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France 24
21 minutes ago
- Sport
- France 24
'Tiger like' Scheffler set to spoil McIlroy dream in British Open finale
McIlroy dubbed his American rival's brilliance over the first three days at Royal Portrush as "inevitable" as he maintains a stunning run of form that has already seen Scheffler claim the PGA Championship this year. When leading at the 54-hole stage, Scheffler has won his last nine tournaments and it will take an unexpected collapse or charge from the chasing pack to deny him a fourth major. Li Haotong is his closest challenger at 10 under par as he aims for history by becoming the first Chinese man to win a major. Matthew Fitzpatrick sits third, five shots off the lead, after stumbling down the back nine on Saturday. McIlroy appears the one big threat to a serene Sunday afternoon for Scheffler as the Masters champion tries to ride the wave of support on a course just over 60 miles from where he took his first steps in the game just outside Belfast. For much of Saturday, the thousands following McIlroy's every move were in raptures. Three birdies in his opening four holes and an eagle at the 12th powered the world number two to a round of 66 and a share of fourth place. But the 2014 British Open champion remains eight shots off the lead, a gap even he recognises is hard to bridge given Scheffler's class. "Scottie Scheffler is inevitable. Even when he doesnt have his best stuff, he's the complete player," said McIlroy. "He's playing like Scottie. I don't think it's a surprise. Everyone's seen the way he's played or plays over the last two or three years. He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes." Scheffler not 'fulfilled' Scheffler raised eyebrows in his pre-tournament media duties by stating his is "not a fulfilling life" despite his success and standing in the game. "It feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling," he added. Yet, it is hard to see Scheffler being robbed of his few moments of bliss come the 18th green on the Causeway Coast. Victory would see him become only the second player after Tiger Woods to win the British Open while ranked world number one. His streak of 10 consecutive top-10 finishes is also set to continue, a run that includes three tournament wins. That level of consistency has sparked comparisons to Woods' heyday, even if Scheffler remains some way off the latter's 15 majors. "He's an exceptional player. He's world number one, and we're seeing Tiger-like stuff," said Fitzpatrick of his playing partner on Saturday. However, that hype does not appear to matter to the man who is on course to lift the Claret Jug for the first time. "Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I've put myself in a good position," said Scheffler. "Going into tomorrow I'm going to step up there on the first tee and I'm going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway, and when I get to the second shot I'm going to be trying to get that ball on the green. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
British Open: Scottie Scheffler 'in his own world' as he eyes major No. 4
Rory McIlroy drew one of the great gallery roars of his life on Saturday at the British Open. Matt Fitzpatrick once again holed a miraculous eagle chip. Chris Gotterup and defending champion Xander Schauffele charged up the leaderboard. We even got a smile out of Tyrrell Hatton after a brilliant eagle of his own. And none of it mattered a bit, because Scottie Scheffler continued his relentless assault on Royal Portrush. Scheffler is now just 18 holes from his second major of the year, the third leg of the career grand slam, and the fourth major in his career. He's now four strokes clear of the field at 14-under, after finishing out a clean-card 4-under round with two birdies and an eagle. Outside of Scheffler, the wildest story of the day was easily the hometown kid. McIlroy birdied three of his first four, and carded an eagle on 12 that shook all of Northern Ireland. But he also somehow managed to unearth a second ball when firing from the rough on 11, and then a kid grabbed his ball when it rolled into the gallery along 17. Just a normal day for the No. 2 player in the world, who wrapped the day at -8. "If I hadn't have won a major this year, if I hadn't have won the Masters, I might have felt differently," McIlroy said after the round. "I've just really tried to embrace everything this week. I'm having an incredible time. I'm really enjoying myself, and I feel like I've given myself half a chance now." Players up and down the leaderboard took advantage of the day's ideal conditions — warm, clear, almost no wind — to post scores that dove deep into the red. Haotong Li quietly carded a -2 round to finish at -10 and set himself up for a Sunday final-round pairing. Fitzpatrick, in the final Saturday group alongside