Rory McIlroy kept alive his aspirations of a second Amgen Irish Open title with a four-under-par round of 68 at the K Club, on a day where Shane Lowry’s challenge faded in tough conditions.
The world number two didn’t quite hit the heights of Friday’s 66, but for the second day running he didn’t drop a single shot as he registered four birdies.
Ahead of him are Adrien Saddier, who also shot 68 to reach 15 under, Angel Hidalgo and McIlroy’s playing partner Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, who outperformed the world number two by one stroke with two eagles in a 67 to reach 12 under.
The round of the day, though, belonged to Hidalgo who carved up the front nine with seven successive birdies and made 12 in all – equalling the European Tour record – in a stunning 63 despite a double bogey at the 16th.
McIlroy’s four birdies made for a subdued round by comparison and after ending the day level with second-round leader Joakim Lagergren, he said: “As I was walking off the 18th green, I said to Harry (Diamond, caddie) this is probably the most frustrating four-under-par round of golf I’ve played in a while.
After the third round of the Irish Open Rory Ilroy believes he left a couple of shots out there but was relatively pleased with his round of 68, leaving him right in the mix heading into the final round.#RTESport #IrishOpen pic.twitter.com/zfX8t7W4nN
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 6, 2025
“I felt like all day I was just trying to keep myself closeish to the lead. I feel like a could be a couple of shots better, but overall I’m still in a decent position going into tomorrow.
“It got tricky, especially the last five or six holes. The wind was pretty gusty and it felt like the wind caught me out a couple of times.
“Overall I hit the ball well again, I feel like I maybe left a couple of shots out there but it was another solid day and I’m not too far away going into tomorrow.”
Shane Lowry reacts to a missed putt on the 18th green
Lowry lamented his struggles on the greens as his hopes of getting into contention for the final round at the Amgen Irish Open evaporated after a third-round 70.
Unable to get a handle on his iron game yesterday as he posted 71, the Offaly man was much improved tee to green, but it was his putting that ensured he won’t won’t be among the contenders on Sunday.
A couple of early birdies had the 38-year-old moving in the right direction, but he never quite got to grips on the greens.
Level par on the back nine – birdies at 12 and the par-five 16th were both immediately cancelled out.
Lowry acknowledged that parts of his game are as good as they have been all year, but issues with the putter meant that wasn’t evident on the scorecard.
Shane Lowry is happy with everything but his putting after the third round of the Irish Open but he believes he’s too far back to challenge for the tournament on Sunday.
📺 Watch https://t.co/8XIEOHjQi5
📱Follow https://t.co/839QVlN8ar pic.twitter.com/kBURXRFDWs
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 6, 2025
“I just couldn’t get the ball in the hole on the greens,” he told RTÉ Sport. “It was disappointing and frustrating. I think there is a low score in me tomorrow, but I’m out of the tournament.
“I’m too far back, there are too many people ahead of me. I was hoping to maybe shoot four or five under to give myself a sniff.”
Tom McKibbin is a further three shots back after a disappointing round, where he picked up just one birdie at the par-five 10th.
The 22-year-old was unable to back up Friday’s 68 and three bogeys scuppered his aspirations of making headway on moving day, carding 74.
Alex Maguire described his third round as “horrendous”, where a pair of double-bogeys proved costly.
Maguire, a last-minute invite to the tournament, conceded he struggled badly off the tee. That was clearly the case at seventh and 15th, where he found water on both occasions with his drive en route to double-bogeys.
“Horrendous,” is how Alex Maguire describes his round to RTÉ Sport’s Dave Kelly. He’s one-under after his round of 73 today and wasn’t happy with his performance.
📺 Watch https://t.co/8XIEOHjQi5
📱Follow https://t.co/839QVlN8ar pic.twitter.com/iy5zXsyiC1
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 6, 2025
A bogey at the fifth was sandwiched by birdies, while the 24-year-old closed with two birdies in the final three holes – including a 20-footer on 16 – for a one-over 73 and sits on one under overall.
“If I get a lie in the rough, I’ll hit a good shot,” he said. “If I hit it in the fairway, I’ll hit a good shot. My iron play is good, I just really struggled off the tee.”
Watch the Amgen Irish Open with RTÉ Sport. Live coverage on Sunday on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport.