British Open 2014: Leaderboard, live coverage, results and more from Saturday’s round at Hoylake

There are still 18 holes left in the 2014 British Open, but the oddsmakers are already calling it for Rory McIlroy. The Ulsterman is a 2/13 favorite to win his third major championship on Sunday at Royal Liverpool, where he’ll start the final round with a six-shot lead. For comparison’s sake, Martin Kaymer, who held five-shot lead at the 54-hole mark of the U.S. Open last month, was a 1/3 favorite heading into Sunday.

McIlroy has been in this position before, and never relinquished his lead with one round to play in his previous two major wins. In fact, he never lets anyone get close. The 2010 U.S. Open was an eight-stroke victory at the end, but that tournament was wrapped up by Friday afternoon at the midpoint. The PGA Championship was another eight-shot win, and despite an early run by Ian Poulter, McIlroy never really had to sweat down during the final round. The weather conditions at an Open Championship can sometimes create a more likely scenario for a huge tumble back to the field, but it’s often from a lesser player than the talent of Rory.

Up six shots with 18 holes to play, Rory McIlroy is on his way to a third major championship in blowout fashion. He won the 2010 U.S. Open by eight shots and the 2011 PGA Championship by eight shots. Tom Rinaldi, however, shorted him one on that Kiawah win and you can tell from from Rory’s expression that he wasn’t happy about it.

This didn’t approach the 2013 Jordan Spieth left hangin’ level of awkwardness, but it wasn’t a particularly smooth sign off.

I thought this kind of spectator was a mostly American sort, but apparently they exist over in England as well. Stop yelling this on par-4s, and par-3s, and everywhere else on the course.

The leaderboard has tightened up a bit in the third round of the 2014 British Open, but Rory McIlroy remains on top and with a multi-shot margin. Dustin Johnson, who is playing in the final group with Rory, made an early move at the first by posting a quick red number to get to 9-under for the championship. McIlroy, meanwhile, hit a loose approach shot into a pot bunker and could not get up-and-down. The instant two-shot swing on the first made it more interesting right out of the chute, but Rory’s worked things out since.

McIlroy is one of the longest hitters in the world, averaging almost 328 yards off the tee this week. But one player who can put it past him is Dustin, and he outdrove him by about 15 yards at the first. Johnson was 131 yards out from the flag, and after watching Rory put his approach in the bunker, he lofted a wedge that went pin-seeking to a couple feet. That birdie put some early pressure on Rory, who has run away from everyone on the weekend in his previous two major championship wins (eight shot victories at both Congressional and Kiawah).

Throughout this week, we have chronicled the traditions and history that make the Open Championship such a unique event. But at Royal Liverpool, there is one more quirk that is sure to cause some problems as we begin the weekend at the Open Championship.

The quirk, or rather, local rule that I am referring to is the “Internal Out of Bounds” that is lurking on Nos. 3 and 18. If you think of traditional out of bounds, it is usually on the edge of the golf course. That is, if you hit it out of bounds, you are off the property. But Royal Liverpool has OB that is right in the middle of the course. This is done in an attempt to protect the members’ practice area, but more importantly this week to house corporate hospitality tents and concession stands. Here is a great picture of what I mean.

One of the immediate questions that arose late on Friday night when the R&A opted for the first two-tee start in Open history was who would serve as the Ivor Robson at the 10th tee. There were several humorous guess and ideas thrown out on Twitter, with Adam Sarson even suggesting that the cheery Bubba Watson fill in after missing the cut. But we now have our answer, and it’s Euro Tour official Mike Stewart.

That’s not an enviable position for Stewart, as everyone loves Robson and having your name announced by him on the first tee is one of the great unique parts of this championship. Earlier this week, ESPN had some of the players try and impersonate Robson’s unmistakable call, and the results were wonderful.

When the R&A decided to move the British Open third round schedule up and send players off split tees for the first time in 143 years at this championship, we knew the incoming weather was going to be rough. It’s now playable out there at Royal Liverpool, but whether it’s enjoyable is a different matter. Weather is going to be a part of almost every Open Championship, and it looks like the rain, clouds, and wind are going to hover all day at Hoylake. The lightning, which caused the scheduled change, is gone.

The rain occasionally stops but those blips should be only momentary spots of relief. This is the kind of view that many of the fans will have all day, as the grandstands are just a collage of umbrellas.

The Open Championship greens were already running slower than these pros were used to, and they will be even slower with all the moisture in the air. That makes them tougher to putt for the best players in the world, who tend to struggle more when the greens are slowed down a bit. But they’ll also be able to take closer aim at the hole locations and fire some darts into these pins. Here are those pin placements for the third round at Royal Liverpool.

Rory McIlroy has been here before and holding the lead of a grand slam event has worked out pretty well for the two-time major champion.

“You’re battling yourself, I think that’s the big thing,” McIlroy, who torched Royal Liverpool to the tune of a second consecutive 6-under 66 on Friday, told ESPN about the pressures of sleeping on an advantage at a major.

It was another interminable day at Royal Liverpool, where Rory McIlroy extended his lead and now sits on top of the British Open by four shots at 12-under. The course played a little tougher in the second round, and there were plenty of ugly shots and impressive recoveries. Here are some of the best and worst moments from Friday at Hoylake.

It wasn’t the low round of the day, but once again Rory McIlroy posted the smoothest and most impressive score. McIlroy has had this weird tendency to implode on Friday, and that trend received all the attention this week and on Friday morning. His first-round scoring average is the best on the PGA Tour at 68, but his Friday average is 181st at 73. He’d blitzed the course in the first round at Memorial, Quail Hollow, Augusta, Doral and Sawgrass, only to give it all back and more the next day. Then last week’s 64-78 at the Scottish Open happened, and Rory admitted the Friday “curse” was in his head.