Scheffler, stumbled with three bogeys in the back nine and finished out the day at -9. "They just wouldn't go in. That's the long and short of it," Fitzpatrick said. "They went in yesterday. They didn't go in today." One week after his remarkable win at the Scottish Open, Chris Gotterup finished out at -8 for the day. Harris English also wrapped the day at -8 after a -3 round on the afternoon. Hatton closed out his day at -8 as well, another strong round for the Englishman still searching for his first major. But the story of the day — and, really, of the era — continues to be Scheffler, who passed every test that Royal Portrush could force on him. Scheffler threw down an eagle on 7 and a birdie on 8 to put some more distance between himself and the field, but otherwise kept up a smooth barrage of pars to keep everyone else at club's length. No matter whether Scheffler's shots ended up in the thatch or the bunkers, he found a way to escape with nothing worse than a par. "Anytime we're going around the course I'm trying to take advantage of my opportunities. Sometimes I do a better job of that than other times," Scheffler said. "It's more just a matter of trying to make the best of the opportunities that you can get, and sometimes I'm good at it, sometimes not as good." "When I watch Scottie play a lot, he just looks blacked out to me, just doing his thing," Schauffele said after his round. "He's just in his own world and nothing's going to bother him. He gets to that place often, which is a good thing for him." He's also dominant when he holds a 54-hole lead: "Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I've put myself in a good position," Scheffler said. "Going into tomorrow I'm going to step up there on the first tee and I'm going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway, and when I get to the second shot I'm going to be trying to get that ball on the green. There's not really too much else going on." We don't want to say that this is a done deal, but the British Open's engraver has already started carving S's into the Claret Jug.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Air of inevitability blows in as Scottie Scheffler seizes control of the Open
Scottie Scheffler still had 20 holes of this Open Championship to play. History tells us leads can evaporate in just one. Dense rough, links bunkers, the scale of pressure attached to the oldest major. Open calamity is written in folklore. The ghost of Jean van de Velde still lingers. And yet, the bookmakers had Scheffler at only 1-8 to lift the Claret Jug. The fat lady had cleared her throat. Twenty holes. What sporting planet is this? It is possible to run out of adjectives for Scheffler. Unflappable, remarkable, relentless. Nobody will ever match the impact of Tiger Woods on golf but it really is no exaggeration to suggest Scheffler can be similarly dominant. Come Sunday evening on the Causeway Coast, Scheffler will surely be a four-time major winner and three-quarters of the way towards a career grand slam. This is only his 24th major start as a professional. In one of them, his pursuit of glory was undermined by being thrown into a police cell. Immediately before the pandemic, nobody beyond golf geeks knew who Scottie Scheffler was. Confidence – or certainty – attached to what happens next is backed up by Scheffler winning on the last nine previous occasions when he has held a 54-hole lead. He is in pursuit of a 12th victory since spring of 2024. This advantage is to the tune of four shots. Li Haotong's 69 means he is the closest to Scheffler's 14 under par. Li will play in the final group of a major for the first time in an up-and-down career. Scheffler; 68, 64, 67. He has barely broken sweat. Saturday's hope of a tussle was a brief one, as Matt Fitzpatrick chipped in for an eagle at the 3rd to tie the lead. Scheffler jabbed back by collecting two shots of his own at the 7th but Fitzpatrick's birdie at the same hole kept matters interesting. Scheffler reached 13 under par by picking up a shot at the 8th. On the back nine there were two ridiculous par saves from Scheffler, at the 11th and 14th after finding deep foliage. The 16th is called Calamity for a reason; Scheffler made a mockery of its reputation courtesy of a birdie two. Fitzpatrick had erred at the short 13th, with his birdie two holes later offset by another mistake on the penultimate hole. The Yorkshireman closed on nine under after his level-par 71. Scheffler has promised not to overthink his position. This seems his finest attribute, a mindset that does not move dependent on leaderboards. 'I like being out here competing,' Scheffler said. 'This is why we work so hard, to have opportunities like this and I'm excited for the challenge of tomorrow. Winning major championships is not an easy task and I've put myself in a good position. 