Rory McIlroy has 17 DP World Tour wins. He’s 18 holes from adding an 18th.
McIlroy tied for low the round of the day on Saturday with a 2-under 69 at Royal County Down in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, at the 2024 Amgen Irish Open.
McIlroy opened with an eagle 3 on the par-5 opening hole for the second day in a row Saturday. He then countered a bogey on the fifth – the third day in a row he’s bogeyed that hole – with a birdie on the seventh. He added another birdie on 13 before four straight pars. The last hole, the par-5 18th, was an interesting close to his day. He missed the fairway right, then went left of the fairway with his second, then back across to right of the fairway with his third. His fourth was to four feet but he then missed the putt for par.
Still, he’ll take a one-shot lead into the final round. Playing for the first time since the Tour Championship, McIlroy has been drawing huge crowds all over the golf course in his native Northern Ireland, where he’s seeking his second Irish Open title on home soil.
“It’s been amazing,” he said after his second round Friday. “I felt like even the crowds today were maybe a little bigger than they were yesterday and it was great. It’s fun to play in an atmosphere like that.”
Second-round leader Matteo Manassero, who shot the round of the week with a 66, shot a 1-over 72 on Saturday and slipped to solo second.
Robert MacIntyre and Jordan Smith each shot 2-under 69s to finish among a group of four golfers tied for third at 3 under, three shots back. They joined Adrian Otaegui as the only other golfers besides McIlroy to break 70 on Saturday.
Shane Lowry, who talked Friday of aspirations of playing alongside McIlroy for Sunday’s final round, could only muster a 3-over 74 in the third round and is now tied for 30th.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy, seeking 18th DP World Tour win, leads Amgen Irish Open with 18 holes to go
