McIlroy leads by six at Open
A SENSATIONAL double-eagle finish from Rory McIlroy yesterday gave him a six-stroke cushion going into the final round of the Open Championship as he crushed a chasing pack of challengers who tried and failed to hunt him down during a rain-hit third round.
The Irishman, 25, looking to add a third major to his collection and a first on British soil, started the day with a fourstroke lead at soggy Hoylake.
But by the time he reached the 12th hole that had vanished and he was caught in a dogfight with American Rickie Fowler, hungry to win his first major.
That was when McIlroy, who had been struggling off the tee, produced his best golf of the week at Royal Liverpool.
A birdie at 14 eased him back ahead, and with Fowler going off the boil, McIlroy struck what could prove to be two tournament-winning blows with eagles at the 16th and 18th.
That gave him a 68 and left him at 16-under for the tournament, six strokes clear of Fowler, who had eight birdies en route to a 68.
It was the biggest lead at the third-round stage of the Open since Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2000. Woods eventually won by eight strokes on
My game plan all week was to take care of the par fives
that occasion.
A further stroke back came Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who had a 69, and Dustin Johnson of the US with a 71. Frenchman Victor Dubuisson was next best on eight-under after a 68.
“Rickie Fowler was getting close to me. I knew if I could hit good drives on 16 and 18 I would have a good chance of birdie. I didn’t expect to hit eagles, but there you go,” said McIlroy.
“It is a good thing I have experienced this before, good and bad.
“My game plan all week has been to take care of the par fives and I want to do that again in the final round.”
It was already a remarkable day for the British Open because for the first time in its 154-year history the field went out from both the first and 10th tees instead of just everyone going off the first.
That was due to a decision taken by tournament organisers the Royal and Ancient Golf Club to bring forward the start times and share them between one and 10 in an effort to complete the round in the face of bad weather forecast for later on.
As it was, the 72-strong field was greeted with torrential rain as they arrived at the historic links layout on the Wirral peninsula south of Liverpool. —