There was a moment in the middle of the afternoon Saturday at Royal Portrush where it still felt like anything was possible at the 2025 Open Championship. All scenarios were still on the table. Hope ran rampant around the property as the third round trundled on and player after player made birdie after birdie. Conditions were minimal. Scoring was ideal. It was Moving Day at the final major of the season, and fireworks were flying through the sky.
Low scores trickled into the clubhouse from the morning wave just as Rory McIlroy marched onto the first tee to begin his day’s work. One birdie arrived on his scorecard with two more soon to follow — three across his first four holes gave the local crowd something to roar about as their man was making his move, pulling within four of Scottie Scheffler, the overnight pace setter.
Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick joined the party. The English triumvirate appeared keen on breaking the 33-year drought their country possesses in this championship. Fitzpatrick touched the lead with a chip-in eagle on No. 2 and stayed in pole position until the speed racer that is Scheffler shifted into another gear.
Sauntering through the first third of his third round with six straight pars, Scheffler surged with an eagle on the par-5 7th and a birdie on the par-4 8th to double his overnight lead. Suddenly, it became difficult for his competitors to breathe. The world No. 1 was staring down at all of them, sucking the oxygen out of the championship. Worst of all? There was nothing anyone could do about it.
There were chances to come up for air as Scheffler showed signs of distress with a couple of wayward misses, but the windows were short and were quickly closed by the three-time major champion, who made sensational saves from the tall grass on Nos. 11 and 14.
“I had a really good par save on 11, really good par save on 14, and I did some good stuff,” Scheffler said. “I was pretty patient most of the day but felt like I was hitting it really nice. Just sometimes major championships it can be tough to make birdies, and today was one of those days where I just had to give myself some looks and was able to hole a few.”
From there on, Scheffler only tightened his stranglehold on the field. For the third straight day, he made birdie on the par-3 16th nicknamed Calamity Corner. He watched as his peers piled up mistakes trying to do something — anything — to claw their way back into the forefront of this championship.
Only a few hours after hope ran through their veins and the minds of the onlookers, hopeless settled in. The man who won his first major championship by three, his second by four and his third by five had four strokes in his back pocket by the time he walked off the 18th green with a blemish-free 67 in the other, moving his score for the tournament to 14 under.
Another 54-hole lead is in Scheffler’s possession, and if it goes anything like the nine that preceded it, he’ll soon have his fourth major championship as well. He enters the final round as an overwhelming 2/15 favorite, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Rory McIlroy (-8)
McIlroy was the first of those at 8 under to finish, which means he will play in the game just ahead of Scheffler on Sunday. Sporting a spot in the penultimate pair, the Northern Irishman will have a chance to apply some pressure on the overnight leader if he is able to get off to another fast start. The kicker is whether he can sustain it. McIlroy stalled ever so slightly in the middle of his round, but given the deficit and the front man, he does not have that luxury in the final round. Odds: 22-1
“I got off to the perfect start, 3 under through 4,” McIlroy said. “Felt like at the end of the front nine there, at least through 11, the par on 7 felt like a bogey, and then the bogey on 11. Then to play those last seven holes at 3 under I thought was a good effort. I played well. I rode my luck at times, but yeah, it was an incredible atmosphere out there. I feel like I’ve at least given myself half a chance tomorrow.”
Matt Fitzpatrick (-9)
Fitzpatrick found the bottom of the cup from just below the surface on No. 2 and found his name alongside that of Scheffler atop the leaderboard. The Englishman looked comfortable walking next to the man with the longest shadow for most of the day, but some loose swings and some short misses on the greens saw his name tumble five off the pace with 18 holes to go.
The 2022 U.S. Open champion must be kicking himself for some ill-timed missed putts as he has failed to connect on three attempts inside 5 feet across his last 20 holes going back to Friday afternoon. He will need to make just about everything on the greens tomorrow. Odds: 28-1
Haotong Li (-10)
Li was within three strokes of Scheffler when he stepped onto the 18th tee and slumped to four back walked off the last green. A head-scratching decision to pull driver saw Li put his tee ball in the fairway bunker, causing him to card one final bogey. Still, he will enter the final round as the closest pursuer to Scheffler and the man who shares the last tee time of The Open. Li is supremely confident and ranks second in strokes gained approach and strokes gained tee to green this week. The long game has been stellar, and the short game will have to be as well if he plans to surprise the world by overcoming Scheffler and raising the Claret Jug. Odds: 28-1
Harris English (-8)
English shot the lowest score in the final round of the PGA Championship and the third-lowest score in the final round of the Masters. He’s a little closer to the lead this time around, but English has shown that he can catch fire across the final 18 holes of a major championship this season.The Georgia Bulldog checks in inside the top five in both strokes gained approach and strokes gained putting, but his driver has handcuffed him at times. He will need a big day with that club in particular if he is to have a chance. Odds: 90-1
“I’m happy with where I’m at,” English said. “I know it’s going to take a special one tomorrow. But who knows, I’ve had some good Sunday finishes this year in the majors.”
Tyrrell Hatton (-8)
An eagle from the middle of the fairway on No. 7 shot Hatton’s name up the leaderboard, but the fiery Englishman was only able to add one more birdie onto his card from there on in. Hatton lamented that he has hit a ton of greens in regulation — at least 14 in every round — but has failed to get absolutely everything out of his game. He will have to squeeze all the juice out on Sunday given the deficit at hand, but the good news is he knows the chances will be there. If he is able to give himself a few more closer birdie looks and convert them more often, he has a round in the low 60s in the bag. Odds: 50-1
“Wow, going into tomorrow at the moment we’re six shots behind, so it’s a long way back,” Hatton said. “So far I’m in a decent position. I don’t feel like I’ve played my best golf. Although I’ve hit a lot of greens, I haven’t been that close to the hole. So it’s quite hard to hole putts. I feel like I’m constantly just trying to get it up there close and walk off with par. That side of it has been a bit frustrating for me. Hopefully tomorrow I can play a bit better.”
Chris Gotterup (-8)
The Scottish Open winner has continued his scorcher this week, and he has an outside chance to become the first player since Phil Mickelson to win both the Scottish Open and The Open in consecutive weeks. Gotterup has gobbled up the par 5s through three rounds playing those nine holes in a 12-under par fashion. He will need to continue his scoring ways on those three holes on Sunday, but if he is to make up ground, he will have to do what he has failed to do thus far and that is score on the rest of the golf course. Odds: 80-1
“[Scheffler’s] been the best player in the world for the past couple years. I fully expect him to go out and play a great round tomorrow,” Gotterup said. “I’m going to have to bring my best tomorrow, and I’m going to have to bring it anyways in terms of it being a final round in a major. Not just Scottie out there, there’s a lot of great players in the mix.”