McIlroy charge

A local hero. A tale of redemption. And The Open on the line.

Northern Ireland is a country of just under two million people but, on this sun-drenched Saturday at The 153rd Open, it felt, looked and sounded like every single one of them were crouched around greens, lining fairways and crowding tee boxes for a glimpse of their king.

Scottie Scheffler might lead The Open but Rory McIlroy was undoubtedly the star attraction on an incredible Moving Day.

The darling of Portrush treated a legion of spectators to an afternoon they will never forget to move into contention for the Claret Jug and a sixth major title.

He might be six shots off Scheffler’s lead but this was the kind of day that the locals who first campaigned a decade ago to bring The Open back to this country dreamed of.

Shane Lowry delivered an all-time great Saturday six years ago with a course-record 63 that gave him a four-shot lead.

He was serenaded around the Dunluce links by a gallery of spectators punch-drunk on golfing brilliance, singing his name and Irish folk songs on a day The Open had never seen the likes of before – or since. Until today.

McIlroy may not lead on Sunday morning but it does not matter.

At The Open, you walk in the footsteps of legends but in Northern Ireland, there is no legend greater than the man from Holywood – and they were happy to trudge up and down the most undulating golf course on The Open’s rota, sit in thorny bushes and climb the side of grandstands for a glimpse.

Six years ago, at the same 148th Open Lowry dominated, McIlroy watched that famous weekend from Florida.

After hooking the 1st tee shot on the Thursday, he shot a first-round 79 and missed the cut. This week, he has spoken at length about how that devastated him. In the first major in Northern Ireland for 68 years, he, the star, did not deliver.

This time, he did.

Rounds of 70 and 69 on the first two days were solid but they were pockmarked by wayward tee shots from which he was so often scrambling. His three-under-par total was workman like, rather than flamboyant. Saturday was different.

Royal Portrush is touched by an aura of magic and, on Saturday, the thousands that followed saw first-hand that McIlroy is too.

His four birdies and an eagle elevated him to eight-under-par for the week, good enough for T4 alongside Chris Gotterup, Harris English and Tyrrell Hatton.

On the 11th, when gouging his ball out of the deep rough, McIlroy even performed some actual magic and made another ball appear. A members’ ball, deeply embedded in the wispy grass under his, popped up after impact in a comical moment that caught him off-guard.

It was light relief in a cooker-pressure environment but he soon got back to business.

He will tee off tomorrow in the penultimate group and with a shot at realising his dream – and theirs: to win The Open at Royal Portrush.

“It was incredible,” he said.

“The eagle on 12 was one of the coolest moments, it's one of the largest roars I've ever heard on a golf course. So that was a really cool moment.

“I played well. I rode my luck at times, but yeah, it was an incredible atmosphere out there.

“I feel like I've at least given myself half a chance tomorrow.”

McIlroy says he watched The British & Irish Lions rugby team on Saturday morning and so it is hardly surprising that he arrived on the 1st tee ready for the battle.

There was a crackle in the air, but a nervousness as well. This was, after all, the tee shot that derailed his Open six years ago, while he went into the rough on both Thursday and Friday.

This time, he nailed his tee shot straight down the middle and then set-up a 36-foot birdie opportunity on the green.

The putt was far from simple, with as much as seven feet of break from right to left, but McIlroy judged it to perfection. He rolled it calmy into the heart of the cup and the roar that went around the green suggested something was about to happen.

On the par-5 2nd, he found rough off the tee but he muscled his approach shot down to the green and then two-putted for a second birdie.

The 4th was where it really took off. McIlroy floated a gorgeous approach shot to within eight feet and dropped another putt into the cup, a birdie on one of the hardest holes on the course sending the spectators wild.

One young boy turned to his dad and shouted ‘it’s happening’, while an elderly couple just looked at each other and laughed.

Marshals beckoned young spectators under the ropes to get a closer look – a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse at McIlroy’s Portrush charge.

The 2014 Champion backed up that hot start with six successive pars but when he bogeyed 11, his round threatened to peter out.

However, McIlroy is a showman and he responded in kind.

Nobody alive can describe what Gene Sarazen’s famous albatross in the final round of the Masters – the one that became known as ‘the shot heard around the world’ – sounded like. But you can bet it was something like the reaction to his eagle on 12.

“It's loud. It's cool,” said defending Champion Xander Schauffele.

“I'm glad he's playing well for his home country. It's sort of what golf needs, and entertainment's high.

“I was on 17 tee when I heard whatever happened on 12. I assumed it was an eagle, some sort of hole-out.

“I was pretty far away, but it was very loud, and he got a standing ovation walking down 13. It looked like he's enjoying it. Looked like the fans are enjoying it, which is great for this event.”

On the 18th, McIlroy received a standing ovation as he approached the green. The 36-year-old has seen and done it all, but even he had to take a moment to compose himself.

His birdie putt just shaved the outside of the cup, in what was a cruel way to finish, but the resulting cheers were as if he had won the championship. He and caddie Harry Diamond simply stood, smiled and soaked it all in.

Among the noise, you had to feel for McIlroy’s playing partner Jordan Smith. He dropped two shots in the first six holes and eventually signed for a one-over-par round of 72, dropping him back to T34.

And so to tomorrow. McIlroy has only made a one-shot gain on Scheffler. The American went round in 67 and starts tomorrow on 14-under-par

“He's playing like Scottie,” McIlroy said.

“I don't think it's a surprise. Everyone's seen the way he's played or plays over the last two or three years. He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes. It looked like he could have made bogey on 14 there.

“He's turned himself into a really consistent putter as well. So there doesn't seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you're trying to chase down a guy like that, it's hard to do. But I have a chance, I just need to get hot tomorrow.”

Win or lose, McIlroy has had his Royal Portrush moment. And it was beautiful.