Binging Billions and turning off the phone are among the plans before the pair tees off on Sunday.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – There’s a lot of time to kill between the conclusion of the third round and the tee time for the co-leaders in the 150th British Open at the Old Course.
After the round, both Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland were asked how they would pass the time until 2:55 p.m. local time (9:55 a.m. ET) and try to avoid letting their mind wander to what could be a historic day.
“There’s no rugby to watch tomorrow morning,” McIlroy said. “I watched two rugby matches this morning, which was great. Got a little emotional when Ireland won, actually. It was an unbelievable achievement for them.
“Yeah, put the phone away. The tee times here are late. So I’ve been sort of taking a little midmorning nap the last couple of days. Just try to do the same thing again. I usually get to the golf course three hours before and do a gym session and get some treatment, physio and lunch and everything else. I get my day in pretty well with just keeping myself busy. And certainly phone away and just sort of get into my routine.”
On Friday, then-36-hole leader Cameron Smith said he was going to binge “Peaky Blinders.” That didn’t work out so well as Smith stumbled to a 73 and enters the final round four strokes back.
Hovland planned to watch Showtime’s Billions. “I’m pretty good at doing nothing,” he said. “I find that time flies by when you’re just sitting on the couch on your phone, watching shows.”
Both players said competing in the final group with a shot to be named Champion Golfer of the Year was a dream scenario.
“Just to be here is very special, but to have a chance to win one is — yeah, I have to pinch myself,” Hovland added. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to hold back tomorrow.”
“It’s unbelievably cool to have a chance to win The Open at St Andrews,” McIlroy said. “It’s what dreams are made of. And I’m going to try to make a dream come true tomorrow.”
[afflinkbutton text=”Viktor Hovland’s golf ball – $49.99 per dozen” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/Kem0Z9″]
GRIPS: Golf Pride MCC
We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – On Tuesday, Rory McIlroy said winning the 150th British Open would be his Holy Grail. He’s 18 holes away from making history with his fifth major win and ending a nearly eight-year drought at the major championships.
But first, he will have to separate from Viktor Hovland, who is attempting to become the first Norwegian to win a major. Paired together in the third round, they shot matching rounds of 66 at the Old Course to share the 54-hole lead at 16-under 200.
“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Hovland said of the back-and-forth battle for the lead between him and McIlroy. “Probably not going to forget that one too quickly. No, I played great, but it was also cool to trade some holes with Rory as well.”
McIlroy poured in five birdies, a lone bogey and a one-in-500 hole-out eagle at No. 10.
“It was skill to get it somewhere close, but it was luck that it went in the hole,” McIlroy said. “You need a little bit of luck every now and again, especially in these big tournaments. And that was a nice bonus.”
The 33-year-old McIlroy broke the birdie seal with a pair of circles on the card at Nos. 5 and 6 and tacked on another at the ninth for a splendid outward nine. Then he crushed a 334-yard tee shot at 10 that caught a greenside pot bunker. His hole-out eagle was the shot of the day, and even Hovland took a moment to acknowledge it.
“That’s just a filthy bunker shot. So you just kind of have to go, hey, that was a sick shot,” Hovland said. “When things like that happen, you just kind of have to give each other a fist bump and say good shot.”
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy plays his ball from close to the wall on the 17th hole during his third round on day 3 of The 150th British Open Golf Championship on The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland on July 16, 2022. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
McIlroy wasn’t as fortunate when his drive at 17 stopped in the left rough and his second shot came out hot and bounded over the green, through the sand, rolled over the road and bounced back off the wall. Due to his ball being in a divot, he hit a low punch for his third that found the putting surface, but it resulted in his lone bogey of the day and dropped him back into a tie for the lead with Hovland. McIlroy didn’t waste any time returning to 16 under for the tournament by making a birdie at the last to shoot his second 66 of the championship.
While McIlroy eyes adding to his major glory, Hovland is in contention for the first time at one of the big events and noted that The Open is the first major he grew up watching and that being at St. Andrews would be extra special.
“I don’t think there’s any other place that would top it,” he said. “To win a major that’s closest to home, that would be really cool.”
After the round, Hovland was asked if he had a moment during the round where he thought to himself, this is where he intended to be his entire life.
“I was thinking what the hell am I doing here?” Hovland said, breaking into laughter. “Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty crazy from where I grew up and so far away from playing the PGA Tour, European Tour, for that matter major championships. Just to be here is very special, but to have a chance to win one is – yeah, I have to pinch myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hold back tomorrow.”
If the 24-year-old Hovland were to claim the Claret Jug, it would mark the first time that the four majors were all won by players under 30.
Hovland climbed the leaderboard by making four straight birdies on the front nine starting with a 38-footer at the third hole and following it up with a 42-footer at the fourth. He made a short birdie putt after McIlroy’s hole-out eagle at 10 and a two-putt birdie at 18 in posting a bogey-free 66 and setting up a rematch with McIlroy on Sunday in the final pairing.
Cameron Smith reacts after missing a putt on the 7th green during the third round of the 150th Open Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Their closest pursuers, who trail by four strokes, are third-round leader Cameron Smith (73), whose putter cooled off and made a round-ruining double bogey at 13 after a poor drive, and Cameron Young (71), who hung tough but made his own back-nine double bogey at 16.
“The golfing gods were not with me today,” Smith said.
But might they be with McIlroy this week? Golf Channel’s Paul McGinley suggested the stars finally may be aligned for McIlroy, who said he’s finished off enough golf tournaments in his time that he’ll know what to do tomorrow, to sip from golf’s Holy Grail.
“I see so many things coming together,” McGinley said. “I just feel that the golfing gods have got something good in store for Rory McIlroy.”
