A confident Rory McIlroy is tied for the 54-hole lead at the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy shot 4-under 66 at in Saturday's third round of the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. He is tied for the lead at 11 under with Chris Gotterup, who shot 61 on Friday and entered Saturday as the outright leader before posting even-par 70 in the third round.
McIlroy made five birdies to go along with a lone blemish in the form of a bogey on the par-4 seventh. He played the three par 5s in 3 under on Saturday, tying for the lowest round of the day with Harris English and Wyndham Clark, who both shot 66 as well.
"I made a really good bounce-back birdie after the bogey on seven. I felt like the conditions were tougher as the day went on and the back nine played more difficult today than it did yesterday, at least for me. I think the wind and the conditions we got are sort of similar to what the afternoon wave got yesterday. But I controlled my ball flight well and did what I needed to do, close on the last two holes as well. Overall happy with the day's work."
That score could have been even lower if not for a few close calls on the back nine, the most notable of which came on the par-4 15th when his third shot from the greenside bunker hit the flagstick and popped out of the hole, robbing him of what would have been a highlight-reel birdie. He tapped in for par.
He rolled in a 10-foot putt for birdie on 16, then on the 17th, McIlroy narrowly missed a 13-foot birdie attempt to get to 12 under, which would have been good for the outright 54-hole lead. He did the same on 18.
"I think the bunker shot on 15, I got a little fortunate there, hitting the pin. The birdie on 16 was huge out of nowhere. And then, look, I gave myself two great chances at the last two holes. I hit two good putts. They just burned the edge. But yeah, I would say 15 and 16 were two big holes. One to keep momentum and one to pick up that shot."
McIlroy has been under scrutiny in recent months for his performance and behavior surrounding media availability since winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam in April. He missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open amid much discussion about a test that his driver failed a few weeks prior in the days leading up to the PGA Championship, where he finished T47.
But it wasn't long before his game began rounding back into form again. He grinded out a top-20 finish at the U.S. Open before tying for sixth at the Travelers Championship.
After rounds of 68, 65 and 66, he enters Sunday in prime position to nab his 30th career victory on the PGA Tour. It would also be his second win at the Genesis Scottish Open in his last three starts there. He won it in 2023, finishing one shot ahead of Robert MacIntyre, who then went on to win this event last year.
Now, McIlroy has a chance to close the show at The Renaissance Club once again, and because tee times were moved up due to a dense sea fog in the forecast, he might be able to catch some tennis on TV in the evening.
"I'm excited. I'm excited to get out there. The atmosphere has been great all week. Obviously the weather helps that. Tee times are pushed up a little bit, so hopefully get the business done early-ish and I can watch the last two or three sets of the Wimbledon final."
A win would be quite the boost in momentum heading into next week's Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, where McIlroy will be seeking his sixth major title in his home country.
He believes his game is up to the task.
"I think I'm pretty close to being back to the level I was at going into the Masters."
McIlroy tees off Sunday at at 8:40 a.m. ET in the final group with Gotterup (11 under) and Wyndham Clark (9 under), 10 minutes after the other three players at 9 under — Jake Knapp, Matt Fitzpatrick and Marco Penge.
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