After a Saturday 66, Rory McIlroy is tied for the lead at the British Open and possibly 18 holes away from ending an eight-year major drought.
Michael Madrid/USA Today
ST. ANDREWS – Sure, this British Open week could be going better for Rory McIlroy. He could have a six-shot lead. LIV Golf’s checks could start bouncing. But other than that … well, let’s just say it:
This is Rory’s week.
That doesn’t mean he will win. It means everything is set up for him to win. He shares the lead with Viktor Hovland, a fantastic young player who has never contended in a major. Nobody else is within four strokes of them. The atmosphere is so pro-Rory that gorse bushes scurry away when his ball comes toward them. If he doesn’t win now, when is he going to do it?
“The more people bring up the result, the more I’m going to just harp on the process,” he said.
Anybody who follows golf knows that there have been times when major-championship stakes got in McIlroy’s head, especially at a certain tournament in Georgia. There have also been times when he was about as adept with his wedges as a baby seal is with a knife and fork. But this week, McIlroy has been in control of his emotions and his game.
MORE: British Open Round 4 Tee Times
He has also been lucky in small but important ways. On the 10th hole Saturday, he tried sticking a bunker shot within 10 feet and rolled it into the cup for eagle. As he said afterward: “It was skill that got it somewhere close but it was luck that it went in. You need a little bit of luck every now and again, especially in these big tournaments. And that was a nice bonus.” (He also restrained himself from celebrating the eagle too much because he did not want to distract Dustin Johnson and Scottie Scheffler, who were teeing off nearby on No. 11. How great is that?)
On the Road Hole, McIlroy’s approach came out hot, scooted over the green, and over the road, right toward the stone wall. But McIlroy said “It could have been way worse. I could have been up against the wall.” He made a bogey 5.
Meanwhile, almost everybody who is anybody looked like a nobody. Cam Smith, the Players Championship winner who began the day with a two-stroke lead, suddenly couldn’t make a putt. Then he arrived at the 13th hole, hit what “I thought was a perfect tee shot” and found the ball sitting next to a bunker. He had to stand in the bunker to hit it. It’s never ideal when your ball looks down at you. He made double bogey and now sits four strokes behind.
Then there was Johnson, who had a putt for eagle on the par-5 14th and promptly sent it past the hole and into a bunker. He made bogey and is six strokes back. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler had chances to move forward and moved … well, a little forward. He is five strokes back.
Then there was residual good fortune from Friday. Hovland snuck into a group with McIlroy, bumping Johnson, and sparing McIlroy a dozen questions about the narrative: PGA Tour (Rory) vs. Saudi Arabia government-funded LIV Golf (DJ). McIlroy and Johnson get along quite well, but it was surely less stressful playing with Hovland, his Ryder Cup teammate. They had an easy banter. “Kept it nice and loose,” McIlroy said.
It even helped that Hovland played well, too. As Scheffler said Saturday, “It’s not easy to shoot 9 under when the guy in front of you is shooting 4 over. It’s always nice seeing good shots and then be able to judge off those.” McIlroy said it, too: “We sort of fed off each other.”
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It’s Rory’s week. Now it’s up to Rory to finish it, and he should be the betting favorite just as he is the sentimental one. Hovland is young. Cameron Young is also young – and is not as accomplished as Hovland. Smith has to clear his head of demons from this year’s Masters and Saturday’s round.
McIlroy has not won a major in eight years. He has only won majors when scores were low and he could run away from the field. Both of those facts can be interpreted as shots at him. They are not.
Yes, eight years is a long drought for McIlroy, but the key words there are “for McIlroy.” He has won four majors. That is an extraordinary career. Of the 24 other players who have been No. 1 in the world since the Official World Golf Rankings began in 1986, only five have won four majors. McIlroy won four by age 25, so the eight-year drought looks long.
And yes, he has only won majors in benign conditions when he grabbed a lead before Sunday. So what? He still won them.
McIlroy has been an excellent golfer for those eight years. He finished all of them ranked in the top 11 in the world. He won the Players Championship and PGA Tour Player of the Year award in 2019. But because he is Rory McIlroy, it has all looked like a disappointment because of that major drought.
McIlroy understands. One of his many endearing qualities is that he embraces everything that comes with his position: the attention, the expectations, the obligation to speak out on issues that affect the sport’s future.
The two most popular golfers here this week were Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Nobody else is close. Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, said, “They’re chanting his name out there. How can you not root for Rory?”
Do right by the fans, and they’ll do right by you. McIlroy became a star as a young player winning majors but more loveable as an older player who wasn’t winning them.
“The support that I’ve gotten this week has been absolutely incredible,” he said. “I appreciate it and I feel it out there. But at the same time, I’m trying my hardest just to stay in my own little world because that’s the best way for me to get the best out of myself.”
McIlroy watched two rugby matches Saturday morning and said he “got a little emotional” when Ireland beat New Zealand. He says he will try to stay in his “cocoon” during the final round. When he comes out of it, he is likely to lift the Claret Jug again, and if he does, he can treat himself by uttering six beautiful words:
“Greg Norman would have blown this.”
> Scottie Scheffler, a Fast Learner On the Old Course, Still Has a Chance
> Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Adam Scott Hoping for British Open Charge From Way Back
> Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland Share Lead, Set Up for Head-to-Head Sunday Showdown at St. Andrews
> What To Watch In the Final Round at St. Andrews: Rory, the Closing Holes and More Birdies
> Watch: British Open Day 3 Recap, Rory Tied For Lead
> Round 4 Tee Times
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