Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland lead The Open after stunning third rounds

Twenty-nine majors, or 2,898 days, have come and gone for Rory McIlroy since he raised the US PGA Championship trophy aloft at Valhalla. Shortly after quarter past seven on day three of this, the 150th Open Championship, McIlroy leapt to the summit of the leaderboard. He will start the fourth round tied for that position and, more significantly, 18 holes from the major winning tally of Seve Ballesteros.

The Spaniard would surely approve of McIlroy claiming number five at St Andrews. In the space of almost eight occasionally painful years, McIlroy has never been closer to achieving such a feat. He has never looked more capable of achieving it. Yet the 33-year-old will know – only too well – of the hard yards ahead. In Viktor Hovland, who shares 16 under par with McIlroy, the Northern Irishman has a formidable opponent. The duo traded blows like superstar boxers on day three here. Matching 66s felt perfectly appropriate as McIlroy and Hovland separated themselves from the field.

Not that it would be wise to completely discount all pretenders. The scale of brilliance from Hovland and McIlroy just made an alternative champion difficult to foresee. Cameron Young and Cameron Smith are closest to the leaders, at 12 under. Kim Si-woo is a shot further back, alongside the world No 1, Scottie Scheffler. Kim’s 67 was the lowest day-three score of that group.

Should McIlroy emerge victorious, thoughts will turn towards round three’s pivotal moment. A bunker shot from about 30 yards is supposedly the hardest in golf. What a mockery was made of that concept at the 10th, where he holed out for an eagle. What is it about McIlroy and major championship sand traps? He leapt with joy at Augusta National having found the bottom of the cup