Scottie Scheffler takes another solid par on the 14th hole as he closes in on his first Claret Jug while Haotong Li drops two shots with a double bogey.
On the next green, Rory McIlroy takes a birdie to move back to ten under par and Harris English gets a birdie on the 16th to join Chris Gotterup on 12 under.
Meanwhile, Bob MacIntyre gets a very warm reception as he makes his way to the 18th green.
The Scot finishes with a par for a four-under round of 67 and a final score of ten under.
Wyndham Clark new clubhouse leader
Wyndham Clark takes a par on the 18th lead to complete a superb six-under round of 65.
The American finishes on 11 under par to become the new clubhouse leader.
LUKE WALKER/GETTY IMAGES FOR HSBC
Pars for Scheffler, Li and McIlroy
Scottie Scheffler can’t convert that birdie opportunity on the 13th hole but simply taps in for par, and five more of those could easily be enough with the lead he has at the moment.
Haotong Li, one of his main challengers on 11 under par, also takes par on that hole.
On the next green, Rory McIlroy has the chance to close the gap with a birdie chance, but his seven-foot putt goes just right and he has to settle for par.
On the 17th, Bob MacIntyre has an eagle chance from about 29 feet and he comes agonisingly close, before tapping in for birdie to move ten under par.
ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES
Scottie Scheffler moves to 17 under
It’s going to take a real downturn in fortunes for Scottie Scheffler to miss out on his first Open title.
The world No1 has recovered superbly from that double bogey on the 8th hole and is now on 17 under par after taking a birdie on the par-five 12th as Haotong Li can only manage par.
That extends his lead to five shots and he could soon extend that further after a good tee shot on the next hole sets up a birdie opportunity from ten feet.
Rory McIlroy has just come away from that 13th hole with par, that he will need better than that if he is going to have any chance.
Rory McIlroy gets birdie on 12th
Rory McIlroy picks up his first birdie of the back nine on the par-five 12th hole.
A brilliant approach shot got him finds the edge of the green, 56 feet from the hole and although he can’t convert the eagle opportunity, it sets up a fairly straightforward three-foot putt for birdie, which the Northern Irishman sinks to move back to nine under.
Meanwhile, Chris Gotterup picks up back-to back birdies on 12 and 13 to move to 12 under and into second place on his own.
McIlroy responds with par
After his double bogey on the previous hole, Rory McIlroy manages a par on the 11th after finding the greenside bunker with his second shot.
Meanwhile, Haotong Li has moved to 11 under par with a birdie on the 11th — five shots behind Scottie Scheffler, who saves par on the same hole
Double bogey for McIlroy on 10th
And that could be decisive. Rory McIlroy makes awkward contact from a reasonable lie and dislodges a chunk of turf. Oops. He follows up by chipping back on to the green, leaving 20 feet for bogey. That putt won’t go down though, and a double bogey surely ends his chances.
Here’s that Scheffler (mild) strife…
A four-stroke gap between the leader and his compatriot Chris Gotterup (-11) quickly becomes five again after Scheffler birdies 9! That was all down to a terrific approach to the green that puts him within five feet or so.
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceBryson DeChambeau on his turnaround
What a contrast for Bryson DeChambeau from his disastrous seven-over-par 78 on the opening day to a charge up the leaderboard for a finish on nine under (Stuart Fraser writes). The 197 shots he hit on the past three days are the second-lowest 54-hole finish in Open history, behind Henrik Stenson’s 196 at Royal Troon in 2016.
“It was fair conditions the past few days,” DeChambeau said. “I always told you guys I like it when it’s fair conditions. I can play well. I still have to crack the code when it’s raining and windy. But I feel like we’re getting close to some opportunities and solutions for that. It just takes a long time to develop stuff, I’m starting to learn.”
Double bogey for Scheffler!
Over at the penultimate pairing, Matt Fitzpatrick had started poorly but back-to-back birdies get him to ten under and seven shots behind Scheffler. Rory McIlroy gets par to stay on ten under.
On the par-4 8th, Scheffler makes a mess off the tee to end up in the bunker and is still in there after the second shot! Gosh. He makes the fairway with the third but needs to hole out from over 100 yards to save par — that doesn’t happen and now it’s bogey (or even double bogey) time as he gets to within 15 feet. And it will be a double as he can’t convert! He drops back to 15 under.
