RORY MCILROY IS in a strong position to contest for the Amgen Irish Open after a brilliant third round of 68 leaves him four shots off the lead heading into the final day.
McIlroy went into the third round in a tie for third and maintained his form today with another steady performance to put him in a tie for fourth on 11-under along with Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.
The highlight of McIlroy’s round was a brilliant long birdie putt on the Par 3 14th to bring him to 10-under.
Rory McIlroy thrills the crowd at the K Club with a super birdie putt that moves him to 10-under, four off the clubhouse leager Angel Higaldo 📺 Watch https://t.co/8XIEOHjQi5
He also had back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. The hunt for a fourth birdie looked to be proving elusive before a superb approach shot on the Par 5 18th left McIlroy in eagle territory. His effort was close but just trailed away from the hole to leave a tap-in putt for the birdie.
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“It was a tidy round,” he told RTÉ Sport. “A round where I felt I could have been a few shots better. It got tricky, especially the last five or six holes; the wind got pretty gusty. I hit the ball well again. I maybe feel like a left a couple of shots out there. It was another solid day [and] I’m not too far away going into tomorrow.
“I’ve got a good chance. I’ve just got to go out and play a solid round tomorrow and see what happens. It would be nice to get off to a fast start and put a bit of pressure on the guys behind.”
After the third round of the Irish Open Rory Ilroy believes he left a couple of shots out there but was relatively pleased with his round of 68, leaving him right in the mix heading into the final round.#RTESport#IrishOpenpic.twitter.com/zfX8t7W4nN
France’s Adrien Saddier leads on 15-under after carding a 68, taking a one-shot lead with a birdie on the last. Angel Hidalgo of Spain signed off with an impressive 63 to sit on 14-under.
Alfredo García-Heredia is third on 12-under while Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Jacob Skov Olesen and Oliver Lindell are on 10-under.
Shane Lowry shares 21st place after a two-under 70 to leave him on six-under heading into the final round. The Offaly man was three-under through 12 after birdies on the second, fourth and 12th holes to put him at seven-under overall.
However, he dropped a shot at 13 followed by a birdie-bogey run on 16 and 17 to see him finish on six-under.
Shane Lowry is happy with everything but his putting after the third round of the Irish Open but he believes he's too far back to challenge for the tournament on Sunday.
“Way better than yesterday,” Lowry told RTÉ Sport after his third round.
“And then I just couldn’t get the ball in the hole on the green. It was just disappointing. But a lot of positives. I think there’s a really low score in me tomorrow but I’m out of the tournament. I’m too far back, there’s too many people ahead of me. My putting was poor today but maybe I’ll get better tomorrow.
“It was just one of those days where nothing really went for me on the greens but there’s loads of positives. I feel like that’s some of the best golf I’ve played all year.”
Tom McKibbin is in a share of 38th on three-under after a round of two-over 74 which included three bogeys and a birdie on the 10th. Alex Maguire is one-under after a one-over 73. He had birdies on the fourth, sixth, 16th and 18th holes but his round was damaged by a bogey at five and two double-bogeys on the seventh and 15th.
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McIlroy's strong finish leaves him four off the lead ahead of Irish Open final round
RORY MCILROY IS in a strong position to contest for the Amgen Irish Open after a brilliant third round of 68 leaves him four shots off the lead heading into the final day.
McIlroy went into the third round in a tie for third and maintained his form today with another steady performance to put him in a tie for fourth on 11-under along with Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.
The highlight of McIlroy’s round was a brilliant long birdie putt on the Par 3 14th to bring him to 10-under.
He also had back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. The hunt for a fourth birdie looked to be proving elusive before a superb approach shot on the Par 5 18th left McIlroy in eagle territory. His effort was close but just trailed away from the hole to leave a tap-in putt for the birdie.
“It was a tidy round,” he told RTÉ Sport. “A round where I felt I could have been a few shots better. It got tricky, especially the last five or six holes; the wind got pretty gusty. I hit the ball well again. I maybe feel like a left a couple of shots out there. It was another solid day [and] I’m not too far away going into tomorrow.
“I’ve got a good chance. I’ve just got to go out and play a solid round tomorrow and see what happens. It would be nice to get off to a fast start and put a bit of pressure on the guys behind.”
France’s Adrien Saddier leads on 15-under after carding a 68, taking a one-shot lead with a birdie on the last. Angel Hidalgo of Spain signed off with an impressive 63 to sit on 14-under.
Alfredo García-Heredia is third on 12-under while Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Jacob Skov Olesen and Oliver Lindell are on 10-under.
Shane Lowry shares 21st place after a two-under 70 to leave him on six-under heading into the final round. The Offaly man was three-under through 12 after birdies on the second, fourth and 12th holes to put him at seven-under overall.
However, he dropped a shot at 13 followed by a birdie-bogey run on 16 and 17 to see him finish on six-under.
“Way better than yesterday,” Lowry told RTÉ Sport after his third round.
“And then I just couldn’t get the ball in the hole on the green. It was just disappointing. But a lot of positives. I think there’s a really low score in me tomorrow but I’m out of the tournament. I’m too far back, there’s too many people ahead of me. My putting was poor today but maybe I’ll get better tomorrow.
“It was just one of those days where nothing really went for me on the greens but there’s loads of positives. I feel like that’s some of the best golf I’ve played all year.”
Tom McKibbin is in a share of 38th on three-under after a round of two-over 74 which included three bogeys and a birdie on the 10th. Alex Maguire is one-under after a one-over 73. He had birdies on the fourth, sixth, 16th and 18th holes but his round was damaged by a bogey at five and two double-bogeys on the seventh and 15th.
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DP World Tour Golf Irish Open Rory McIlroy steady as she goes