The Open 2025 live: Leaderboard and golf scores after McIlroy charge amid Scottie Scheffler dominance at Portrush

“Oh god,” Rory McIlroy gasped as his ball fizzed a little higher than he anticipated. But then he burst into laughter, “I was on the golf ball!”

The most remarkable golf shot in one of the most remarkable rounds of golf, as a legion of McIlroy supporters weaved their way around the links on a baking day at Royal Portrush. McIlroy’s audacious charge towards the imposing presence of Scottie Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard may well fall short on Sunday, but his presence, as the Masters champion, back home in Northern Ireland, conjured a unique moment.

It epitomised how McIlroy remains one of the most engrossing athletes to watch in sport, all while Scheffler quietly dismantled both the course and field. There wasn’t a blemish in the world No 1’s round of 67, with his putter salvaging any minor wobbles. And while it secures a four-shot lead at -14 over Haotong Li at The Open 2025, the day belonged to McIlroy.

The 38-year-old stirred early on, putting together three birdies in his first four holes before that bizarre and glorious combined for a five-under-par round of 66 to position him tied for fourth at -8.

And after the baffling moment on 11, which prompted an untimely bogey, McIlroy soared on 12 with an eagle. A 56-footer, dribbling downhill and gathering pace all the time, the commotion in the stands could be heard as the ball gripped the correct line and dropped in the hole. McIlroy held his fist aloft. The putt could be heard from several holes away and instilled fresh belief among the thousands shuffling four or five deep along the ropes.

“They just wouldn’t go in. That’s the long and short of it. They went in yesterday. They didn’t go in today. I just felt like I left myself too many short, mid-range, like 5 to 8 feet. Obviously that starts to build up a lot of pressure as the round goes on, and never gave myself a lot of chances with the irons to kind of make anything. So you’re hoping for a 25-, 30-footer to go in. That’s just hard to sustain over the course of 18.”

“I think the card could look stress-free, but I had two really nice par saves on the back nine that were key. I made a nice eight-ish footer on 11, another one on 14, so two really important putts I felt like.

“I think anytime you can keep a clean card around a major championship, you’re going to be having a pretty good day.

“Yeah, I think there’s some pretty subtle slopes in these greens. I’ve done a really good job just being committed to my line. Today I hit some good putts to start the round. I had a little three-putt there on the second hole, but I felt like I hit two putts the way I wanted to and I didn’t let it bother me. I made a really nice putt there on the third hole to keep the momentum going. It was a little 10-footer for par, and that was what I felt like was a really important putt, and knocked it in. Then after that I felt like I did some good things out there.”

“It’s hard. I think it’s pretty hard to — depending on how windy it is, if I was leading a tournament, I’d want it to play hard just because you know no one’s going to shoot 62 or 63, whatever it is.

“If you shoot level to 1-under, you’re going to win the tournament. Chasing is difficult when you’re on a links course with weather and wind and bounces and things like that.

“Yeah, I mean, I feel like I definitely — I feel like I’ve been in chase mode all year, which it is what it is.”

“A clean card around a major championship golf course is always nice. No bogeys. It was nice to set up the eagle, I felt I was doing the right things. Nice to judge that shot there and then make the putt.

“Staying patient with myself, I know what I need to do tomorrow. It’ll be a challenging and fun day.

“It’d be a lot of fun [to win The Open], but that’s not what I’m thinking about. As I go to sleep tonight, I’ll think about executing.”

“Yeah, he’s playing like Scottie. 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 he’s incredibly impressive.”

“Obviously a great start, sort of like the dream start to be able to be 3-under through 4 and have 5 and 7 to play. To not birdie those was a little disappointing.

“Yeah, what happened on 11 was just so — my ball came out so strange, like I thought I was going to get a flier, and I looked up at my ball, and I could see it spinning up against the wind. Just a really weird — I had obviously no idea there was a ball anywhere close to my ball.

“I could have done better with the chip shot there anyway. That was the bogey — I mean, making bogey on 11 is not the end of the world. It’s a tough hole. Yeah, the eagle on 12 was one of the coolest moments of — it’s one of the largest roars I’ve ever heard on a golf course. So that was a really cool moment. To get those shots back straight away was nice, and I felt like I played the last few holes really solid and picked one up coming in, which was good.”

This has been a masterclass from Schauffele. No bogeys today, he’s in at -14, a comfortable 67, if there is such a thing.

A four-shot lead, to Haotong Li, with Fitzpatrick one shot further back after that near miss for birdie on 18. Disappointing for the Englishman, who settles for par, a 71 will not trouble the best player in the world.

Leaderboard: -14 Scheffler; -11: Li; -9: Fitzpatrick; -8: Hatton, McIlroy, Gotterup, English; -7: Schauffele

Brian Harman with a shot at birdie on 18, but it’s not been the 2023 champion’s day at Portrush. He’s been +2 for his round since the first hole and never truly regained momentum.

Scheffler, meanwhile, tightens his grip on the Claret Jug, ripping a wood off 18 with a big, arching cut right into the middle of the fairway. Birdie chance is likely to follow from that iron shot…

Fitzy with a bit of venom on that one too, and he’s just behind the leader, high quality from the Englishman, with both mastering that left-to-right shape.

Leaderboard: -14 Scheffler; -11: Li; -9: Fitzpatrick; -8: Hatton, McIlroy, Gotterup, English; -7: Schauffele