HOYLAKE, England — Rory McIlroy looks as if he has just thrown a knockout punch at the British Open, and it was only Saturday. ADVERTISING HOYLAKE, England — Rory McIlroy looks as if he has just thrown a knockout punch
HOYLAKE, England — Rory McIlroy looks as if he has just thrown a knockout punch at the British Open, and it was only Saturday.
When he rolled in a 10-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a 4-under 68, he straightened his back, stared defiantly at thousands of fans crammed into the horseshoe arena around the 18th green at Royal Liverpool and lightly pumped his fist.
He went from being tied for the lead to six shots ahead of Rickie Fowler in just over an hour.
And suddenly, the biggest challenge facing the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland was reminding himself that he had one more round left.
McIlroy can’t afford to picture his name etched on the base of that silver claret jug. He can’t think about what it will be like next April to drive down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National with a shot at becoming the sixth player to capture the career Grand Slam.
“I’m not taking anything for granted,” McIlroy said.
He knows that from experience, good and bad. He blew a four-shot lead at the Masters in 2011 and shot 80 in the final round. He had an eight-shot lead at the U.S. Open two months later and set two scoring records to win by eight. And just two months ago, McIlroy came from seven shots behind to win by seven.
It looks like a lost cause for Fowler, Sergio Garcia and anyone else trying to chase down a guy who has won both his majors by eight shots. The six-shot lead was the largest at The Open since Tiger Woods led by six at St. Andrews in 2000.
Even so, McIlroy was doing his best to preach caution.
“A lot can happen,” he said. “And I’ve been on the right side of it and I’ve been on the wrong side of it. You can’t let yourself think forward. You’ve just got to completely stay in the moment, and that’s what I’m going to try to do for all 18 holes tomorrow.”
History is on his side.
No one has ever lost a six-shot lead in the 121 years that The Open has been contested over 72 holes. Boy Wonder would not seem to be a candidate.
“What you have with him is he’s just so explosive,” Jim Furyk said after a 71 left him 10 shots behind. “He won the U.S. Open by eight shots. He obviously doesn’t have any issue as the front-runner, and has no issue trying to extend that lead, much like Tiger used to.”
