Following back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 5 and 6, it appeared Rory McIlroy might be on the way to giving away his six-stroke lead at the British Open. The former No. 1 in the world has recovered well since, including a pair of birdies, but he’s still up just three strokes thanks to some excellent play from Sergio Garcia.
The Open leaderboard 2014: Rory McIlroy leads by 3, Sergio Garcia keeping pace
Rory McIlroy steadied the ship following a pair of early dropped shots. He hasn’t been able to pull away, however, with Sergio Garcia doing everything he can to close in.
Tom Pennington
Coming off the bogeys, McIlroy found himself in a deep pot bunker on No. 7. Another bogey could have led to a full meltdown, but McIlroy hit a wonderful pitch out of the bunker to save par. The par likely settled the nerves some and McIlroy took advantage of a great shot at No. 9 to birdie and move his lead to four. He would follow that up with another birdie on No. 10.
While McIlroy’s distance should have helped him distance himself from the field, Garcia is doing his best to ensure that doesn’t happen. He drilled an eagle putt at No. 10 to shave two stokes off McIlroy’s lead. McIlroy led by two at that point before gaining one back with a birdie on the 10th. Both players came away with par on No. 11.
McIlroy remains in good position with a three-stroke lead with seven to play. He’s entering a tough stretch of holes now with a pair of par-5s coming up. McIlroy eagled No. 16 and No. 18 on Saturday. If Garcia can play the holes similarly, it could get very interesting coming in.
Here is a complete look at the leaderboard:
Place | Player | Score | Thru |
1 | Rory McIlroy | -17 | 11 |
2 | Sergio Garcia | -14 | 12 |
3 | Rickie Fowler | -12 | 11 |
4 | Marc Leishman | -11 | 16 |
T5 | Shane Lowry | -10 | F |
T5 | Jim Furyk | -10 | 14 |
T5 | Edoardo Molinari | -10 | 13 |
T9 | Victor Dubuisson | -9 | 13 |
T9 | Ryan Moore | -9 | 17 |
T9 | Charl Schwartzel | -9 | 15 |
T9 | Robert Karlsson | -9 | 14 |
T9 | Adam Scott | -9 | 13 |
T5 | Dustin Johnson | -10 | 12 |
T14 | Francesco Molinari | -8 | F |
T14 | Stephen Gallacher | -8 | F |
T14 | David Howell | -8 | F |
18 | George Coetzee | -7 | F |
T14 | Graeme McDowell | -8 | 16 |
T19 | Angel Cabrera | -6 | F |
T19 | Chris Kirk | -6 | F |
T19 | Keegan Bradley | -6 | F |
T19 | Matteo Manassero | -6 | 13 |
T23 | Chris Wood | -5 | F |
T23 | Phil Mickelson | -5 | F |
T25 | Thomas Bjorn | -4 | F |
T25 | Ben Martin | -4 | F |
T25 | Brian Harman | -4 | F |
T25 | Byeong-Hun An | -4 | F |
T25 | Justin Rose | -4 | 15 |
T25 | Darren Clarke | -4 | 15 |
T31 | D.A. Points | -3 | F |
T31 | Hunter Mahan | -3 | F |
T31 | David Hearn | -3 | F |
T31 | Kristoffer Broberg | -3 | F |
T31 | Jimmy Walker | -3 | 16 |
T36 | Louis Oosthuizen | -2 | F |
T36 | Jordan Spieth | -2 | F |
T36 | Branden Grace | -2 | F |
T39 | Brendon Todd | -1 | F |
T39 | Koumei Oda | -1 | F |
T39 | Henrik Stenson | -1 | F |
T39 | Hideki Matsuyama | -1 | F |
T39 | Gary Woodland | -1 | F |
T39 | Thongchai Jaidee | -1 | F |
T39 | Kevin Stadler | -1 | F |
T39 | Marc Warren | -1 | 17 |
T47 | Stewart Cink | E | F |
T47 | Gregory Bourdy | E | F |
T47 | Paul Casey | E | F |
T47 | Zach Johnson | E | F |
T51 | Tom Watson | 1 | F |
T51 | Jason Dufner | 1 | F |
T51 | Bill Haas | 1 | F |
T54 | Matt Kuchar | 2 | F |
T54 | Matt Jones | 2 | F |
T54 | Kevin Na | 2 | F |
T54 | Kevin Streelman | 2 | F |
T58 | Jamie McLeary | 3 | F |
T58 | Ryan Palmer | 3 | F |
T58 | John Senden | 3 | F |
T58 | Jason Day | 3 | F |
T58 | Chris Rodgers | 3 | F |
T58 | Brandt Snedeker | 3 | F |
T64 | Billy Hurley III | 4 | F |
T64 | Thorbjorn Olesen | 4 | F |
T64 | Luke Donald | 4 | F |
T67 | Charley Hoffman | 5 | F |
T67 | Brooks Koepka | 5 | F |
69 | Tiger Woods | 6 | F |
70 | Martin Kaymer | 8 | F |
71 | Matt Every | 9 | F |
72 | Rhein Gibson | 10 | F |
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