Watch, and listen, to a spellbinding round from Rory McIlroy yesterday.

Faith Harper
BBC Sport NI at Royal Portrush

The practice range has just gone from being relatively calm and quiet to packed out in the space of a few minutes.

You can actually hear the crowds getting closer and closer as word spreads that Rory is here.

Bob MacIntyre, the US Open runner-up last month, shot 70 yesterday. In normal circumstances that might not have been so bad, but with low scoring all around on Saturday, it means he starts eight shots off the lead held by Scottie Scheffler.

The popular Scot splits the first fairway with his opening tee shot.

Xander Schauffele shot a magnificent final-round 65 to win The Open at Troon last summer and he’ll probably need something even better today if he’s going to overhaul Scottie Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard.

Schauffele’s five-under round of 66 yesterday, which contained eagles on the seventh and 12th, catapulted him into the top 10 at the end of day three.

Wonder how many thumbs that post will get…

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport senior journalist at Royal Portrush

… they bumped into the Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt… 8.30am I’m reliably informed.

And before you complain, you voted for this!

Right, back to the action…

Four birdies in the first eight holes, along with a solitary bogey, have lifted Tommy Fleetwood to six under par for the tournament.

The 2019 runner-up seems to have found his putting boots, with three birdie putts in excess of 15 feet so far today, but it’s probably a little bit too late to challenge for the title.

Xander Schauffele won the US PGA Championship in 2024 and followed that up by winning The Open last summer.

Scottie Scheffler won the US PGA Championship in 2025 and is on course to follow that up by winning The Open today.

Will he get the job done?

Who has been the longest off the tee so far this week?

According to The Open official statistics, Bryson DeChambeau has the longest drive this week, averaging 326.8 yards.

In second? Rory McIlroy at 326.7 yards.

That’s bizarrely close.

Having earlier said that Justin Rose had missed a good chance for birdie at the first, he’s done the business at the second and third holes to move to seven under par for the tournament.

Rose stuck his tee shot to the par-three third within six feet, before knocking in the birdie putt.

Playing partner and fellow Englishman Harry Hall has matched Rose’s score through three holes and is also seven under.

Cornishman Hall has had a consistent run on the PGA Tour this season and is set for a good finish on his Open debut.

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport senior journalist at Royal Portrush

A few hardy souls from the radio team decided to go for a quick dip to blow away the cobwebs this morning.

On-course commentator James Gregg is taking the selfie, alongside former European Tour pro Andrew Murray and former Ryder Cup player Oli Wilson.

If this post gets 1,000 thumbs up, I’ll post another photo featuring them in the sea, having met a special guest…

Shane Lowry, the 2019 champion, finished with a five-under round of 66 and has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Andy Stevenson:

On his round of 66 and almost a chip in on the 18th: “After thelast 36 hours wasn’t much fun, it was nice to go out there today and enjoy itand put on a good show for the crowds. The crowds are amazing. I was prettyhappy with my day’s work.

“It was obviously some 24-hour bug. I feltOK this morning. I still haven’t been eating much and probably still not 100%but it was nice to get off to a good start.”

Thoughts on this afternoon? “Scottie’s very hard to beat.There is a low score out there but the problem is there’s probably a low scorefor him as well. I kind of expect him to win but you never know in this game.Golf doesn’t give you anything.

“I spoke to Rory last night and said if Rory can get off to agood start and get the crowd on his back, it maybe could make it difficult forScottie. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”

13:25 Wyndham Clark (US) -5, Brian Harman (US) -6

13:40 Rasmus Hojgaard (Den) -6, Robert MacIntyre (Sco) -6

13:50 Nicolai Hojgaard (Den) -6, Russell Henley (US) -6

14:00 Xander Schauffele (US) -7, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) -8

14:10 Harris English (US) -8, Chris Gotterup (US) -8

14:20 Rory McIlroy (NI) -8, Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng) -9

14:30 Li Haotong (Chn) -10, Scottie Scheffler (US) -14

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI at Royal Portrush

It’s sat at Royal Portrush for almost 15 years and has been dubbed the most famous bench in golf.

Sitting proudly on the sixth tee, with views of the beach below and coast for miles either side, it has gone viral at this year’s Open.

Some of the sport’s biggest names – including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm – have all been pictured resting up at the back end of the course.

The inscription reads: “Jim McDowell – from just a few of his many golfing friends to mark the occasion of his 70th birthday”.

But what is the story behind it? It involves camaraderie and friendship, something at the heart of golf.

“Dad’s not with us any more but he used to play every Wednesday at Royal Portrush with a group of hackers,” said Jim’s daughter, Zoe.

“They eventually all became friends and it was a really eclectic mix of people that Dad brought together, so they decided on his 70th they would chip in and get him a bench.

“Dad was really excited because he was one of the few people to get a bench while they were still alive. He would often sit on it with his friends and have the craic.

“There have been a lot of stories and family memories from the bench, and now it’s been amazing to see so many people from this Open enjoying it.”

Have you ever seen the like? Rory McIlroy unearths an old ball under his while playing a shot yesterday at Royal Portrush.

Scenes.

Spidercam is an essential part of the sport broadcasting scene – and here it is being installed on the 18th hole earlier today.

Ready to capture Scottie Scheffler – or someone else – as they head down here to win The Open in a few hours’ time.

BBC Two

Missed any of the week’s action from Royal Portrush?

You can watch highlights of all four days of The Open on the BBC iPlayer.

Highlights of the final round will be on BBC Two at 20:00 BST.

A remarkable round yesterday from Scottie Scheffler at Portrush – take a look at the best of his Saturday round that looks to have set him up for the Claret Jug today…

It might end up being a weekend of ‘what could’ve been’ for Bryson DeChambeau.

After a messy seven-over round of 78 on Thursday, he clawed back nine shots across Friday and Saturday and it’s been more of the same today.

Three birdies so far today for the two-time US Open champion, and he finds himself five under.

Justin Rose finished second behind Xander Schauffele at Troon last year and shot 66 in the final round at Augusta to force himself into a play-off with Rory McIlroy at the Masters in April.

Like so many, he’ll need a ridiculously low score to even have a miniscule hope of winning today.

Rose has a chance for birdie on the first but his seven-footer swings wide of the hole.