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It’s been a long day. It’s time to rest and reflect on an exciting third round at the 150th Open Championship. Thanks for reading and for the evening.
Here is Ewan Murray’s report.
Andy Bull is also in St Andrews and here is his piece on Ian Poulter.
Updated at 21.11 BST
Another interview with Rory. And you can also see their scoreboard.
Your report will arrive soon, but here’s a brief take on our man Ewan Murray.
There are no guarantees about what will happen next – it’s a sport – but Rory McIlroy has been waiting a long time for this opportunity. 18 holes of what would be the most significant victory of his career.
– Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) July 16, 2022
But what about Viktor Hovland? Could it be tomorrow that I win a first major? Matt is backstage and says the Norwegian is really smiling as if he had one of the best days of his life.
A quick quote from Cameron Smith: “Very hard to take on the chin. Pretty frustrating. It wasn’t my day.”
We go back to Rory and it looks like he saw rugby this morning and got a little excited when Ireland beat New Zealand to claim their first series win against the All Blacks. Maybe the planets are aligning.
Updated at 20.50 BST
More on Rory McIlroy on why this could be after eight years of not being able to add to his four-year-old buildup.
Now I am a better player than then. Now I’m a better player than I was 12 months ago. I have a lot of confidence in myself. I’ve done it before, I know I can do it again.
I just have to go out tomorrow, stay in my little world, throw another good marker and hope it’s enough.
Updated at 20.49 BST
And … it expires. What a day that was! One that started with many wondering if Cameron Smith would leave the field and if Rory McIlroy could stay with him. In the end, maybe we’re looking at another “Duel in the Sun,” though not Smith vs. McIlroy, but Rory vs. Viktor Hovland. Here’s McIlroy talking to Sky’s Tim Barter.
Very happy. I missed some opportunities at first and had to be patient. I did my first bird of the day there at 5, par 5 and then my round started from there.
It was also a great group to be a part of. Viktor started really well and I think we were feeding each other and we will do it again tomorrow.
[On the holed bunker shot for eagle at 10] It was really cool. I think it was the first bunker I’ve been to this week. I have practiced a good portion of them on the practice green. It landed perfectly and that’s an advantage. But to try to win these championships, things like this have to go your way at certain times.
Final classification of the third round
-16: McIlroy, Hovland-12: Young, Smith-11: SW Kim, Scheffler-10: D Johnson-9: Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick, Scott-8: Spieth, Cantlay
Here goes Cameron Smith with his birdie putt at 18 years old. No, that sums up your day. He lacked pace and haggled to the left. He started the day with a two-shot lead, finishing it four out of pace after a disappointing 1 out of 73. Cameron Young does well with his second chip and tickles on the even putt. He shoots 71 and is also four behind.
More than Matt, who reports an ironic smile from Rory’s caddy, Harry Diamond, when he passes him by and from Irish journalist Paul Kimmage. “He got away with that on the 17th!”
Cameron Smith’s chip on the 18th is kind of a 7 out of 10 thing for his level. It ends about nine feet away. Cameron Young makes a complete burst of his chip, his ball bouncing on the green and in a small piece of dirt.
Matt is away from home and reports that Irish voices shout “Rory is back home” as McIlroy heads for the scorer’s shack. He is certainly in the golden position to end his eight years of injury in the majors.
Simon McMahon sends an email: “I have no particular knowledge or experience to offer, but I would be surprised if McIlroy doesn’t lift the Claret Jug tomorrow. He seems very relaxed and in control. A long way to go, mind you. He’ll have to win “In fact, I don’t know. Anything could happen. Probably half a dozen players are still there with a shout. But whoever wins can be after a bird on the 18th, please. And a fist bomb too for at the ages “.
Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland slap each other for a job not well done but brilliant. Both have signed 6 under 66 to finish at 16 under. As it stands, there are four ahead of Cam Smith and Cameron Young, who are playing 18. Smith falls pretty short with his driving iron while Young’s 3-wood drifts to the left edge of the green. There are no particular birds, and yet both will feel anxious because they need to find them.
Updated at 20.16 BST
Cam Smith almost enters! A lovely touch and a touch on par at 17 are always welcome. Rory throws first from the water at 18 and coats it up to one foot! Certain bird! This balances the books after his bogey at 17 years old. Speaking of which, Young’s putt only stays on the left, so he makes a pair to stay next to Smith, three from Hovland and McIlroy. Here goes Viktor at 18 with his eagle attempt from 30 feet. He’s a left-to-right curler and his ball almost ends up on Rory’s scoreboard. Birdie also approaches him.
