PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND | If there is a question as the final round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush awaits, it’s a familiar one.
Head or heart?
Spotting Scottie Scheffler a four-stroke lead with 18 holes remaining, likely with uncommonly benign Sunday conditions on the northern edge of this famously weather-beaten land, feels like an intellectual equation with an obvious answer.
Scheffler has been the best player in the game for at least three years, including this one, and for a guy who had never played links golf until 2021, he’s handling Royal Portrush like he grew up here.
With rounds of 68-64-67, Scheffler is at 14-under-par 199, four strokes ahead of Haotong Li and five clear of Matt Fitzpatrick.
Whatever questions his early-week ruminations about the deeper meaning of success may have raised, Scheffler thrives on moments like this.
He is 18 holes from winning his fourth career major, his second this year and setting up the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills next June as his chance to close the circle on the career Grand Slam. It is not a foregone conclusion but, if you believe in trends, the last nine times Scheffler has held a 54-hole lead he has won.
Asked Saturday evening why he’s become a lethal closer, Scheffler chose to deflect.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I like being out here competing. This is why we work so hard is to have opportunities like this, and I’m excited for the challenge of tomorrow. Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I’ve put myself in a good position,” Scheffler said.
“Going into tomorrow I’m going to step up there on the first tee and I’m going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway, and when I get to the second shot I’m going to be trying to get that ball on the green. There’s not really too much else going on.”
Remember when Scheffler got off to a slow start after a hand injury delayed the start of his 2025 season? Didn’t think so.
“He’s playing like Scottie. I don’t think it’s a surprise. Everyone’s seen the way he’s played or plays over the last two or three years. He’s just so solid. He doesn’t make mistakes.” – Rory McIlroy
He has shot higher than 73 just once this year, has not missed a cut in 16 starts, has won three times and has not finished lower than T8 in his last 10 starts.
While Li will be in the final pairing with Scheffler Sunday with a chance to pull off the most stunning Open Championship surprise since Ben Curtis won in 2003, the heart leans heavily toward Rory McIlroy, whose presence and pursuit of the Claret Jug in his homeland has been the championship’s dominant theme for weeks, if not months.
It was exactly the kind of Saturday McIlroy and the thousands of adoring fans crowded into Portrush on the warm, sunny day wanted. Though he started the third round seven strokes behind Scheffler, when McIlroy birdied the first hole, the roar rumbled across the dunes.
“It was incredible. It was so much fun,” said McIlroy, who has had rounds of 70-69-66 and sits at 8-under par.
Three birdies in his first four holes put McIlroy in the mix and when he holed a long eagle putt at the par-5 12th, workers on the boats on the nearby sea may have heard the cheers.
“It’s loud. It’s cool. I’m glad he’s playing well for his home country. It’s sort of what golf needs, and entertainment’s high,” said Xander Schauffele, whose Saturday 66 was among his best rounds of the year.
Though he will start the final round in the second-to-last group, McIlroy trails Scheffler by six strokes, a mountain-sized margin considering Scheffler’s dominance over the last three years.
McIlroy said he will do his best to occupy his mind Saturday night by watching the movie “Oppenheimer” and will go into Sunday knowing the opportunity – and the challenge – he has.
“He’s playing like Scottie. I don’t think it’s a surprise. Everyone’s seen the way he’s played or plays over the last two or three years. He’s just so solid. He doesn’t make mistakes,” McIlroy said.
“There doesn’t seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you’re trying to chase down a guy like that, it’s hard to do.”
The closest thing to a wrinkle in Scheffler’s round came early on Saturday.
At the second hole, Fitzpatrick – who uses a left-hand-low grip on shots around the greens – pitched in for an eagle, landing the short shot beautifully atop a mound then seeing it find the hole as if it were magnetized.
Scheffler, meanwhile, made the rare mistake of three-putting, missing from 3 feet for a birdie that would have maintained a one-stroke lead.
Then things reverted to form.
A 10-foot par putt at the third stabilized Scheffler and he gradually began separating himself – again – boosted by an eagle at the par-5 seventh.
“I think anytime we’re going around the course I’m trying to take advantage of my opportunities. Sometimes I do a better job of that than other times,” Scheffler said.
“If you look at the first six holes, I felt like I did some things good enough to make a few birdies and wasn’t able to capitalize, and then all of a sudden on (No.) 7 and (No.) 8 I get three shots in two holes. It’s more just a matter of trying to make the best of the opportunities that you can get, and sometimes I’m good at it, sometimes not as good.”