Rory McIlroy has blistered The Renaissance Club for three days now, as he leads the Scottish Open by one stroke heading into Sunday’s final round.
From tee to green, McIlroy has by far been the best player. He leads the field in strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained tee-to-green, and strokes gained overall.
He also ranks first in driving distance, averaging 337.1 yards per tee shot.
“It was another really good round of golf. Very solid,” McIlroy said after carding a 3-under 67 Saturday.
“I feel like I’ve left a few out there over the last couple of days, but at the same time, at least the last few holes, it was quite tricky conditions. I played well. It’s been a good three days, and looking forward to obviously being in the final group tomorrow and seeing how my game holds up under that sort of pressure.”
PGA Tour and DP World Tour officials moved up Saturday’s tee times due to inclement weather forecasted to hit Scotland’s east coast later in the day.
But the early start—and the tricky conditions down the stretch—did not trouble McIlroy, as he waltzed around The Renaissance Club beautifully for the third day in a row.
The Northern Irishman got off to a hot start Saturday, birdieing two of his first three holes.
Another par-breaker at the 7th got McIlroy to 13-under for the championship and 3-under for his round.
Then the shot of the day came at the 594-yard par-5 10th hole.
From 232 yards out, McIlroy knocked a beautiful 6-iron to three-and-a-half feet.
He then missed the eagle putt, settling for his fourth birdie of the day.
McIlroy has missed plenty of putts this week, as he ranks 60th in the field in strokes gained: putting.
His flat stick has not cooperated, and usually, when that happens, players falter.
Yet, McIlroy is striking it so well, so beautifully, that he has the lead by himself through 54 holes.
“I’m in a really good position,” McIlroy said. “It’s hard to be disappointed when you’re in the lead going into the final day. I’ll certainly take it.”
The wind started to pick up on McIlroy’s final holes, which led to a pair of bogeys at the 12th and the 15th.
But McIloy’s birdie at the par-3 14th, in which he made a 15-footer, offset those minor setbacks.
He pared the final three holes to card an even-par 35 on the back side to maintain a one-shot lead over Tom Kim heading into Sunday.
For the second consecutive day, Scottish Open officials moved the tee times up because of high winds in Sunday’s forecast. Groups will go off split tees and in threesomes once again.
McIlroy will play alongside Kim and Tommy Fleetwood in the final pairing, as they are scheduled to tee off at 3:57 a.m. ET.
“Just take it as it comes,” McIlroy said of Sunday’s weather. “It looks like it will be really, really windy, so just try to control my ball flight as best as possible. It’s going to be tough for everyone, we just have to remember that and stick in and try to get it done.”
The entire field will struggle through the elements, as even par will likely prove to be a terrific score. Wind gusts could get up to 50 miles per hour at points on Sunday.
Yet McIlroy has the advantage as he sits at 13-under. Other players will have to come and get him unless he falters.
If he manages to hang on and fight through the wind, then McIlroy will claim his first PGA Tour event of the 2023 calendar year, giving him all the momentum in the world heading into next week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