'Going into tomorrow I'm going to step up there on the 1st tee and I'm going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway. When I get to the second shot I'm going to be trying to get that ball on the green. There's not really too much else going on.' Simple, so blissfully simple. Try telling that to poor Matti Schmid, who shot 79. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Fitzpatrick bemoaned problems on the greens. What was the issue with putts, Matt? 'They just wouldn't go in,' he replied with admirable candour. Fitzpatrick added: 'Let's be realistic, he's five ahead. It's not easy. But if you get off to a good start, then obviously put a bit of pressure on early doors and hope for the best ... You get three under through six, like some of the guys today, the 7th the par five and all of a sudden you're kind of right back in it, you would hope. It's clear what I have to do tomorrow.' The tournament minus Scheffler is a decent one. Rory McIlroy reached eight under par with a dramatic 66, his lowest score of the week, before wonderful crowds. McIlroy's homecoming has been already been everything he could have imagined. The Belfast boy has Chris Gotterup, Harris English and Tyrrell Hatton for scoring company. On a day when chances were aplenty, the defending champion, Xander Schauffele, posted five under par to move to minus seven. Lee Westwood is out of winning contention at minus five but a back nine of 29 in glorious sunshine proved hugely enjoyable for the veteran. Westwood credited his wife and caddie, Helen, with triggering the run by providing the former world No 1 with a tuna sandwich on the 10th tee. Bob MacIntyre, who is now eight shots adrift, summed up the hopelessness of it all for mere mortals. At the start of 2025, MacIntyre asked his caddie to assess how far behind the world's top-ranked player he was in various statistics. Said bag man gave up the process after swiftly realising MacIntyre, then 16th in the rankings, was closer in all departments to No 2 than No 2 was to No 1. It is not the sea air dominating in Portrush. Instead, an air of inevitability.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Scottie Scheffler builds on Open Championship lead as Rory McIlroy lights up Royal Portrush
The imperious Scottie Scheffler will go into the final round of the British Open with a commanding four-shot lead — and with only the naggingly ominous vision of a charging home idol Rory McIlroy in his rear-view mirror. The masterful American world number one kept his eyes firmly on the Claret Jug during Saturday's third-round moving day, heading inexorably towards his fourth major with a consummate, bogey-free round of 67, leaving him on 14-under for the Championship. It's left the 29-year-old a prohibitive favourite, with China's Li Haotong his nearest if still distant challenger, and English hope Matt Fitzpatrick, a former US Open champ, a further shot adrift at 9-under. Still, though, it may be the thought of the continuing magic that McIlroy could yet again produce at 8-under, inspired by his home army of fans, that may preoccupy the PGA champ. Masters champ McIlroy was inspired at times on Saturday, what with his three birdies to start in just four holes, kicked off by a 36 foot curler at the first, then an amazing 56 foot putt for eagle at the 12th that sent the locals wild. He was even magic when he didn't intend to be. At the 11th, he hit out of the rough and managed to dislodge a previously buried ball. He ended up bogeying that one, but it still couldn't halt his pied piper progress as he ended with a 5-under 66. At six shots behind, he's not given up hope of catching the seemingly uncatchable. "Scottie Scheffler is inevitable," McIlroy said. "Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he's become a complete player. "It's going to be tough to catch him tomorrow if he keeps playing the way he does. "But if I can get off to a similar start to what I did today, get the crowd going, hopefully he feels that a couple of groups behind me, and you never know." The way Scheffler is playing, though, McIlroy might have to dream up something as absurd as the 61 that he famously shot at Portrush as a 16-year-old. That inevitability of Scheffler was on view throughout. The inevitability of sheer solidity hole after hole, with the odd starburst thrown in, like the laser 206-yard approach to within 10 feet of the pin for eagle at the seventh. The inevitability of three 10-footers holed to save par. Crushingly for his pursuers, he did not drop a shot all round. Li meanwhile has been a revelation but his third dropped shot all week at the 18th felt a fatal error as he finished with a 69. Fitzpatrick, who had begun just a shot behind, chipped in at the second for eagle but laboured to a level-par 71. AAP
BBC News
7 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Is Open all over or does chasing pack have chance?
