Scottie Scheffler put one hand on the Claret Jug on day three at the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Scheffler, 29, held a narrow one-shot lead starting the third round and he then strengthened it to four shots courtesy of a flawless third-round 67.
The World No.1 is going in search of his first Claret Jug.
Should he win The Open on Sunday then he will be just one leg away from completing the career grand slam.
Scheffler has two Masters titles and a PGA victory to his name.
China's Haotong Li has emerged as Scheffler's biggest threat on 10-under par.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who was playing alongside Scheffler, is a further shot back on 9-under par.
Home favourite Rory McIlroy holed a couple of bombs during a brilliant round of 66.
McIlroy told Sky Sports Golf after the round that it was "one of the coolest moments I've ever had on a golf course."
The Northern Irishman has hauled himself up to 8-under par, which is six shots off the pace heading into Sunday.
"Scottie Scheffler is inevitable, even when he doesn't have his best, he has become a complete player, so good around the greens and has improved so much with the putter," said McIlroy.
"It's going to be tough to catch him if he keeps playing the way he does. But if I can get off to a similar start to what I did today, get the crowd going and hopefully he feels that a couple of groups behind me then you never know, but I need to play another good round of golf and see what happens."
Other players in the hunt for The Open include last week's Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, Harris English, Tyrrell Hatton and defending champion Xander Schauffele, who matched McIlroy's round of 66.
Here's how we stand heading into Sunday:
Scottie Scheffler | -14 | 67 |
Haotong Li | -10 | 69 |
Matt Fitzpatrick | -9 | 71 |
Rory McIlroy | -8 | 66 |
Chris Gotterup | -8 | 68 |
Harris English | -8 | 68 |
Tyrrell Hatton | -8 | 68 |
Xander Schauffele | -7 | 66 |
Scroll down to see how the third round of The Open played out at Portrush...
McIlroy -6 (10*)
Rory McIlroy hits his 9th green in a row.
Another birdie putt scares the cup, but it'll be another par.
That's three birdies and six pars for the home favourite.
It could've been so much better.
Will McIlroy put his foot on the gas now?
Henley -6 (65)
Superb round for the American, who continues to impress.
Surely we see Henley wearing the red, white and blue this September?
X. Schauffele -6 (13*)
Huge eagle putt drops for Xander Schauffele at the 12th.
That's his second of the day.
The reigning champion is back in this.
At least until Scottie Scheffler decides to get out of neutral...
It's called moving day for a reason.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2025
Xander Schauffele moves up to 5th with his second eagle of the day. pic.twitter.com/edDOg0ZYhr
McIlroy -6 (8)
Rory McIlroy almost drops to his knees as he watches another birdie putt just slip past the cup.
He's got a right-to-left knee knocker back up the hill, though.
No mistake!
English -6, MacIntyre -5 (5)
Every player in the field will be licking their lips when they step onto the 5th tee box.
MacIntyre becomes the latest player to pick up a three on the driveable par-4.
English makes par.
McIlroy -6 (8*)
Rory McIlroy finds the green on the 8th but is further away than he'd like.
Long birdie putt down the hill to a front pin incoming...
Scheffler -10, Fitzpatrick -10 (2)
Scheffler is off the green on the 2nd.
His tee shot looked good, but this is links golf and you should never breathe a sigh of relief until your ball stops.
Scheffler's ball catches the slope and makes its way down the gully, but he makes no mistake from 10 feet to save his par.
Fitzpatrick makes his three.
Matt Fitzpatrick magic on 2.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2025
Matt makes an eagle to tie the lead with Scottie. pic.twitter.com/IUt8fhKGDl
McIlroy -6, (8*)
No roars for Rors on the 7th.
The Ulsterman misses from 11 feet.
This will feel like a chance missed!
A 3-wood off the tee on the 8th finds the middle of the fairway.
Hatton -5, R Hojgaard -4 (4)
Tyrrell Hatton is not a happy man over on the 4th.
He tells his caddie Hugo Dobson that he blocked his approach, but his golf ball catches a slope on the green and makes its way towards the middle of the dancefloor.
An outside chance at birdie doesn't drop and he records his fourth straight par.
America's Wyndham Clark fired a 66 today to vault up the leaderboard into a tie for 10th.
Clark didn't feel like speaking to reporters in the mixed zone here, though.
The golfer declines requests for an interview, no doubt because he wants to avoid questions about his suspension from Oakmont.
Earlier in the week it was confirmed the club have banned Clark over his outburst of anger at the US Open last month.
H. Li -9 (3)
Haotong Li picks up a birdie at the 3rd to move into solo second.
He's three clear of the group in third.
M. Fitzpatrick -10, S. Scheffler -10 (2)
Wow. Matthew Fitzpatrick is off to the left of the second green.
He chips over the mount and watches his golf ball drop for a welcome eagle.
Scheffler has an eagle chance of his own.
What can he muster? Three-putts for a par.
We are tied at the top.
Harman -7, Li -8 (2)
Brian Harman had a complete disaster to start the day, recording a double bogey after failing to get out of the greenside trap.
He's got one back, though.
R. McIlroy -6 (7*)
Beautiful, booming drive from the Northern Irishman over on the 7th.
"This hole is a gift today," says Sky Sports Iona Stephen.
Rose -5 (8)
Rose shanks his second shot and it leads to a bogey, a good one at that in the end.
The Englishman falls back to 6-under and he's now four adrift of Scheffler, who is heading down the easy par-5 2nd.
Harman -7 (2)
Harman makes a bounceback birdie on the par-5 2nd.
Three behind.
R.Hojgaard -4 (3)
Hojgaard misses a tiddler for par on the par-3 3rd.
Poor start, six back.
McIlroy -6 (6)
McIlroy finds the heart of the green at the par-3 6th where the pin is tucked back in the right corner.
He then sends his 40 footer up to two feet left of the hole for a safe par.
Scheffler -10, Fitzpatrick -8 (1)
Scheffler two putts for par.
Fitzpatrick makes bogey after missing a tiny putt for par.
Scheffler two ahead.
Harman -6 (1)
Harman went left into the greenside bunker and then failed to get his ball out with his third.
It led to a double.
Harman back to 6-under.
McIlroy -6 (5)
It's a disappointing par at the short par-4 5th for McIlroy.
He went way left off the tee but chipped up to 10 feet.
McIlroy narrowly missed his birdie putt and tapped in for a par.
Not what he wanted there.
Rose -6 (7)
It's a fifth birdie in six holes for Rose, who surges up to 6-under par.
Rose gets up and down for birdie on the easy par-5 7th.
Four back.
Scheffler and Fitzpatrick are now just teeing off in the final pairing.
Clark -5 (F)
There will be no thumping of locker rooms today as Clark cards a solid 66 to move to 5-under per.
He will likely be a long way off the pace come the end of the day but a decent week for the American, who will be looking to maintain some form ahead of a potential pick in the US Ryder Cup team.
Gotterup -6 (2)
Last week's Scottish Open champion Gotterup two putts for birdie on the easy par-5 2nd.
Gotterup moves four back.
