Five days after describing winning the Open on the Old Course as golf’s Holy Grail, Rory McIlroy will take a share of the lead into the final round of the 150th Championship following a stunning Saturday at St Andrews.
Buoyed by a brilliant eagle from a bunker on the 10th, McIlroy carded a superb third round of 66 to boost his bid to end an eight-year major drought and become the first European winner at St Andrews since Nick Faldo in 1990.
Only a bogey on the famous Road Hole 17th prevented McIlroy from holding the outright lead, with Ryder Cup team-mate and playing partner Viktor Hovland, chasing his first major title, carding a bogey-free 66 to join the Northern Irishman on 16 under.
McIlroy lifted the Claret Jug in 2014 and won his fourth major in the US PGA a month later, but has not won one of the game’s biggest titles since.