The chasers are closer to Rory McIlroy than when the day started, but the 54-hole leader is still ahead by three shots through his first six holes.
2014 British Open leaderboard: Sergio Garcia charging at Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy’s opening birdie was an emphatic and deflating start for the rest of the field, but he’s dropped two straight shots, including one on an easy par-5, to give a charging Sergio Garcia some hope.
Sergio Garcia is the one trying to make it interesting by the back nine, rolling in birdies on Nos. 1, 3, and 5 to get to 12-under for the championship. Garcia is playing some of the best golf of his life over the past 12 months, but he’s still without that major championship. The precocious Spaniard remains one of the best tee-to-green players in the world, right up there in the class with Adam Scott and McIlroy. But the putter has always abandoned him at crucial times during these major championships. On Sunday, that most important club is rolling well (he even kissed it). If he can get hot and keep posting red numbers at these par-5s, it will at least make Rory work for it.
And it didn’t look like McIlroy would have to work for anything just one hole into his final round. The two-time major winner played the first hole perfectly, absolutely bombing his drive right down the middle and then putting his approach shot safely in the center of the green. He’d convert the birdie while his playing partner, Rickie Fowler, dropped a shot with a bogey.
The lead was then momentarily increased to six. But Sergio’s three birdies in his first six holes have kept the pressure on McIlroy. At the par-5 fifth, there would be a two-shot swing between the two of them. Rory lost his second shot into the grandstand on the right and had to go back to the “drop zone.” That carries an entirely different meaning at the Open, where the drop zone is usually just a patch of thick, high hay.
Bubba's worst nightmare. pic.twitter.com/qiSha0ogvA
— Trevor Reaske (@Tap_In_Golf) July 20, 2014 Rory would chop out of that and through the green. He could not get up-and down to save par, a disappointing outcome on one of the easiest holes on the entire course.
While the mistake at the fifth came with his long iron into the grandstand, Rory’s putter would go off line at the next hole for a second straight dropped shot. McIlroy’s tee shot to the par-3 missed left, but his chip put him to a nice par-saving distance. Rory, however, blew his six-to-seven foot putt past the right edge, never touching the cup. The back-to-back bogeys at least give Sergio some hope.
Here’s a snapshot of the leaderboard as the final groups approach the turn at Hoylake:
| Place | Player | Score | Today | Thru |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -15 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Sergio Garcia | -12 | -3 | 6 |
| 3 | Rickie Fowler | -11 | -1 | 6 |
| 4 | Victor Dubuisson | -10 | -2 | 7 |
| T5 | Shane Lowry | -9 | -6 | 17 |
| T5 | Marc Leishman | -9 | -4 | 11 |
| T5 | Robert Karlsson | -9 | -3 | 9 |
| T8 | Francesco Molinari | -8 | -5 | F |
| T8 | Justin Rose | -8 | -3 | 10 |
| T8 | Charl Schwartzel | -8 | -2 | 10 |
| T8 | Jim Furyk | -8 | -2 | 9 |
| T8 | Edoardo Molinari | -8 | -1 | 7 |
| T8 | Dustin Johnson | -8 | 1 | 6 |
| T14 | Graeme McDowell | -7 | -2 | 10 |
| T14 | Adam Scott | -7 | -1 | 8 |
| T16 | Angel Cabrera | -6 | -5 | F |
| T16 | George Coetzee | -6 | -3 | 17 |
| T16 | Chris Kirk | -6 | -3 | 16 |
| T16 | David Howell | -6 | -2 | 14 |
| T16 | Stephen Gallacher | -6 | -2 | 14 |
| T16 | Jimmy Walker | -6 | -1 | 11 |
| T22 | Chris Wood | -5 | -7 | F |
| T22 | Phil Mickelson | -5 | -4 | F |
| T22 | Keegan Bradley | -5 | -2 | 16 |
| T22 | Ryan Moore | -5 | E | 12 |
| T22 | Darren Clarke | -5 | E | 10 |
| T22 | Matteo Manassero | -5 | 1 | 9 |
| T28 | Thomas Bjorn | -4 | -5 | F |
| T28 | Ben Martin | -4 | -2 | F |
| T28 | Kristoffer Broberg | -4 | -1 | 17 |
| T28 | Brian Harman | -4 | -1 | 16 |
| T32 | D.A. Points | -3 | -3 | F |
| T32 | Hunter Mahan | -3 | -3 | F |
| T32 | David Hearn | -3 | -1 | F |
| T32 | Byeong-Hun An | -3 | 1 | 13 |
| T32 | Marc Warren | -3 | 2 | 12 |
| T37 | Louis Oosthuizen | -2 | E | F |
| T37 | Jordan Spieth | -2 | 1 | 16 |
| T39 | Brendon Todd | -1 | -5 | F |
| T39 | Koumei Oda | -1 | -5 | F |
| T39 | Henrik Stenson | -1 | -3 | F |
| T39 | Hideki Matsuyama | -1 | -1 | F |
| T39 | Gary Woodland | -1 | -1 | F |
| T39 | Thongchai Jaidee | -1 | -1 | F |
| T39 | Kevin Stadler | -1 | -1 | F |
| T46 | Stewart Cink | E | -3 | F |
| T46 | Gregory Bourdy | E | -2 | F |
| T46 | Paul Casey | E | -2 | F |
| T46 | Zach Johnson | E | -1 | F |
| T50 | Tom Watson | 1 | -4 | F |
| T50 | Jason Dufner | 1 | -1 | F |
| T50 | Bill Haas | 1 | 2 | F |
| T50 | Branden Grace | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| T54 | Matt Kuchar | 2 | E | F |
| T54 | Matt Jones | 2 | 1 | F |
| T54 | Kevin Na | 2 | 2 | F |
| T54 | Kevin Streelman | 2 | 3 | F |
| T58 | Jamie McLeary | 3 | -2 | F |
| T58 | Ryan Palmer | 3 | -2 | F |
| T58 | John Senden | 3 | -1 | F |
| T58 | Jason Day | 3 | -1 | F |
| T58 | Chris Rodgers | 3 | 2 | F |
| T58 | Brandt Snedeker | 3 | 2 | F |
| T64 | Billy Hurley III | 4 | -1 | F |
| T64 | Thorbjorn Olesen | 4 | 1 | F |
| T64 | Luke Donald | 4 | 3 | F |
| T67 | Charley Hoffman | 5 | -1 | F |
| T67 | Brooks Koepka | 5 | 2 | F |
| 69 | Tiger Woods | 6 | 3 | F |
| 70 | Martin Kaymer | 8 | 7 | F |
| 71 | Matt Every | 9 | 6 | F |
| 72 | Rhein Gibson | 10 | 6 | F |
See More:
