ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – There’s a lot of time to kill between the conclusion of the third round and the tee time for the co-leaders in the 150th British Open at the Old Course.
After the round, both Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland were asked how they would pass the time until 2:55 p.m. local time (9:55 a.m. ET) and try to avoid letting their mind wander to what could be a historic day.
“There’s no rugby to watch tomorrow morning,” McIlroy said. “I watched two rugby matches this morning, which was great. Got a little emotional when Ireland won, actually. It was an unbelievable achievement for them.
“Yeah, put the phone away. The tee times here are late. So I’ve been sort of taking a little midmorning nap the last couple of days. Just try to do the same thing again. I usually get to the golf course three hours before and do a gym session and get some treatment, physio and lunch and everything else. I get my day in pretty well with just keeping myself busy. And certainly phone away and just sort of get into my routine.”
On Friday, then-36-hole leader Cameron Smith said he was going to binge “Peaky Blinders.” That didn’t work out so well as Smith stumbled to a 73 and enters the final round four strokes back.
Hovland planned to watch Showtime’s Billions. “I’m pretty good at doing nothing,” he said. “I find that time flies by when you’re just sitting on the couch on your phone, watching shows.”
Both players said competing in the final group with a shot to be named Champion Golfer of the Year was a dream scenario.
“Just to be here is very special, but to have a chance to win one is — yeah, I have to pinch myself,” Hovland added. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to hold back tomorrow.”
“It’s unbelievably cool to have a chance to win The Open at St Andrews,” McIlroy said. “It’s what dreams are made of. And I’m going to try to make a dream come true tomorrow.”
