Matt Fitzpatrick edges ahead at Italian Open, Rory McIlroy stalls at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club

Rory McIlroy has a battle on his hands after slipping out of the lead during the third round of the Italian Open. There were predictions of the world No. 2 running away from the field after taking the lead at the halfway point at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Ad That did not happen as McIlroy was plagued by a cold putter, and hopes of a late charge — as in the previous couple of days — were dashed by a sharp change in the weather that made scoring extremely tough. DS Automobiles Italian OpenMcIlroy feels making fairways tough to hit will help Team Europe at Ryder Cup3 HOURS AGO McIlroy’s quality kept him in the hunt and he will start the final round one adrift of Matt Fitzpatrick. The Northern Irishman has delivered a shot-game clinic this week and it appeared it would continue on Saturday when he arrowed an approach on the sixth to seven feet to set up a birdie.

But he missed eight putts inside 12 feet on Saturday, and three bogeys and the same amount of birdies resulted in his progress stalling with a round of 71. Third Round Leaderboard 1. Matt Fitzpatrick, 10-under T2.

Aaron Rai, nine-under T2. Rory McIlroy, nine-under T4. Victor Perez, eight-under T4.

Kurt Kitayama, eight-under T4. Lucas Herbert, eight-under T7. Robert MacIntyre, seven-under T7.

Oliver Becker, seven-under 9. Tyrrell Hatton, six-under US Open champion Fitzpatrick made a slow start and turned in one-over, but three birdies coming home saw him climb back to the top of the leaderboard, a position he held after round one, at 10-under. Aaron Rai was able to get in before the worst of the windy conditions took hold and his round of 65 moved him to nine-under.