Scheffler rescues himself again
Scottie Scheffler hits into the fairway bunker off the 7th tee and is in semi-rough off the second shot. He has a 15ft putt for par here after getting on the green…and yes, he makes it. Who is even surprised? He’s rescued a couple of dropped shots in these past two holes and makes it look simple.
Rory McIlroy climbs to ten under
A birdie on the 7th does the job and he’s now tied for second alongside Li and Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup, whose two-under round thru 7 has been very impressive so far. Harris English then gets to the mark too with a birdie.
Another birdie for Scottie Scheffler
The leader makes it from 15 feet for birdie at the 5th and Haotong Li matches that to go back to ten under, seven strokes behind. On the 6th, the Chinese player makes par and Scheffler needs an 18ft putt to make par after trouble off the tee and approach…and he does it! He is just nerveless.
Astonishingly, Bryson DeChambeau (-9) holds the clubhouse lead after a round of 64. Imagine someone telling you that on Thursday evening?
Scottie Scheffler marching on
The American now has a seven-shot lead as he birdies from about eight feet on the 4th. Haotong Li bogeys the same hole for a two-shot swing.
All smiles for Scheffler as his lead grows even greater
REUTERS
Rai in Ryder Cup selection?
We are just over a month away from the cut-off point for automatic Ryder Cup qualification, which comes after the British Masters, ending on August 24 (John Westerby writes). Aaron Rai, the 30-year-old from Wolverhampton, is unlikely to make the top six but will hope to earn one of Luke Donald’s six captain’s picks after a consistent season in the majors.
Rai went two under par in his final round here in Portrush, finishing on three under for the tournament, and his next outing comes in the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina, a tournament he won last year.
Does he fancy his chances of a first Ryder Cup selection? “There’s still a long way to go, a good four or five events,” he said. “We’ll see where things go, but that would be amazing one day.”
Sergio Garcia on broken clubs and Ryder Cup
Fair play to Sergio Garcia (Stuart Fraser writes). After snapping his driver in frustration on the second tee, he went on to card a three-under-par round of 68 despite not being permitted to replace the club under the rules. Credit, too, for fronting up for interviews afterwards.
“Obviously I didn’t hit a good drive,” Garcia said. “I didn’t smack it straight down. I kind of swiped it back. I’ve done that 50 times, and I’ve never broken a club. The shaft just snapped in half. I wasn’t trying to break it, and I was actually surprised when I saw that, because usually, if it breaks, it breaks by the neck, and it broke in the middle of the shaft.”
The Spaniard spoke of his Ryder Cup chances too (Rick Broadbent writes). First up, had European captain Luke Donald assured him any decision would be based purely on his game rather than politics after his LIV move? “That’s what he’s told me. It’s just about how my game is and what I can bring, what I can add to the team, as simple as that.”
He was happy to talk up his potential influence as he looked ahead to New York and the raucous crowd at Bethpage. “Going into New York, the experience is always good, mostly because you’re still going to have some rookies there, and I think those experienced guys have a great job to do.
“When you’re out there on the course, it’s nice to have one of those experienced guys to put their arm around you and make you feel like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you,’ when people are shouting at you and screaming and wishing you all the bad things that you can think of.”
Par for Scottie Scheffler on 2nd
The leader did have a look at birdie from about 30 feet give or take, but it shapes away to the left. It ends up being a good hole for him anyway though as playing partner Haotong Li picks up a bogey on the par-5 hole via a missed putt from about six feet.
Matt Fitzpatrick, by the way, dropped a shot on the 3rd and now is back on eight under this week. And how is this for some green-reading from Xander Schauffele?
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceRegrets for Bryson DeChambeau?
Bryson DeChambeau is on eight under for the tournament now, which is almost unfathomable given his awful 78 on day one. He’s six under thru 15 today. If he’d had even an average day one, he’d be in the lead. Food for thought.
Birdie on 2nd for Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy makes his first move, and he’ll need plenty more of those as he gets a birdie on the par-5 2nd having narrowly missed a long putt for eagle. But gosh, Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot safely on the fairway of that same hole and he’ll surely look for another birdie here too.
