McIlroy 'playing smart' as he targets end of major drought

To win. McIlroy will have to contend with a lot of star power on a Los Angeles Country Club course that has gotten gradually trickier each day.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 17: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 13th tee during the third round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

There wasn’t a lot of moving on “moving day” at the U.S. Open. Saturday was more like a jockeying for position to set the lineup for Sunday’s dramatic conclusion.

Rory McIlroy shot 1-under 69 to hold his spot in third place at 9-under par, chasing co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark a shot ahead of him on 10-under. Clark birdied 18 while Fowler bogeyed to prevent a marquee McIlroy-Fowler final pairing on Sunday.

“Overall, yeah, pretty pleased with how today went, and feel like I'm in a good spot heading into (Sunday),” said McIlroy.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made the biggest move in the top-eight reshuffle, jumping four spots to fourth with a 68 to get to 7-under with a shocking eagle-birdie finish that included a hole-out from 196 yards on 17. McIlroy and Scheffler will tee off in the penultimate pair at 10:19 pm Irish time.

Harris English (71, 6-under) and Dustin Johnson (71, 5-under) remained in the same position they started in fifth and sixth. Xander Schauffele fell the furthest into a share of sixth with Johnson, dropping three strokes in the last six holes to shot 73.

Japan Tour qualifier Ryutaro Nagano in alone in eighth at 4-under after a Saturday 68. Tied ninth seven shots back at 3-under with a puncher’s chance of doing something dramatic to upend the tables are Australian Cam Smith, American Bryson DeChambeau and South Korean Tom Kim, whose 66 was the low round on Saturday despite losing three shots on the last six holes.

McIlroy played pretty steady golf in the trickier conditions on Saturday, making three birdies and two bogeys. He briefly grabbed a three-way share of the lead at 10-under after early birdies at 1 and 3 but dropped a shot at the par-3 fourth. He fell back where he started after a bogey at 13 but got it right back with a birdie on 14.

“Felt like I played really smart, solid golf,” McIlroy said. “Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Sort of felt somewhat stress free out there, if you can ever call golf at a U.S. Open stress free.” 

All three Irishmen who made the cut shot under par on Saturday to sit inside the top 20. Pádraig Harrington shot 67 to move from T49 to T15 (1-under) and will start at 9:08 pm Irish time with Patrick Cantlay. Shane Lowry’s 68 early moved him from T49 to T20 (even par) and he’ll start the final round at 8:46 pm Irish time with Tony Finau.

McIlroy’s gameplan has held up beautifully, hitting 31 of 39 fairways (79 percent) and leading the field with 44 of 54 greens (81 percent) through three rounds. He’s yielded a little distance by not hitting driver all the time for that sake of better consistency.

“The tee shots are hugely important, to then give yourself the opportunity to hit the greens and attack the pins,” McIlroy said. “I haven't been playing out of the rough that often this week, which has been really nice, and I think I've played smart off the tee, and I've done what I needed to do to get the ball in play. I just need to do that for one more day.” 

Trying to end a nine-year major-winning drought and change the narrative, McIlroy will have to contend with a lot of star power on a Los Angeles Country Club course that has gotten gradually trickier each day. McIlroy kept reiterating he just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing to see what he’s made of on Sunday.

“It's been such a long time since I've done it,” he said of his experience trying to track down two leaders who haven’t won majors before. “I'm going out there to try to execute a game plan, and I feel like over the last three days I've executed that game plan really, really well, and I just need to do that for one more day.” 

The pair in front of him have executed their respective gameplans beautifully as well. Fowler has made 21 birdies and putted handsomely until the very last hole Saturday when he three-putted lipping out a 4-footer. His final birdie of the day was a putt from 69 feet on the 13th hole.

“Just a bummer,” said Fowler of dropping that last stroke in the dark after going to the 18th tee with a two-shot lead. “It would be nice for that one to go in. Really doesn't matter, having the lead, being one back, two back. You're going to have to play good golf (Sunday). Bummer to have that one slip away, but tomorrow is a whole new day, and like I said, that's kind of when the tournament really starts.” 

Clark’s performance thus far has been a revelation. A maiden winner last month in the PGA Tour’s designated Wells Fargo Championship, he’s made the fewest mistakes of the leaders through three rounds. He bounced back from bogeys at 11 and 12 with a birdie at 13. And then when he had to take an unplayable in a penalty area near the green on 17, he got up and down to save bogey and then hit a dagger to 6 feet on 18 for a bounceback birdie the secured his spot in the final pairing.

“Yeah, I wanted to be in the final group,” Clark said. “Every shot matters out here. And on top of it, we couldn't see. So just the fact making it when we were kind of just feeling it and didn't really have the clearest of reads.

“There's a lot of emotion. It's a U.S. Open and I wanted to be in that final group.” 

Instead of a head-to-head showdown with Fowler, McIlroy will have to contend with Scheffler on Sunday. Scheffler hasn’t finished worse than 12th in 16 consecutive events dating back to October despite relatively mediocre putting stats during that span. He resuscitated his challenge when his 7-iron rolled into the cup for eagle on 17. Recharged, he buried a 22-footer for birdie on 18, going from seven back in the 17th fairway to only three behind starting Sunday.

“It just felt like I was getting punished for my mistakes,” Scheffler said. “And then all of a sudden the shot goes in from the fairway and all that stuff just melts away.” Schauffele fell and rose and fell again in a turbulent round playing with McIlroy. 

“It was a bit of a grind to say the least,” he said. “All things considered, I could have let it get away from me even more, so I guess it could have been worse, looking on the bright side.

“Just going to have to do something special, and going to need some help from up top probably.”