Rory is one and only story
McIlroy makes eagles on 2 of last 3 holes to open 6-shot lead
HOYLAKE, England — Rory McIlroy looked as though he just had thrown the knockout punch at the British Open, and it was only Saturday.
When McIlroy rolled in a 10-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole for a 4-under-par 68, he straightened his back, stared defiantly at thousands of fans crammed into the horseshoe arena around the green at Royal Liverpool and lightly pumped his fist.
McIlroy went from being tied for the lead to six shots ahead of Rickie Fowler in just more than an hour. Suddenly, the biggest challenge facing him was reminding himself that he had one more round left.
McIlroy, 25, can’t afford to picture his name etched on the base of the claret jug. He can’t think about what it will be like next April to drive down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National with a shot at becoming only the sixth player to capture the career Grand Slam.
‘‘I’m not taking anything for granted,’’ said McIlroy, who also made an eagle on the 16th on his way to completing 54 holes at 16-under 200.
He knows that from experience, good and bad. He blew a four-shot lead at the Masters in 2011 by shooting an 80 in the final round. He had an eight-shot lead at the U.S. Open two months later and set two scoring records to win by eight. And just two months ago, McIlroy came from seven shots behind in a tournament to win by seven.
It looks like a lost cause for Fowler, Sergio Garcia and anyone else trying to chase down a player who has won both his majors — the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA — by eight shots. The six-shot lead was the largest at the British Open since Tiger Woods led by six at St. Andrews in 2000.
Even so, McIlroy was doing his best to preach caution.
‘‘A lot can happen,’’ he said. ‘‘And I’ve been on the right side of it and I’ve been on the wrong side of it. You can’t let yourself think forward. You’ve just got to completely stay in the moment, and that’s what I’m going to try to do for all 18 holes [Sunday].’’
History is on McIlroy’s side. No one has lost a six-shot lead in the 121 years that the British Open has been contested over 72 holes.
‘‘What you have with him is he’s just so explosive,’’ Jim Furyk said. ‘‘He won the U.S. Open by eight shots. He obviously doesn’t have any issue as the front-runner and has no issue trying to extend that lead, much like Tiger used to.’’
Even Fowler acknowledged it would take something extraordinary to derail McIlroy on Sunday.
‘‘If I’m able to go out and get off to a good start, maybe I can put a little bit of pressure on him,’’ said Fowler, who matched McIlroy’s 68 and briefly was tied with him at 12 under through 12 holes. ‘‘Because he’s definitely in control of the golf tournament right now.’’
Defending champion Phil Mickelson was 15 shots off the pace after a 1-under 71, and Woods was 19 strokes back after a 1-over 73 that featured his second triple bogey in two days.
‘‘Made a lot of mistakes,’’ Woods said.