The Open 2025: Scottie Scheffler four clear heading into final round at Royal Portrush

The Open, circular 3 leaderboard

-14 Scheffler (US); -10 Li (Chn); -9 Fitzpatrick (Eng); -8 Hatton (Eng), English (US), Gotterup (US), McIlroy (NI)

Selected: -6 MacIntyre (Sco); -5 Westwood, Hall, Rose, Wallace (all Eng)

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Scottie Scheffler continued his imperious march towards a archetypal Open Championship rubric successful a 3rd circular which had contained each the ingredients to acceptable up a classic.

Instead, satellite fig 1 Scheffler, who has won the past 9 times helium has held the 54-hole lead, volition instrumentality a four-shot vantage implicit China's Li Haotong into Sunday's last round.

Victory connected Sunday astatine Royal Portrush would implicit the 3rd limb of the vocation Grand Slam, having won May's US PGA Championship, to adhd to 2 Masters titles.

It was a typically solid, if unspectacular, bogey-free circular of 67, punctuated by an eagle and 2 birdies, to instrumentality him to 14 under. And helium volition commencement the last circular knowing helium has won each 3 of his majors erstwhile holding oregon sharing the pb aft circular three.

"I was beauteous patient," said the 29-year-old.

"Sometimes successful large championships, it tin beryllium pugnacious to marque birdies, and contiguous was 1 of those days."

A magnanimous Rory McIlroy, who volition commencement Sunday six backmost aft a five-under 66 connected Saturday, said: "I don't deliberation it's a astonishment - he's playing similar Scottie.

"Everyone's seen the mode he's played implicit the past 2 oregon 3 years. He's conscionable truthful solid. He doesn't marque mistakes.

"He's turned himself into a truly accordant putter arsenic well, truthful determination doesn't look to beryllium immoderate weakness.

"Whenever you're chasing down a feline similar that, it's hard to do. He's incredibly impressive."

McIlroy had provided the aboriginal fireworks successful his autochthonal Northern Ireland with three birdies successful his archetypal 4 holes, portion England's Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland knocked successful eagle putts.

Tyrrell Hatton past holed his 3rd changeable connected the seventh from 140 yards with large cheers reverberating crossed this celebrated aged links arsenic the UK players made aboriginal moves.

But MacIntyre was incapable to prolong his, portion Fitzpatrick and Hatton ended the time 5 and six backmost respectively.

"If I tin marque a large commencement again, thing tin happen, but it volition beryllium a gangly order," McIlroy told BBC Sport of his chances.

But ultimately, cipher was capable to support gait with Scheffler, who is bidding to go conscionable the 4th subordinate to triumph a Masters, US PGA Championship and Open earlier the property of 30 – aft Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Should helium implicit the triumph connected Sunday, Scheffler would lucifer the feat of Xander Schauffele, who won past year's US PGA and Open.

He would besides go lone the 2nd subordinate to triumph the Claret Jug portion topping the satellite rankings, aft Tiger Woods, who did it 3 times.

After opening with six pars, Scheffler played the par-five seventh successful 3 shots and past birdied the eighth to determination 2 wide of Fitzpatrick connected 13 under.

Two shots became 3 erstwhile playing spouse Fitzpatrick bogeyed the 11th to driblet alongside Li connected 10 under.

The Chinese, with lone 1 bogey successful his opening 2 rounds, had softly moved up with 2 birdies and 10 pars successful his opening 12 holes, but past missed a tiddler for par connected the 13th.

Hatton was lurking. Bogey-free for his round, a birdie connected the par-five 12th took him to 9 under.

Another Fitzpatrick dropped shot, connected the 13th, saw him articulation Hatton, portion Li birdied 14 to bump backmost to 10 nether and support Scheffler successful sight. Just.

Hatton bogeyed 16 to decorativeness connected 8 under. Fitzpatrick birdied 15. Li did likewise connected 17 to get to 11 nether but past bogeyed the last.

And portion the jostling to marque it into the last radical alongside Scheffler continued, helium serenely carried on. Aside from his eagle-birdie burst, 13 pars had kept him wide of the chasing pack.

A 15-foot birdie putt connected the 16th - a spread named Calamity Corner - took him to 14 nether and 2 closing pars cemented his lead.

Li volition beryllium retired past with Scheffler. Fitzpatrick volition play with McIlroy successful the penultimate group.

Americans Chris Gotterup - the astonishment victor of past week's Scottish Open - and Harris English volition besides commencement six back.

McIlroy had deed the fewest fairways of anyone to marque the halfway cut. His occurrence complaint of 32.1% implicit the archetypal 2 days ranked him 150th successful the archetypal tract of 156.

He recovered the archetypal fairway connected Saturday, though, and it acceptable the code for an aboriginal complaint that sent thousands of already frenzied disciples into delirium.

A 30-foot birdie connected the archetypal was greeted with a thunderous cheer, reminiscent of a Sunday Tiger roar astatine Augusta.

A tap-in birdie connected 2 and six-footer connected the 4th were received with adjacent louder bellows of encouragement with "Rory, Rory, Rory" echoing done the dunes. McIlroy had gone from 7 down Scheffler astatine the commencement of play to conscionable four.

But past it fell flat.

A missed birdie putt from a twelve feet connected the 5th and 1 from akin region connected the seventh killed the momentum.

His archetypal existent nonaccomplishment with the operator down the 11th led to a archetypal bogey - aft a bizarre incidental successful the unsmooth wherever helium unearthed a buried shot with his travel done aft striking his ain towards the green.

All anticipation lost? Not quite.

More whooping turned heads crossed the people arsenic McIlroy drained a 56-foot eagle putt connected the 12th.

"It was large and cool," was Schauffele's instrumentality connected the cacophony of sound pursuing McIlroy's each move.

"I was connected the 17th tee erstwhile I heard immoderate happened. I assumed it was an eagle, immoderate benignant of hole-out. It was precise loud, and helium got a lasting ovation walking down 13.

"He looks similar he's enjoying it. It looks similar the fans are enjoying it, which is large for this event."

But portion the fans celebrated, Scheffler was engaged birdieing the eighth to determination six wide connected 13 under.

It was a stark reminder that portion the absorption of the bulk was firmly connected McIlroy, helium was lone 1 person than helium had been astatine the commencement of play.

Still McIlroy pushed. A wedge connected 15 into 3 feet yielded different birdie. Cue much bedlam successful the stands.

But scrambling pars, archetypal from the ravine connected the agelong par-three 16th, and past aft a chaotic thrust connected 17, saw his circular peter out.

Just 1 bogey successful a 66 would, connected astir days, beryllium raucously celebrated but astatine six backmost helium has surely near himself excessively overmuch to bash connected Sunday.