Rory McIlroy at Turkish Airlines Open 2015: Saturday Leaderboard Score, Reaction
Rory Mcllroy is well in contention for glory at the Turkish Airlines Open, as he shot a third-round score of 67 to finish up 15 under par on Saturday.
The five under par round keeps the Northern Irishman in touch with other front-runners Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jaco van Zyl and Victor Dubuisson, meaning he has a great chance of winning the tournament with a strong round on Sunday. Mcllroy had also shot 67 on the opening two days.
Here’s Rory’s Saturday scorecard in full and a look back at some of the highlights of another engrossing round from the four-time major champion.
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| Par | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 |
| Score | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
| Overall | -10 | -10 | -9 | -10 | -10 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 37 |
| Score | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 33 |
| Overall | -10 | -11 | -11 | -13 | -14 | -14 | -14 | -14 | -15 | -15 |
McIlroy Still in the Hunt After Solid Round
On what is known as moving day in golfing circles, with Rory four shots back on overnight leader Van Zyl, a fast start would have been ideal. But it took a while for the Northern Irishman to settle fully into his stride.
Pars at the opening two holes were solid enough, but McIlroy was in trouble at the third, as he dropped a shot to move back to nine under. It was his first bogey of what had been an immaculate week up until this point, but he drew on his steely mental strength to bounce back sharply.
Indeed, as we can see here courtesy of the European Tour Twitter feed, the world No. 3 picked up shots at two of the next three holes, moving to 11 under for the day:
Three pars in a row cemented McIlroy’s spot at the top of the leaderboard as he approached the turn. Out in 34 was Rory’s highest front nine of the week, but there were plenty of opportunities for the 26-year-old to surge up the leaderboard over the back nine.
On 10 Rory continued what had been an erratic round to this point with another dropped shot. A bogey there was backed up immediately by a birdie at 11, though, with the Northern Irishman striving for some consistency in his play. However, after a par at 12, McIlroy burst into life.
At the par-five 13th he aimed a magnificent second shot into the green, as we can see here, giving him an easy putt for eagle:
Rory backed that up with a strong approach at the 14th, before knocking in a superb putt for a birdie. Suddenly the Northern Irishman was a solitary shot back on leader Van Zyl and on the charge.
McIlroy consolidated those moments of magic with three successive pars over the next three holes. He'll be delighted to have signed off with a birdie at the last, though, finishing the day on 15 under and putting himself in a tremendous position to challenge on Day 4.
It’s going to take another big effort from McIlroy to take the title on Sunday, but of all the players in the field he’s the man most capable of putting together a stellar round under pressure. Indeed, you can guarantee those close to Rory on the leaderboard will be stealing glances at the scores throughout the day to see how he's faring.
There are still areas where McIlroy can improve around this course and that’ll be on his mind as he seeks to clinch victory on Sunday.
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