Scottie Scheffler could be forgiven for spending Saturday night sketching out his Open Championship winner's world number one has three times before led a major with 18 holes to play. At the 2022 Masters, he led by three. Two years later at Augusta, by one. Both times he left with the Green May, the American parlayed a three-stoke lead into a six-shot win in the US now at Royal Portrush in this year's Open Championship, Scheffler has cleaved open an advantage of four shots after 54 holes following a display of understated authority in the hazy Northern Irish 29-year-old's dominance has looked increasingly unassailable as the past couple of days have unfolded on the Antrim unheralded Li Haotang of China is his nearest challenger. England's Matt Fitzpatrick is one further back. Rory McIlroy is six behind. So is the third leg of a career Grand Slam now inevitable or can someone, somehow, deny Scheffler his fourth major and first outside the United States? Is Scheffler next to join elite club? Fitzpatrick had suggested after the second round that Scheffler - as world number one - would carry the burden of expectation around the links over this if he felt any pressure, he didn't show it in a serene round of 67. Scheffler completed his day's work without a blemish on the card, an eagle and two birdies perfectly timed to ease himself clear of his rivals at just the right he is 18 holes away from becoming just the fourth player to win a Masters, US PGA Championship and Open before the age of 30 – after Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger should he do so, he would also become only the second player to win the Claret Jug while topping the world rankings, after Woods, who did it three times. Not bad for someone who started his week in Northern Ireland by saying professional golf was "not a fulfilling life" and questioned "the point" of zealously pursuing while he might not wring the same satisfaction from it as some, he could be three-quarters of a way to a career Grand Slam by the end of he's had four top-10s in the last eight US Opens, the chances are he'll join McIlroy in attaining membership of that elite club of six men some time soon."I'm just trying to execute, not overthinking things," Scheffler said after his 67 on Saturday. "I feel like I've been doing the right thing so far."It would be nice [to win] but I'm not going to be thinking about that tonight. I'm going to be going home, trying to get some rest and then get ready for tomorrow." What was it like following him on Saturday? When Shane Lowry, who won The Open here in 2019, said the course would never play any "easier than it is today". It felt an ominous warning to anyone with aspirations of halting Scheffler's seeming procession towards the Claret Irishman was speaking not long after the world number one took to the course already with a two-shot than go on the sort of birdie blitz that his playing partner from the first two days warned was possible, Scheffler instead shot the sort of stress-free 67 that has become his calling a course where the most famous hole is named Calamity Corner, the American's consistent ability to avoid disaster was again the most striking element of his off streaks of six and eight consecutive pars in a round that contained no bogeys, there were times when Scheffler's blend of patience, control and execution made the majestic appear simply when there were hints of trouble, the threats were quickly extinguished. What makes Scheffler so good? Scheffler is, for the most part, not a big talker. But others were more than happy to do so on the Olympic gold medallist's behalf after Saturday's the nearest man to the American in the rankings and the most recent to join the Grand Slam club, called him "incredibly impressive"."I don't think it's a surprise - he's playing like Scottie," said the Northern Irishman, who was handed his Green Jacket by deposed champion Scheffler in April."Everyone's seen the way he's played over the past two or three years. He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes. He's turned himself into a really consistent putter as well, so there doesn't seem to be any weakness there."Whenever you're chasing down a guy like that, it's hard to do."Robert MacIntyre is 14th in the world but concedes the gap between himself and Scheffler is absolutely vast."At the start of this year, when we checked the stats, Scheffler was further ahead of No 2 in the world than I was at 15th or 16th to the number two," the Scot said."He's an exceptional player and a great guy, and works so hard."Another of the world's top 20, Harris English, has known Scheffler since their amateur said: "He's unbelievable. He's been number one for I don't know how many weeks but he works harder than anybody I've ever seen. He works like he's never going to play in another major championship ever again. "He's easy to root for. I can't say anything bad about the guy. What he's doing is incredible." Can anyone deny him Claret Jug? It's not just in majors that Scheffler's resolve stiffens on a Sunday. The last nine times he's led going into the final round of a PGA Tour event, he's won. He is often more machine than man. But occasionally, machines fail. Nobody has ever lost a bigger lead in the final round of a regular tour event than Scheffler did in the 2022 the Tour was six clear going into the final day back then, but failed to get the job done in Atlanta. The man who denied him victory that day? The man who is six behind him going into Sunday's final round here... McIlroy.
