The Open 2023 - What's at stake on Sunday for Brian Harman, Cameron Young, others - ESPN

HOYLAKE, England — After 18 holes had passed on a wet and gloomy Saturday at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Max Homa and Rory McIlroy were separated by only one shot, but their outlooks on their games felt worlds apart.

McIlroy beelined to the putting green as soon as he could after his finish. With onlookers peering out of the clubhouse windows, McIlroy wore his frustration on his face as his caddie, Harry, stood behind him on every practice putt and watched how he lined up. As soon as he missed one, McIlroy swung his putter in the air in disappointment, as if he was still out there on the course.

It had been that kind of day for McIlroy. And Homa too. Both missed their share of putts inside 20, 15, even 10 feet. Both likely realized deep down inside that, with Brian Harman leading at 12 under and the two of them 9 and 10 shots back, they weren't going to have a shot on Sunday.

Homa, however, was smiling. He was happy with his performance, how he stayed within himself on every shot when everyone around him was shouting for McIlroy. Homa said he had to make a mental decision to accept his reality and try to thrive in it, almost using it as a test.

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«I had a guy yell at me, 'Hurry up, no one is watching you anyway today,' which I quite like, if I'm being honest,» Homa said. «I obviously didn't think of myself as like the antagonist, but he was clearly the protagonist today. I was kind of thinking if I could make this Ryder Cup team it would have obviously a very similar feel to it, so I thought this would be good