Scottie Scheffler insisted he was not conscious of Rory McIlroy’s third-round cost as he fired a bogey-free 67 to take a four-shot lead into the ultimate spherical of The Open.
The world primary was not at his absolute best however as roars rang out throughout Royal Portrush as McIlroy shot 66 to enter the ultimate spherical six photographs behind, he relentlessly pushed ahead to edge nearer to the third leg of the profession Grand Slam.
“I really feel good,” stated Scheffler, who eagled the seventh, birdied the eighth and adopted stellar par saves on the eleventh and 14th together with his third birdie two of the week on the sixteenth.
“I had one other good day right this moment. I made a few good par saves. I had a extremely good par save on 11, actually good par save on 14 and I did some great things.
“Such as you stated, I used to be fairly affected person a lot of the day however felt like I used to be hitting it very nice. Simply typically main championships it may be powerful to make birdies, and right this moment was a type of days the place I simply needed to give myself some seems and was capable of gap just a few.
“I am simply making an attempt to execute, not overthinking issues. I really feel like I have been doing the correct factor to date, and I am trying ahead to the problem of tomorrow.”
Requested if he was conscious of McIlroy’s cost, he was in no temper to offer the Holywood star any encouragement, even when he was conscious of the Holywood star’s transfer up the leaderboard to joint fourth.
“Ehhh, no,” Scheffler stated as he headed for residence to recharge for a closing spherical pairing with China’s Haotong Li, who trails him by 4 photographs on 10-under after a 69.
Scheffler added a 3rd main title to his two Masters victories by claiming the PGA Championship at Quail Hole in Might and admitted it might be satisfying so as to add a Claret Jug to his assortment and go away himself needing solely the US Open to hitch McIlroy within the profession Grand Slam membership.
“Yeah, it might be good, however I am not going to be serious about that tonight,” stated the American, who leads the placing statistics and lies second for strokes gained on method.
“I’ll be going residence, making an attempt to get some relaxation and get some restoration after which prepare for tomorrow.”
Ominously for the chasing pack, Scheffler has transformed his final 9 54-hole leads into wins.
Why he is such an excellent entrance runner is a thriller to him.
“Your guess is nearly as good as mine,” he stated. “I like being out right here competing. That is why we work so exhausting is to have alternatives like this, and I am excited for the problem of tomorrow.
“Successful main championships just isn’t a simple job, and I’ve put myself in an excellent place.