Scheffler bagged a birdie on the first hole
ALEX PANTLING/R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES
The Rory McIlroy show in full flow
I’m sitting by the first green, where Rory McIlroy has just come through as he commences his opening round (Stuart Fraser writes). It is a great vantage point, looking downhil towards the first tee and the town of Portrush.
The scenes were quite remarkable with thousands of home fans lining either side of the fairway. Even the waiters and waitresses took a quick break from their duties at the nearby hospitality suite to watch McIlroy putt out for an opening par.
Excellent second shot from Haotong Li to get within about five feet— how many of those will he need? But Scottie Scheffler hits a gem too! That must be about two feet to the cup. Both players in birdie position there and yes indeed, a birdie for both on the 1st.
Elsewhere, Hideki Matsuyama has just made his fourth successive birdie on the 12th to put him six under for the round. The news is worse for Tyrrell Hatton though who bogeys on the 2nd, missing a putt from around five feet.
And here comes Scottie Scheffler
The leader (-14), and his playing partner, Haotong Li, who is in second (-10) are the final group, and the latter begins the round by nailing his tee shot down the middle. A good ovation for both players. Scottie Scheffler is a tad offline with his first shot but avoids the thick rough.
Pars for both Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick on the 1st, with Fitzpatrick’s slightly more dicey after he overhit the green with his approach and landed in the rough.
McIlroy and Fitzpatrick tee off
Rory McIlroy opens up and he stays in bounds off the tee — that’s an encouraging sign too. Next up is Matt Fitzpatrick, who plays up the left-hand side, there are big cheers after he hits his ball and we’re on the move. Shouts of “Rory, Rory” accompany them as they head up the fairway. On 11, Tommy Fleetwood leaves a putt for birdie just short to stay on four under for the round.
Good start for Tyrrell Hatton
It’s a birdie on the 1st hole for the Englishman, who climbs to nine under — that’s exactly what he needed to start this round. Birdies too for Robert MacIntyre (-7) and Rasmus Hojgaard (-8) on the 2nd, the latter going back to back in the first two holes. And Rory McIlroy is on the 1st tee, enormous crowds there, as you’d expect. Rapturous cheers as his name is announced.
Rory McIlroy is set to tee off in about (checks watch) 12 minutes. The Northern Irishman is six shots behind Scottie Scheffler and you’d think it would take something pretty astonishing for him to turn it around…or for anyone to turn it around, in fact. We will soon see.
Meanwhile, Sungjae Im becomes the first player of the day to eagle the par-5 4th, chipping in on his second. That helps!
DAVID CANNON/GETTY IMAGES
Tommy Fleetwood bags his fourth birdie of the day on the par-4 8th to get to six under for the tournament, while Lee Westwood (also -6), who made a back-nine 29 (!) yesterday, has picked up a birdie of his own on 4. The English pair of Harry Hall and Justin Rose have both gained a shot on 3 to move to seven under. Lots going on.
All smiles for Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry ends special final round
The 2019 champion received a lovely ovation as he walked down the final fairway. He’s down on the left-hand slope for his third shot on the par-4 hole and he nearly sank it, the ball crashing into the flag and just rolling out. Gosh, what an ending to the round that would have been. He’ll settle for a five-under final day which puts him on two under for the week.
‘Hate that swing’ — Tommy Fleetwood makes bogey
The Englishman (-4) throws his head back in despair as he makes a mess of his approach to the 4th, and that costs him a bogey as he misses a putt for par. There’s similar aggravation for Shane Lowry (-2), whose ball seems to hit both sides of the cup on the 17th and lips out. He remains on five under for the round with a hole to go.
From zero to hero for Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau copped a degree of flak after his first round here (Rick Broadbent writes at Portrush). In fairness, his round of 78, lacking a single birdie, did suggest this was not for him.
DeChambeau, though, is great at figuring things out. He is now 11 under for the tournament since the start of his second round, which is a good deal better than Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Haotong Li and Tyrrell Hatton. Hell, it’s even as good as Scottie Scheffler, albeit that DeChambeau has played four more holes.
Admittedly, the rain and wind have not been at their toughest since Thursday but that is quite a bounce back. He is also getting a huge reception from the galleries and is high-fiving anyone in the vicinity.
Let’s scan the situation at Portrush a little. Shane Lowry (-2 overall) remains the standout so far at five under thru 15, while Maverick McNealy (-2), who made a hot start early, has dropped to just one under for the day thru 8.
