Scottie Scheffler moved a giant step nearer to a second main victory of the season and a 3rd leg of the profession Grand Slam by taking a four-shot lead into the ultimate spherical of The Open.
The world No 1 held a one-shot midway lead and by no means relinquished management in one other spectacular show, a bogey-free 67 lifting him to 14 below and giving him full management at Royal Portrush.
Scheffler discovered an eagle-birdie run to maneuver forward of enjoying companion Matt Fitzpatrick and adopted two spectacular par-saves on his again 9 by including one other birdie, giving him a commanding benefit over China’s Haotong Li.
Fitzpatrick briefly jumped stage with Scheffler however heads into the ultimate day 5 strokes again in third, whereas Rory McIlroy – chasing a second main win of the season – jumped to tied-fourth after delighting house followers with a third-round 66.
McIlroy shares fourth spot with Tyrrell Hatton, Chris Gotterup and Harris English on eight below, with Scheffler now on the verge of matching the efforts of Xander Schauffele – seven strokes again in eighth – by profitable the PGA Championship and The Open in the identical season.
How Scheffler closed on extra main success
Scheffler’s lead doubled when Fitzpatrick made a three-putt bogey on the first however the world No 1 made a three-putt of his personal on the par-five subsequent, lacking a four-foot birdie putt and seeing Fitzpatrick pull stage with a chip-in eagle from off the inexperienced.
He wanted to gap from 10 toes to match Fitzpatrick’s par on the third, because the chasing pack closed on the ultimate group, just for Scheffler to hit the entrance by rolling in a 10-foot eagle on the par-five seventh.
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Matt Fitzpatrick made an eagle on the second gap to briefly pull stage with enjoying companion Scottie Scheffler
Fitzpatrick received up and down from off the inexperienced to birdie the identical gap however discovered himself two again when Scheffler made a 15-foot birdie on the par-four subsequent, with the Englishman then falling additional behind with a bogey on the par-four eleventh.
Scheffler recovered from a wayward tee shot to save lots of par from 10 toes, maintaining him at 13 below, with Li transferring into solo second when he birdied the 14th and Fitzpatrick failed to save lots of par from 4 toes on the thirteenth.
Scheffler has transformed every of his earlier 54-hole leads on the PGA Tour
A potential Scheffler stumble on the 14th – following a wayward drive – was averted when he hacked out of the tough again onto the golf green and received up and down once more, holing from 10 toes to save lots of par, however noticed his lead diminished when Fitzpatrick birdied the following.
The American responded by changing from 15 toes to birdie the par-three sixteenth for the third consecutive day, which gave him a four-shot buffer when Li cancelled out a birdie on the seventeenth with a final-hole blemish, with Fitzpatrick falling 5 behind after a penultimate-hole bogey dropped him again to 9 below.
Scottie Scheffler, golf
Scheffler has transformed every of his earlier 54-hole leads in majors, profitable The Masters in each 2022 and 2024 earlier than claiming the PGA Championship in Could, with the 29-year-old now on the verge of one other landmark victory.
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