The 150th Open - McIlroy & Hovland set pace on day three (2024)

Phew, what a scorcher. No, not the weather... the golf!

The heat is only going to be cranked up tomorrow, too.

St Andrews is set to sizzle again when Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland fight it out for the Claret Jug.

And if those two start sweating and melt, one of the chasing pack will be ready to take advantage.

Whoever stays coolest will win.

The final pairing of McIlroy and Hovland will tee off at 14:50 BST, join us for all the build up from about 13:30.

See you there!

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland have dominated the headlines today - and rightly so.

The pair take a four-shot lead into the final round of the 150th Open Championship after a scintillating duel over the Old Course.

The Ryder Cup team-mates delighted the St Andrews crowd as they both shot six-under-par 66s to lead on 16 under.

Read the full lowdown on today's action at St Andrews from our man Peter Scrivener.

Here's the state of play going into St Andrews Sunday...

-16 Rory McIlroy (66), Viktor Hovland (66)

-12 Cameron Young (71), Cameron Smith (73)

-11 Si-woo Kim (67), Scottie Scheffler (69)

-10 Dustin Johnson (71)

Full leaderboard

Rory McIlroy, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live:

"The eagle was a bonus but I was pretty proud that I kept my composure over the next few holes, not to drop a shot or get ahead of myself and I played well down the stretch."

Incredible support out there - do you block it out or take it in?

"I certainly appreciate the support. Yeah, I'll take it in, it's great to have the support and I feel it out there but I just have to stay in my own little world. I've done it well for three days so I just have to do it for one more day."

Viktor Hovland was talking to BBC Radio 5 Live:

That was a lot of fun. Got off to a good start and to shoot bogey free at a major in these conditions was pretty special.

What's the plan for tomorrow?

It's about going out there and do the same thing today. I feel I was in way more control of my ball yesterday and hopefully I can hit it a little bit better tomorrow.

Co-leader Viktor Hovland, speaking to Sky Sports:

"It was awesome but it was also a little stressful, even though it might not have looked like it, being bogey-free. I had a lot of short putts for par that I had to make and I was really happy that I was able to go bogey-free."

On his monster birdie putt on four:

"I hit a nice nine-iron in there and was actually surprised it finished that far away, but you're just trying to lag those ones so it was a bonus to see it go in."

How exciting it is to have a chance to win The Open at St Andrews:

"It's pretty outrageous, to be fair. I've never been here before so at the start of the week I was just trying to soak everything in. I had some lousy performances coming in so I'm glad I've turned it around and hopefully I'll make the most of it tomorrow."

It sounds like Rory McIlroy has himself a fan in the current world number one.

Here's what Scottie Scheffler had to say when asked if there's a crowd favourite a St Andrews:

"Isn't it Rory? I was like, they're chanting his name out there. I think he's definitely a crowd favourite. How can you not root for Rory?"

Respect.

Well, we've had another brilliant day, but not everyone is enjoying St Andrews as much - including US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

As we know, Fitzpatrick is a big numbers man and the bumps and bad bounces you get on a dry links track, coupled with tricky pins, isn't to his liking.

"Yeah, I'll be honest, I'm not really a fan," Fitzpatrick said of St Andrews.

"I just - you can hit good shots and get bad bounces. And you can hit bad shots and get good bounces.

"Like I say, I felt, for the first seven holes, I didn't really miss a shot. I'm walking off 7th green and I'm plus-1. It's tough to take. It's tough to stay patient.

"I said earlier in the week that it's not my favourite golf course to play. But I think, obviously, with how firm it is, they obviously exaggerate some of the slopes and stuff as well. "

Asked if he thought St Andrews could withstand the modern game without the wind, he replied: "Probably not.

"If the greens are softer than they are in the morning and there's no wind, I mean, no, I wouldn't say so. Some of the pins, as you can see, are incredibly tucked, just over slopes.

"You see where the pins are this week. A lot of them are incredibly tucked, just to try and protect it as much as possible.

"There's a lot of stuff like that that's been done, obviously, to protect it from going lower, I guess."

There's plenty of highlights from Rory McIlroy's round to show you...

Rory McIlroy has the chance to take his place alongside some of golf's most illustrious names tomorrow.

More from Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who tells Sky Sports why he has the belief he can win the 2022 Open Championship: "I'm a better player than I was [eight years ago] and I'm a better player now than I was 12 months ago.

"I've got a lot of belief in myself, I've done it before and I know I can do it again. I need to stay in my own little world, shoot a good score and hopefully that will be enough.

"It would mean everything because of everything I've been through in the last few years and trying to get that fifth major.

"I need to keep the same mindset that I had today and the past three days.

"I need to stay in my own little world and I know if I play my game I can shoot scores like this on this golf course.

"Then, if I can do it one more day, I will give you all the superlatives if that does happen!"

Rory McIlroy, who is tied for the lead after shooting a six-under 66 today, speaking to Sky Sports: "I'm really pleased, I missed some chances and had to stay patient.

"The wind today was variable and I was able to drive a couple of the greens like nine and 12, and took advantage of some of the holes around the turn.

"It was a great group to be part of, Viktor started well and we were really able to feed off each other. I'm looking forward to doing it again tomorrow."

And while you wait a moment or two, here's a stat which will bring further encouragement to the McIlroy fans among you...

Only once has he not converted a 54-hole lead/co-lead at a major into victory...

The man who we all want to hear from has just been giving his post-round thoughts.

Rory McIlroy shares the lead after a scintillating six-under 66 and looks well placed to end that eight-year drought tomorrow,

How does he do that? By staying in his "own little world".

Full quotes on the way...

Zane Scotland

Former European Tour player on BBC Radio 5 Live

Alex Bysouth

BBC Sport at St Andrews

Oooh, this crowd isn’t going anywhere until the last ball has been struck, and they very much appreciated that delightful touch from Cam Smith at 18. It should’ve led to better than a two-putt for par - he started the day as the leader, he ends it four back.

Cameron Young toes a similar effort right across the green towards the feet of the spectators, and gets all sorts of advice from the fans as he shapes to play it…

He also closes with a par, this one saved rather than spawned, and will go to sleep tonight knowing he too has four strokes to make up on Sunday.

A hearty handshake between the two Camerons, who will spend a lot more time together tomorrow.

They will be the penultimate pair for the final round, swapping places with Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland who will also be again paired together.

sakub shiekh: A wonderful climax for the The Open in store with Mcllory and Hovland battling it out. Both making birdies at the 18th hole in style highlights what's in store tomorrow.

Elliot Newstead: Stenson v Mickleson at Troon in 2016 vibes tomorrow for McIlroy v Hovland

What a day! And if you've already forgotten what's happened here are some of the best shots of Saturday at St Andrews.