Jon Rahm (-3) is one under thru 6, while Phil Mickelson (+1_ has nearly finished his round — currently at four under — despite apparently posting on his X account at 3am this morning. Who says sleep helps?
Here comes Scottie Scheffler (-14), who tees off with second-placed Haotong Li (-10) at 2.30pm.
On tour, Scheffler has won each of the last nine times he has held the outright 54-hole lead
CAMERON SMITH/R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES
Quite a shot! His latest birdie at effort at the 13th doesn’t quite fall though, finishing left of the cup. He remains five under for the round and two under for the tournament.
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceThe Shane Lowry train rolls on
The 2019 champion may not have enjoyed yesterday as he wanted — understandable given his illness — but Sunday is treating him much more favourably. He is now five under for his round, this time finding the hole from about 30ft away on the par-five 12th. Make that five under for his round.
Here comes Bryson DeChambeau
The American, a signed-up member of the “stop slow play” club and keen to time his fellow players with a stopwatch, is out on course following three rounds of 78, 65 and 68 respectively. An opening birdie is not out of the question here after he makes up for an errant tee shot into the rough by plopping his second on the green.
The 2019 champion’s (-1) run of birdies comes to an end on 10 with a par, though he wasn’t far off with his first putt. He’s four under for this round. Elsewhere, the wonderfully named Maverick McNealy is three under thru 3 and four under for the week — he’s top of the players currently out there, tied for 22nd.
Rickie Fowler picks up a birdie at the 2nd to move to three under.
Any guesses as to who this fan supports?
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceShane Lowry is red hot here!
How about this for Shane Lowry, who reaches the turn in 32. He finds the green with his second shot on the 9th, around 20 feet away, and it’s yet another birdie. That’s three in a row and he’s on one under.
Litany of ex-champions out on course
Right then, any early movers and shakers? Despite his illness, Shane Lowry has rediscovered some of that 2019-winning form to record his fourth birdie of the front nine. Phil Mickelson is two under for his round thru 10 while fellow Open winners Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth, and Franceso Molinari — who took the Claret Jug between 2016 and 2018 respectively — are all out on course. It’s an unforgiving game, golf.
Can anyone rein in Scheffler?
You only have to go back three years to find someone overturning a four-shot Open deficit in the final round (Rick Broadbent writes at Portrush). Cam Smith won that year after reining in Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. He was actually six strokes better than McIlroy and ten better than Hovland. Scottie Scheffler is a different proposition, though.
He has had one bogey in his last 43 holes, has closed out his last nine 54-hole leads, has been showing exquisite distance control this week and his nearest challenger, Haotong Li, has just made an Open cut for the first time since 2018. “Kind of like, play for second,” Li said of his plans. This is golf, though. If someone is four under thru six then it could at least get interesting. Smith, by the way, has missed the cut at all four majors in 2025.
Here’s that Sergio Garcia club break
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceSergio Garcia breaks his driver!
The fact that Sergio Garcia is playing at this early hour already indicates that it’s not been his tournament, and now he’s just broken his driver in anger after hooking left on the 2nd tee. Because he broke the club on purpose, he now can’t replace it this round.
It’s very early doors on the final day at Portrush but that doesn’t mean there aren’t big names to watch out for — most pertinently the 2019 champion Shane Lowry, who has begun his round already. It’s been a disappointing week, capped by a two-shot penalty on Friday for moving a ball with his practice swing. He has also struggled with illness, saying “every bathroom I went in and tried to throw up, [but] I couldn’t”.
“The annoying thing for me today is I didn’t get to enjoy today as much as I would have liked,” Lowry added yesterday. “Saturday at the Open in your home country, I should enjoy it a lot more than I did, just because of how I felt.”
He’s one under thru 6 so far today and two over for the week.
• Michael Foley: Why Shane Lowry is running on empty at Portrush
Hello and welcome to The Sunday Times’ live coverage of the final round of the 153rd Open Championship from Royal Portrush.
Scottie Scheffler holds a four-shot lead going into the fourth day, after another excellent performance yesterday when he carded a four-under 67. Rory McIlroy, Haotong Li, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick are all in pursuit, and conditions look set to be fair.
Be sure to follow along for updates, analysis and news from the Co Antrim coast as the final major of the year reaches its climax.