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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Eamon Doggett

Rory McIlroy tied for the lead ahead of Open Championship final round

Rory McIlroy has a share of the lead heading into the final round of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

The Holywood man and Norwegian Victor Hovland are locked at top of the leaderboard at 16-under-par.

It could be a Sunday duel between the pair, with them four strokes clear of overnight leader Cameron Smith and American Cameron Young.

McIlroy drew alongside his playing partner Victor Hovland at 15-under-par after holing out a bunker shot for eagle on the par four 10th hole.

The pair are two clear of overnight leader Cameron Smith, with world number one Scottie Scheffler and two-time major Dustin Johnson among those a short further back.

READ MORE: P****** off Lowry distraught putting killed his Open hopes after eagles thrills

McIlroy got off to a quiet start with four successive pars to open his third round before finding the par-five fight in two shots set up his opening birdie.

He followed that with another birdie on the sixth hole but was struggling to keep tabs with Hovland, who reeled off four birdies on the spin from the third hole.

The largest cheer of the day came on the tenth hole when McIlroy splashed out of the bunker short of the green to perfection.

His eagle drew him alongside Hovland, who birdied the hole, and then went one clear with a birdie on the par five 14th hole.

McIlroy ended up a few feet from the stone wall on the 17th hole, but he was able to escape with a bogey five.

A perfectly judged long putt on the last after a driving iron just short of the green allowed him to finish with a birdie and sign for a 66, the same as his Hovland.

McIlroy, 33, is looking to win his first major championship since 2014, when he won the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in the same season.

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