland all day.
Both birdied on the 18th to set up the perfect final round scenario, and a duel too close to call.