All eyes at St. Andrews are on Rory McIlroy and his holy grail moment at The Open

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Rory McIlroy has been chasing golf's holy grail at St. Andrews for more than a decade. He lost his way in the wind at The Open here in 2010. His mission in 2015 failed before it started because of the ankle injury he sustained playing soccer with friends. This time around his quest could have been lost in the sand, or derailed between a rock and a hard place. But unlike previous attempts, this one is going to plan.

Now, after 54 holes, McIlroy faces one of the biggest rounds of his life.

But the emphasis on the next 24 hours is to ensure that even though he is in a remarkable space in his life, nothing changes. His first concern after finishing Saturday tied with Viktor Hovland for the lead? Finding something to do Sunday morning.

On Saturday, he woke early to watch his Ireland rugby team secure a historic series win over New Zealand.

«I got a little emotional when Ireland won, actually,» he said. «It was an unbelievable achievement for them.»

He then took a nap, got to the course three hours before his tee time, did some gym work, had some lunch. Then he went out and shot 6-under 66.

There's something about this year as he remains firmly in the mix at St. Andrews, in the 150th playing the sport's oldest major championship, at a time when those outside LIV Golf have looked to McIlroy as the sport's voice of reason.

We've been here before with McIlroy. Since his last major win in the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, he's had top-five finishes eight times. He himself this week referenced missed opportunities — such as the Masters and The Open in 2018, and again last year at the U.S. Open. He's bored of being the nearly man, and the key to changing that is staying true to his processes.

«It makes