McIlroy holed an eagle putt on the 10th hole that he described as part skill and part luck, but it was pure magic. He showed discipline to know when to aim away from the flag and bogey when stuck between a wall and a fairway behind the 17th green. McIlroy now shares the stage at the home of golf with Viktor Hovland, the rising Norwegian star who has been equally good at making birdies and avoiding the blunders that have cost so many other potential contenders.
1 Related Both birdied the final hole for a 6-under 66. No one else was closer than four shots. They have the same score at 16-under 200, although the support is one-sided. “They’re calling his name out there. I think he’s definitely a crowd favorite,” Masters champion Scottie Scheffler said. “How can you not root for Rory?” McIlroy is one round away from ending eight major years without a major. He wants to stay in his own world regardless of the support that rains down on him. “I think he also appreciates the moment and appreciates the fact that it’s incredibly nice to have the opportunity to win the Open at St Andrews,” McIlroy said. “This is what dreams are made of. And I’m going to try to make a dream come true tomorrow.” Hovland, already with six world wins in his four years since leaving Oklahoma as the US Amateur champion, could appreciate the support for McIlroy and all he has done. He played flawlessly and sounded like he was up to the task. “I’m going up against one of the best players in the world and I’m definitely not going to hold back, because I’m definitely not,” Hovland said. It wasn’t a two-man race, even if it felt that way as the Old Course emptied and the bagpipes began to wave at the end of the day. Cameron Smith, who started with a two-shot lead, double-bogeyed the 13th hole when he tried a daring game with his feet in a pot bunker. Cameron Young went over the 16th green and then back around the other side for a double bogey on the 16th hole. Four shots back, still in the game. Two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, the top contender from the Saudi-sponsored LIV Golf Championship to claim this championship, putt past the green and into a bunker for one of the three bogeys at the back of nine. He was six shots behind. McIlroy and Hovland had no such problem. Hovland holed a pair of 40-foot putts on his way to four straight birdies on the front nine to take the lead. McIlroy eventually caught him by chipping from a bunker about 80 feet away for eagle on the 10th hole, setting off a roar that could be heard all the way back to the Royal & Ancient clubhouse. McIlroy just a day earlier tipped his cap to Woods as he began his second round, and Woods was on his way to missing the cut, crossing the Swilcan Bridge for what could have been the last time. The R&A set the tee times so that they would pass each other. Woods stands alone in driving the sport, although McIlroy is the world’s most popular, and it sounded like it – on the first tee when McIlroy was introduced, for every birdie, and when he first took the lead with a birdie at the 14th. “I love that I have so much support,” McIlroy said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to stay in my own little world and try to play a good round of golf. Hopefully that’s enough.” His only mistake was that he went out of the left rough and over the 17th green, across the fairway and close to the stone wall. He played a safe pitch to the green and two putts for bogey. Hovland, bogey-free for the round, showed some magic of his own on 17, leaving the fairway just short of the fairway, up the hill to about 5 feet for par. “I’ve never been in a bigger position in my career,” Hovland said. He sounded on target and the popular Norwegian also saw – and heard – what he will have on Sunday. “I’ve got a couple in there,” he said of the cheers that were so heavily skewed toward McIlroy. “I’m probably an underdog, but I don’t mind that at all. Hopefully we can push ourselves tomorrow.” Smith missed a brief birdie chance at the 18th and had a 73. His biggest mistake was not getting the ball back into play at the 13th, instead trying to push the ball forward and get into tight spots. He also three-putted from 30 feet to start his round and made just two birdies. Young, the PGA Tour rookie who finished one shot out of a playoff at the PGA Championship two months ago, had a 71. Scheffler was lurking after a 69. He missed a 10-foot birdie chance at the 16th and then three-putted the 17th for a bogey. Scheffler, who finished one shot back at the US Open, had a 69 and was five back with Si Woo Kim (67). Johnson also within three shots of a bogey at the 13th and another at the par-5 14th, where his long eagle went up a hill, past the green and into a bunker. Instead of a little bird, he had to look for a bogeyman. He dropped two more shots to go in for a 71 and was six back. McIlroy last won a major championship in 2014 at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. He would love nothing more than to win at the home of golf, the Old Course where Jack Nicklaus once said that a player’s career would not be complete without winning a jug of claret at St. Andrews. “Every part of my game felt good this week,” McIlroy said. “I just have to keep at it for one more day.”