We are in store for a truly outstanding day of golf.
Cameron Smith entered the third round with the lead, but on a day that saw almost every player in the field shoot under par, he faltered, shooting 1 over and now sits four shots back.
Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, who played together in the second-to-last pairing, both shot 66 and will enter the final round four shots clear of the field.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s what you need to know for the final round of the 2022 British Open. All times listed are ET.
1st hole
Tee time
Players
2:20 a.m.
Sam Bairstow
2:30 a.m.
Jamie Rutherford, Wyndham Clark
2:40 a.m.
Hideki Matsuyama, David Law
2:50 a.m.
Sam Burns, Sungjae Im
3:00 a.m.
Garrick Higgo, Adri Arnaus
3:10 a.m.
Patrick Reed, Laurie Canter
3:25 a.m.
Cameron Tringale, Joaquin Niemann
3:35 a.m.
Aaron Jarvis, Jordan L Smith
3:45 a.m.
Barclay Brown, Danny Willett
3:55 a.m.
Sebastian Munoz, Robert Dinwiddie
4:05 a.m.
Lars Van Meijel, Yuto Katsuragawa
4:15 a.m.
Kurt Kitayama, Jason Kokrak
4:30 a.m.
Justin Thomas, Marcus Armitage
4:40 a.m.
Paul Casey, Jason Scrivener
4:50 a.m.
Justin De Los Santos, Tony Finau
5 a.m.
Thomas Detry, Thriston Lawrence
5:10 a.m.
Sergio Garcia, Corey Conners
5:20 a.m.
Adrian Meronk, John Parry
5:40 a.m.
Robert MacIntyre, Talor Gooch
5:55 a.m.
Sadom Kaewkanjana, Abraham Ancer
6:00 a.m.
David Carey, Lee Westwood
6:10 a.m.
Harold Varner III, Joohyung Kim
6:20 a.m.
Brad Kennedy, Filippo Celli
6:30 a.m.
Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk
6:45 a.m.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Richard Mansell
6:55 a.m.
Sahith Theegala, Min Woo Lee
7:05 a.m.
Lucas Herbert, Xander Schauffele
7:15 a.m.
Jon Rahm, Victor Perez
7:25 a.m.
Nicolai Hojgaard, Will Zalatoris
7:35 a.m.
Ian Poulter, Anthony Quayle
7:55 a.m.
Dean Burmester, Aaron Wise
8:05 a.m.
Dylan Frittelli, Russell Henley
8:15 a.m.
Bryson DeChambeau, Francesco Molinari
8:25 a.m.
Trey Mullinax, Tyrrell Hatton
8:35 a.m.
Shane Lowry, Brian Harman
8:45 a.m.
Thomas Pieters, Kevin Kisner
9 a.m.
Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth
9:10 a.m.
Adam Scott, Matt Fitzpatrick
9:20 a.m.
Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson
9:30 a.m.
Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim
9:40 a.m.
Cameron Smith, Cameron Young
9:50 a.m.
Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland
How to watch
Sunday, July 17th
TV
USA: 4-7 a.m. NBC: 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
STREAM
Peacock: 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Streaming will include featured groups, featured holes and is also available on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and theopen.com.
Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland will tee off Sunday four clear of the field.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – There are a lot of things one can learn spending the day – and the evening – in this ancient seaside village.
Three of the four seasons can come for a visit. Hearing the sounds of golf spikes hitting concrete throughout the city puts a smile on your face. If you can’t find a suitable pub or restaurant, you’re in the wrong city.
And The Old Course in the middle of the Auld Grey Toun is a never-ending puzzle that has stood the test of time and continues to baffle the best players in the world. This week in the 150th Open Championship is just the latest example proving that.
Here are some things to consider heading into Sunday’s final round in the chase for the Claret Jug.
Shane Lowry was having a decent week at the 150th Open Championship. He was 4 under through the first two rounds, but with Cameron Smith sitting at 13 under, it was going to take a miracle for the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year to have a chance in 2022.
Well, that miracle might be happening on Saturday morning.
Lowry was 1 under on the day as he stepped to the ninth tee. On the driveable par 4, Lowry tugged it to the left, but was in a fine spot to get up and down for birdie.
He did one better than that.
Lowry’s chip shot from the fescue landed short of the flag, took one big bounce and checked up nicely as it approached the hole.
That hole out got the Irishman to 3 under on the day and 7 under for the tournament.
On the very next hole, Lowry’s drive finished 50 or so yards from the flag and he played an eerily similar shot to the one at the ninth. And, again, buckets.
Golfweek went inside the numbers for trends and insights from the home of golf to help give context to what we have seen so far at the 150th British Open.
[afflinkbutton text=”Cam Smith’s golf ball – $49.99 per dozen” link=”https://globalgolf.pxf.io/b3gnrk”]
GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet SuperTack
We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Thursday was a struggle for Tiger Woods, so if the 15-time major champion was going to be around for the weekend at the 150th Open Championship, his Friday round on The Old Course had to be special.
It wasn’t that, at least on the scorecard.
Woods made two stress-free pars to open his round, then made a nice putt at the third for a birdie. He gave it right back at the fourth, however, then made another bogey at the sixth.
He’d make three straight pars to finish his outward nine and make the turn 1 over on the day.
After opening his back nine with six pars, Woods carded a double bogey on 16, pushing him to 3 over on the day. A par at the Road Hole and another at the last closed out his week.
The Open will be back at St. Andrews in five years. This place is Woods’ favorite course in the world, according to numerous sources. We’ll have to wait and see if Friday was the last time we’ll see him walk over the bridge during the game’s oldest major.
