The roar from Royal Portrush's 12th green on Saturday afternoon could wake the dead. Rory McIlroy had just drained a lengthy eagle putt, and all of Northern Ireland believed magic was possible. McIlroy's third-round 66 built major championship dreams.

Home favourite Rory McIlroy birdied three of his first four holes to mount a third-round charge as world number Scottie Scheffler maintained his British Open lead in perfect scoring conditions on Saturday.

Finau fired a 1-over-par 72 in the third round to go with his rounds of 70-68 and that effort left him watching the contenders pull away. Most of the movers and shakers fired rounds of four to five under par as Scottie Scheffler rocketed to a huge lead heading into Sunday.

The final round of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush will feature Scottie Scheffler trying to convert a four-shot lead into his first Claret Jug and fourth career major title. Scheffler put distance between himself and the field with a Saturday 67 to reach 14 under, four clear of Haotong Li (-10) in second.

Adding to the many cool sights at Royal Portrush's historic links this week was the British Open leaderboard showing Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard in the top 10.

Marc Leishman, Australia’s last man standing at The Open Championship, will be striving for a top ten finish on Sunday to guarantee him a start in next year’s tournament.

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By the time Rory McIlroy finished his first practice round for the British Open at Royal Portrush, a big crowd that weathered rain and sunshine was waiting to see him finish.

Erskine, the club’s then-secretary of 35 years—who many credit with bringing the Open to Portrush—was waiting for a defining moment. Some visual cue from the universe to signify the accomplishment that Portrush, after decades of political turmoil on the island of Ireland before a peace in 1998, had enticed the R&A back to this part of the world.

This is about the Open, a championship in its 153rd year. And it’s about Portrush, a seasonal town of 6,000 or so, one with a Ferris wheel and a long swath of beach, and dogs off leashes, and a gem of a links course that’s carved its place in the Open rota. And it’s about Irish golf.

Rory McIlroy shot 1-under 70 in the first round of the British Open at Royal Portrush that is also serving as a homecoming for the Northern Irish star.

“Portrush has now become a 12 months of the year destination, we’ve got Curry’s (funfair), which has regenerated all of Portrush and more families coming. You see grandfathers, sons, daughters, grandkids, there is so much to do.