GULLANE, Scotland — Rory McIlroy is well aware he first played in the Scottish Open in 2005 at Loch Lomond. He has come close to winning the British Open, including last year at St. Andrews, and the Dunhill Cup in Scotland, but never hoisted a trophy in the ancestral home of golf.
“Eighteen years is too long for me not to pick up a trophy in this country,” he said.
He moved a step closer to checking that box on Saturday, shooting 3-under 67 at The Renaissance Club during the third round of the Genesis Scottish Open to take a one-stroke lead over Tom Kim going into the final round.
McIlroy improved to 13-under 197 as he bids for his 24th career PGA Tour victory, which would tie him with Gary Player and Dustin Johnson for 26th on the all-time PGA Tour wins list.
But that first win in Scotland won’t come easy. The weather is expected to turn nasty with winds whipping as much as 40-50 mph, forcing tournament organizers to move up tee times in hopes of getting some golf played before the heavy stuff arrives. McIlroy admittedly has never been a player recognized as a talented wind player.
“I’ve become better over the years,” he said. “I would say there was a time when I wasn’t, but I feel like I’m definitely better than I was.”
McIlroy, who has recorded top 10s in each of his last five starts, continued to drive the ball beautifully but failed to capitalize on numerous chances to break the tournament wide open, especially on the back nine when he could’ve padded his lead.
“Second straight ‘what-if’ round,” observed CBS’s Dottie Pepper.
Added CBS’s Trevor Immelman: “You get the feeling he should be leading by five or seven strokes.”
McIlroy conceded there were some wasted shots and opportunities, saying, “I feel like I’ve left a few out there over the last couple of days, but at the same time, at least the last few holes, it was quite tricky conditions.”
McIlroy said it would be hard to predict a winning score until he got a better sense of the weather conditions, but said, “Anything in red numbers tomorrow is going to be a helluva score.”
Kim hangs tough
Somehow, some way, Tom Kim’s round of 67 matched that of McIlroy.
Kim, however, drove it erratically but escaped from the hay time and time again without a blemish on the card.
“It was a pretty tough moving day for me,” he said. “Off the tee, wasn’t really in the right spot. But I think that’s probably as good as I could have played. I hung in there and left myself a lot of tough shots but I had some nice up-and-downs to at least give myself a chance to have a good one tomorrow.”
Kim’s putter bailed him out on numerous occasions, including at the last where he pumped his fist after completing the bogey-free round and securing his place in the final threesome. He’s just one back going into the final round.
“I felt like that putt was the cherry on top because I fought so hard just to get everything out of that round,” he said.
Kim embraced the possibility of tough conditions tomorrow, putting it, “Whoever wants it the most will win.”
Tommy, can you hear him?
The biggest mover on Moving Day was Tommy Fleetwood, who raced up the leaderboard with four of his eight birdies on his first six holes Saturday en route to shooting 63, his best score in 15 rounds at The Renaissance Club. He’ll enter the final round tied for third with Brian Harman, two strokes back.
“Yeah, very happy,” he said. “Got off to a fast start which is important if you’re going to have a low one but just to gain some momentum on a Saturday.”
Fleetwood, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, is still seeking his first win on the PGA Tour (122 starts) and return to the winner’s circle for the first time since the 2022 Nedbank World Challlenge.
“I’m happy after the first sort of 26 holes of the tournament to be in this position,” he said. “I’m very pleased with it.”
Scheffler lurking
The world No. 1 saw his chances of winning the Genesis Scottish Open “slip-sliding away,” to quote Simon and Garfunkel. A double bogey at the second and a bogey at the seventh had Scheffler over par on the day but he finished with a flurry – three birdies in his final four holes – and is in the hunt yet again for a third win this season.
“The birdies at 17 and 18, yeah, I probably stole two shots there,” Scheffler said. “I think at one point in the round I was eight or nine shots back and not really in the tournament. So to be able to hang in there and have a good back nine to get myself back into it the tournament it was a good feeling.”
Cole’s quest
The fairytale rookie season on the PGA Tour for Eric Cole keeps getting better. And it could improve even more with a strong performance on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Cole, who is the son of former Tour pro Bobby Cole and LPGA Tour pro Laura Baugh, shot 4-under 66 to improve to 10-under 200 at the Renaissance Club and a tie for fifth place at the Genesis Scottish Open.
The leading three players at the Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned event on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, who are not already exempt will earn the final three spots into the 151st British Open at Royal Liverpool. The four players ahead of him are already exempt into the Open, as are three of the four players tied with him heading into the final round. (Ben An also T-5 and 10 under is not qualified.)
Cole has played in only three majors in his career but is in position to make his first appearance at the Open. He is aware of what’s at stake Sunday.
“It’s very different,” he said of playing links golf. “I’ve got very little experience on links courses.”
