Rory McIlroy (-6) is the leader of the Amgen Irish Open with 18 holes to go. He’s where he wanted to be. He’s where everyone wanted him to be. All the fans from Northern Ireland who have packed every inch of dune this Saturday at the Royal County Down Golf Club. It has been an epic day of golf.
Beauty and the beast in its purest form. The landscape is unmatched and the conditions have been extremely tough. The wind has blown, as always, but above all there has been a twist in the preparation. This is not Thursday or Friday, it’s Saturday and it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. The flags have been tighter and the players have struggled a lot. Only eight rounds under par. Only twelve players under par in the classification. It has been a brutal culling. Todd Clemments, who left the field yesterday one stroke from the leader, has made 85 strokes today playing with McIlroy. He was second. Now he is 64th, 15 strokes from the lead. From Rory. The best and worst round of the day in the same match. Beauty and the beast.
McIlroy has not been particularly sharp from the tee. He has only caught five streets, but with the irons and, above all, with his short game and with the putt he has been sublime. He has hit great shots from out of position. He has known how to hold on. His only blemish with the irons was on the 18th. He hit a shank with the third stroke and ended with a bogey. After all, it will never stop being Roryland.
McIlroy has a one-stroke lead over Matteo Manassero (-5), who has managed to resist with a round of 72 strokes, and three over Robert MacIntyre, Jordan Smith, Erik Van Rooyen and Rasmus Hojgaard. All with -3. As you can see, Royal County Down does not disappoint. The top of the table is a very serious thing. The only member of the top 10 who has not yet won on the DP World Tour is Aaron Cockerill (-2), a golfer who has the virtue of sticking his head out when conditions are tough.
The easy approach here is to say that the tournament is in McIlroy’s hands. But of course, it’s Rory and it’s Royal County Down. If anything has been made clear today, it’s that even with a three-stroke lead, you can’t live comfortably in these parts. The 16th hole, a short par 4, is the only non-par 5 that is being played under par this week. We’ll see how many end up under par this week, but the figure doesn’t seem to be going much beyond six or seven. Spectacular.
Get an idea of the magnitude of the challenge that the golfers faced this Saturday on the wonderful Newcastle course. The best card was 69 strokes, two under par, shared by four players: Rory McIlroy (-6), Robert MacIntyre (-3), Jordan Smith (-3) and Adrián Otaegui (-2). All British and Otaegui. Much credit to the golfer from San Sebastian. He gave an exhibition with the irons. He signed six birdies and only one of them was with a putt of more than three meters… and it was three and a half, don’t think. He was excellent and has presented his candidacy for victory. After all, he is only four strokes behind Rory, seventh position. A gentleman’s moving day.
Alejandro del Rey (PAR) will also have his chances of victory, although things have become much more complicated for him. Again the 15th hole crossed his path when he was face to face with Rory and company. Triple bogey. Another ball lost to the left of the street. He adds +7 on that hole in the last two days. They are easy and unreal accounts, but with two pars on those holes he would be the sole leader ahead of McIlroy. Two accidents. Two very costly mistakes.
Beyond that, the reality is that the golfer from Madrid has displayed magnificent golf today, only hampered on the greens. He practically didn’t make a putt. The longest he has made was one meter for bogey. The rest have been given, including his two birdies on the 4th, after a beastly shot, on the 12th, after putting for eagle from just over four meters. The 15th was an undeserved stab. In any case, if he already got up from a quadruple bogey, he should not be ruled out of the fight yet. If tomorrow he manages to recover the touch and sensations on the greens, he will give some fright from behind. Today he hit some extraordinary irons and his 400-meter drive on the 12th hole was colossal.
Another who has left options to do something very interesting on Sunday is Nacho Elvira (+1), who has managed to make par today, while Santi Tarrio (+6) is one of those who has suffered on this tough day.