Rory McIlroy goes up to 18th. Photography: Tom Jenkins / The Guardian
Updated at 20.41 BST
At 17, Cameron Smith approaches from a hard flirtation with the famous Road Hole bunker, but ends up on the short grass behind the green. Great opportunity to pair up from there. Cameron Young is looking at the bird after a sumptuous approach over the gently landing bunker, leaving it about 12 feet for the bird.
Thanks Matt. Well, that’s a tremendous thing, no! And there will be even more drama through these last holes. Hovland and McIlroy lead by three after Young makes an ugly double at 16. top of the green. Rory is a bit low, his ball ends up in the ‘Valley of the Sin’.
Viktor Hovland has an easier shot. But it’s still nasty. He plays it well. A knee to come, but close enough. McIlroy’s even putt fails. A first shot dropped of the day and it’s back to 15 less. Hovland secures his pair. They lead the 18th blocked at the top of the standings. And to Dave.
Rory McIlroy’s third shot at 17 is full of dangers. It is close to the wall. It has a road, a strip of grass, a gravel road and a twisty slope in front of it, then a shallow green … here it goes … it’s green. It is not close, but it has taken a large number out of the equation. Ugh.
Rory McIlroy studies how to play his third shot from the wall on the 17th. Photo: Tom Jenkins / The Guardian
Updated at 20.59 BST
Butcher shop! Dustin Johnson just added 18. Then both Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy have seen them approach 17 on the pitching surface. McIlroy is expected to have bounced far enough from the wall to have some sort of chip.
Scottie Scheffler gets five hits in the 17th and comes out of the top five. And he also got a wonderful approach! It proves the wickedness of this penultimate test.
Ten big minutes are approaching. First: the exit to hole 17 for Rory McIlroy. Then, avoiding the problems around the green. Here we go … Well, he’s not on the street, but he doesn’t have big problems. A fluffy lie left raw. Viktor Hovland? Idem. Fantastic roars and screams from the galleries, and then players pass by the relative calm of the corner around the hotel facilities, away from the masses for a brief period.
A late concentration of Cameron Smith perhaps? The leader of the round uses the tracks in a beautiful way to create a 15-foot bird opportunity on the 15th. -the). McIlroy does, but his turn from the dry grass is very safe, so he doesn’t threaten the hole. Smith’s bird putt misses the hole.
Updated at 7.45pm BST
A new club leader. Korean Si Woo Kim makes birdie on the 18th to complete a third round 67 and total 11 below. Dustin Johnson is now two shots adrift of that mark after a third four-hole bogey in the 16th. And Scottie Scheffler rejects his bird’s eye view in the same hole!
Cameron Young will not leave yet. He bounces off the bogey on the 13th with a two putts birdie on the 14th. Smith also makes a bird in this hole. And Scottie Scheffler makes a 109-yard throw from Hay to Short Row in 16th. On the 15th McIlroy stays like a couple saver … no mistakes. He remains bogey-free this Saturday.
A fist bomb for the possible Scottie Scheffler, similar to Jay-Leno, on the 15th. He runs out of a long pair putt to stay in the top five at 11 under.
Danger awaits. Rory McIlroy has four holes to play in his third round. The last of them, the short par-quatre 18th, is not afraid, but both Thomas Pieters and Will Zalatoris have managed a hat trick of bogeys at 15, 16 and 17 today. Many others dropped at least one shot in this stretch. These next three holes will determine your mood overnight, and not just for McIlroy.
Rory McIlroy is the solo leader of the 150th Open! A cozy two-put bird for him on the 14th, after Viktor Hovland’s 12-foot breaking attempt with the same hole. The Northern Irishman leads the Norwegian by one, Cameron Young by three, the rest of the field by five, including Cam Smith who finishes with a double bogey at 13.
Updated at 19.43 BST
Tommy Fleetwood could still start the second round in the top 10. The first-ranked occupies the eighth tie in the standings and the players, if not the leaders (yet), return to it. Americans Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young have dropped shots in the final minutes.
The two leaders have reached par-cin 14th. Viktor Hovland’s fine footwork caused nothing but headaches for the keeper. There are such …