At 16-under, Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy share the lead heading into the final round of The Open Championship.
Among Open Championships contested at St. Andrews, Hovland and McIlroy’s opening 54-hole score (200) is second only to Nick Faldo’s 199 total in 1990.
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McIlroy is in search of his fifth Major championship victory and first since winning the 2014 PGA Championship; he is 9-for15 in converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory, including a 4-for-5 mark in Majors.
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Hovland is seeking his fourth PGA TOUR victory and is 2-for-2 in converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory; he would become Norway’s first Major championship winner.
With a win, McIlroy would collect his 22nd victory and move to T28 on the PGA TOUR’s all-time wins list.
Reigning Masters Tournament winner Scottie Scheffler (T5) and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (T8) are among six Major championship winners among the top 12 players on the leaderboard.
Cameron Young (T3) and Tommy Fleetwood (T8) are the only players inside the top 10 on the leaderboard without a PGA TOUR victory; Fitzpatrick is the most recent player to make a major championship his first PGA TOUR victory.
Rory’s round was highlighted by a holed bunker shot from 81’8” for eagle on the par-4 10th hole.
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He has two wins on the season (THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, RBC Canadian Open) and is seeking to join Scottie Scheffler (4), Sam Burns (3) and Xander Schauffele (3) with three or more wins this season.
In search of his fifth Major championship victory (2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, 2014 PGA Championship).
Hovland’s previous-best 54-hole position in a Major championship: T8 at the 2020 U.S. Open/finished T13.
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He is making his second Open Championship start (T12/2021); is making 12th Major championship start, best finishes came at the 2021 Open Championship (T12) and 2019 U.S. Open (T12).
Si Woo Kim (T5) is seeking his first top-10 finish in his 23rd Major championship start, with a T12 at the 2021 Masters Tournament his best finish.
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With eagles on Nos. 9 and 10, 2019 Open Championship winner Shane Lowry (T13) became the first player with back-to-back eagles on par 4s since Tyrrell Hatton at the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree (R3); entering today, he had three eagles on par 4s in his PGA TOUR career.
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The round of the day was turned in by Kevin Kisner with a 7-under 65, moving from T66 to T13.
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