“It’s incredibly cool to have a chance to win The Open in St Andrews, dreams are made of that and I’m going to try and make a dream come true tomorrow.”
Tslang are the words of Rory McIlroy going into today’s final round with part of the lead, alongside Viktor Hovland, running 16-under, four shots from the field. Eight years without a major, and always with a sense of what could have been when he got injured in 2015, the world No. 2 has a great chance of finally breaking both his big duck and winning the Claret Jug in the home of golf. Indeed, today is what dreams are made of.
For example, McIlroy and Hovland played the Old Course on Saturday – both shooting six-under-66s – it would be a surprise if the winner didn’t come out of the final clutch. While their rivals, like Cam Smith, who shot a one-over 73 to fall back to 12-under, struggled, the Northern Irishman and the Norwegian fed each other and pulled out of the pack. And McIlroy, who is looking to win his fifth major today, knows that more of the same will help him win his second Open Championship.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself, I’ve done it before and I know I can do it again. I have to stay in my own little world, get a good score and hopefully that’s enough,” he said. said.
“It would mean everything because of everything I’ve been through over the years and trying to get to that fifth major. I have to keep the same mindset that I had today and the last three days.
“I have to stay in my own little world and I know if I play my game I can shoot scores like that on this golf course. Then if I can do it another day I’ll give you all the superlatives if that happens! “
He will surely have the crowd behind him, the roar as he entered from the bunker on the 10th could be heard over Fife and a surprising fan is none other than Scottie Scheffler. The world No. 1 is five shots back at 11-under and if he can’t win a title today there’s little doubt who he’d like to see lift the famed Claret Jug.
“I was like, they’re chanting his name out there. I think he’s definitely a crowd favorite. How can you not advocate for Rory?” said Scheffler.
The leaders kick off at 2:50am, so stay here for all the action on what could turn out to be a dramatic day.