Rory McIlroy, after shooting rounds of 72, 67, and 69 through three days at The Open, is sitting at two-under par and admits he’s “probably a little too far back” to win the tournament. It’s a gut punch for anyone who’s watched him closely this week, knowing the high hopes he carried into Royal Birkdale.
The Weekend Wobble That Crushed Hopes
Honestly, Rory just hasn’t been anywhere near his best during these first three rounds. We knew he hadn’t played much over the past two months, and it’s been showing over his last four or five tournaments. Even with that, the guy came into The Open with serious ambitions. He even set himself a target of shooting 66 at worst on Saturday. But he ended up with a 69, which, while not terrible, certainly didn’t help close that seven-shot gap. It just feels like he’s flattered to deceive for most of the week.
Can He Still Pull a Miracle? Rory Weighs In
After his third round, reporters pressed McIlroy on whether he still believes he can win despite the huge deficit. His response? “Yeah, I’m probably, you know, I think if I could have got in today at five-under for the tournament, three behind Foxy, I feel like I would have had more of a chance.” He added, “We’ll see. I’ll be out early enough again tomorrow and see what happens. But probably a little too far back.” He knows it’s a long shot. He’s gotta go seriously low on Sunday if he has any shot, but hey, 62 has been shot multiple times already this week at Birkdale. So, why not him?
When asked about Ryan Fox’s scintillating 62 on Saturday, Rory pointed out the skill involved. He said, “I think the first thing is you have to be in the fairway to then be able to impart enough spin on the ball to access the pins. But then you have to hit the ball with the right trajectory, whether it’s hitting it high into some holes or maybe hitting wedge shots that sort of skip up the green for you.” He praised Fox, saying he “flights the ball as well as anyone out here,” noting the calm conditions helped, but it was “still a hell of a round.” Rory’s going to need that kind of performance, or better, tomorrow.
So, what does Sunday hold for McIlroy? He’s got to come out firing on all cylinders, matching Fox’s incredible 62 at the very least, just to put himself in the mix. It’s a tall order, but golf is wild, right? We’ll be watching to see if he can conjure up something truly special and make a run nobody expects.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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