Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland share the lead after three rounds of the 2022 British Open

Rory McIlroy (Ed Balaun, Wikimedia Commons)

There is a two-way tie at the top at the 2022 British Open. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Viktor Hovland of Norway are tied at -16 and each have a four-stroke lead over Cameron Smith of Australia and Cameron Young of the United States. On Saturday in the third round, McIlroy and Hovland each posted scores of six-under-par 66 to go from -10 to -16.

McIlroy had five birdies, one eagle and one birdie in his round. He birdied the fifth, sixth, ninth, 14th, and 18th holes, eagled the 10th hole and bogeyed the 17th hole. McIlroy’s most impressive shot was clearly the 10th hole as he made the shot from the bunker and moved to -15 at the time.

Hovland meanwhile had four straight birdies from the third to sixth holes, and then birdied the 10th and 18th holes. The 24-year-old from Oslo recorded a score of par on seven consecutive holes from the 11th to the 17th holes.

The Norwegian is looking to make golf history. No men’s Norwegian golfer has ever won a major title. In women’s golf, Suzann Pettersen has won the 2007 Women’s PGA Championship and the 2013 Evian Championship.

It was a tough day for Smith. The 28-year-old from Brisbane entered the day with a two-stroke lead over Young but then shot a one-over-par 73. Smith and England’s Tyrrell Hatton were the only two golfers in the top 20 to shoot over par.

The best round of the day went to American Kevin Kisner, who went from even par to -7 after after a third round score of 65. Hovland and McIlroy will tee off at 11:50 PM AEST.

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