World number one Scheffler moves four clear at Open

In a third round that had all the necessary ingredients to establish a classic, Scottie Scheffler continued on an imperious march toward a first Open Championship title.

Instead, the world’s number one will lead China’s Li Haotong by four shots going into Sunday’s final round, which he has won nine of his previous nine holes by winning.

With the victory of the third leg of the career Grand Slam, which follows wins at Royal Portrush and two Masters titles, would follow with victory at May’s US PGA Championship.

He finished 14 under with a typically strong, if unspectacular, 67-hole bogey-free round, which was punctuated by two birdies and an eagle.

In his native Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy had three birdies in his first four holes, while Scotland’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre both had eagle putts.

Then, with loud cheers reverberating across this renowned old links, Tyrrell Hatton holed his third shot from 140 yards on the seventh.

McIlroy posted a 66, but will start back on Sunday with a six-under.

Anything can happen, he said to BBC Sport, but it will be a difficult task.

After Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods, nobody could compete with Scheffler, who is aiming to become the only player to win the Masters, US PGA Championship, and Open before turning 30.

Scheffler would match Xander Schauffele’s winning streak at the US PGA and Open if he won on Sunday.

Scheffler birdied the eighth hole after opening with six pars and then birdied the seventh to move two shots clear of Fitzpatrick at 13 under.

When playing partner Fitzpatrick bogeyed the 11th, Li and I both fell to 10 under, the two shots eventually grew to three.

With only one bogey in his first two rounds, the Chinese had quietly increased with two birdies and 10 pars in his first 12 holes before missing a par for par on the 13th hole.

Hatton was out there. He was bogey-free for his round, and he was nine under when he birdied on the par-five 12th.

On the 13th, another Fitzpatrick dropped shot to join Hatton, while Li birdied 14 to go back under 10 and keep Scheffler in sight. Just .

Fitzpatrick birdied 15 while Hatton bogeyed 16. Li did the same on 17 to reach 11 under, but she bogeyed the final.

And he carried on as the battle to join Scheffler in the final group persisted. 13 pars had kept him out of the chasing pack besides his eagle-birdie burst.

McIlroy made the halfway cut after hitting the fewest fairways available. In the original field of 156, his success rate of 32.1% over the first two days placed him 150th.

However, he discovered the first on Saturday, which set the tone for a rapid charge that deliated thousands of already frantic disciples.

A 30-foot birdie on the first received a roaring ovation, reminiscent of a Augusta Sunday Tiger roar.

A tap-in birdie on two and a six-footer on the fourth received even louder cheerleading bellows. At the start of play, McIlroy was only four aces away from Scheffler, who was seven behind.

Then it failed, of course.

The momentum was lost after a missed birdie putt from a dozen feet on the fifth and another from a similar range on the seventh.

Following a bizarre incident in the rough where he discovered a buried ball with his follow through after striking his own into the green, his first real failure with the driver down the 11th led to a first bogey.

All hope is lost, Not entirely.

McIlroy drained a 56-foot eagle putt on the 12th, which raised more whooping as the course’s winner.

Schauffele’s analysis of the chaos of noise following McIlroy’s every move was “It was loud and cool.”

When I learned what had happened, I was on the 17th Tee. I assumed it was some sort of hole-out or eagle. He received a standing ovation walking down 13 and was very loud.

He appears to be enjoying it, according to him. The fans seem to be enjoying it, which is great for this event.

However, Scheffler was busy birdieing the eighth to move six clear at 13 under.

It served as a stark reminder that McIlroy was only one step closer to being a majority player than he had been at the start of the game.

McIlroy pushed, though. Another birdie was made by a wedge on 15 into three feet. More bedlam in the stands ensue.

But his round ended up sagging after two wild drives on the 16th and then a ravine on the long par-three 16th.