The Open 2025 leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler takes commanding lead, puts one hand on first Claret Jug

Rory McIlroy gave the home crowd plenty to roar about on Saturday, but he's playing a distant fourth on the leaderboard

Scottie Scheffler's march towards his first Claret Jug continued unimpeded Saturday as the three-time major champion moved ever-closer to his first win in The Open Championship. The world No. 1 shot a 4-under 67 to create further distance between himself and the field. He will go into Sunday's final round at Royal Portrush with a four-stroke advantage over Haotong Li and a six-stroke margin over Rory McIlroy at his home nation's course.

Scheffler has converted his last nine 54-hole leads into wins, and he looks primed for another runaway major victory Sunday in Northern Ireland. He's made a habit out of eliminating Sunday drama in major conquests as his first Masters win came by three strokes (despite a four-putt on the 18th), his second green jacket was earned with a four-stroke margin, and he won his first Wanamaker Trophy at the PGA Championship earlier this year by five shots.

Whether that pattern will follow Sunday remains to be seen, but Scheffler will be a massive favorite to claim the Claret Jug. Should he do so, he will capture the third leg of the career grand slam in potentially dominant fashion with just a U.S. Open to go.

Recently having turned 29 years old, Scheffler is seeking to join a short list including Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods -- golfers who on the Masters, PGA Championship and Open before their 30th birthday.

There was some hope early in the round that weekend drama might get created as Matt Fitzpatrick tied Scheffler for the lead with an eagle on the 2nd hole. Scheffler dragged his feet to start the round, starting with six consecutive pars on a front nine that the rest of the field tore up, creating a bunched chase group behind him. 

Leading the charge was McIlroy, who came out of the gate red-hot, making three birdies in his first four holes to move up the leaderboard and get the home crowd into a frenzy. But just as the tournament started to get interesting, Scheffler put a stop to any thoughts that he might slip back and leave the door open to the field. 

A 380-yard drive on the par-5 7th left him just 206 yards in, and he stuffed a mid-iron to just outside 10 feet for eagle. He poured that putt in and backed it up with a birdie on the 8th to quickly dart out to a three-shot lead. 

The back nine was much of the same as Scheffler made a couple rare miscues; however, each time he put himself in trouble, he calmly excavated himself from the thick rough and fescue and poured in long par putts to stay right on track. 

With hope building from the rest of the leaders that Scheffler might stall out on the back and allow them to close the gap, he once again found some brilliance in the midst of a wobbly back nine. His lone birdie of the second side came on the 239-yard 16th, as he conquered the 7th hardest hole on the course with a cutting long iron that skipped up to 14 feet short of the pin. 

It was his third straight day birdieing the hole known as Calamity Corner as he's made Royal Portrush's iconic hole the sight of his signature moments this week. Scheffler also completed his fourth bogey-free round at a major while separating himself from many of golf's brightest stars. 

Scheffler will be joined by Li in the final pairing on Sunday as Li has refused to fade away all week, but it will take something unbelievable for Li or anyone to catch the No. 1 golfer in the world. Scheffler does not generally come back to the field, and a round in the 60s feels like the bare minimum that he'll produce Sunday on his way to putting both hands on the Claret Jug. 

The chase group is headlined by McIlroy at 8 under, as he shot a spectacular 66 on Saturday that was one of the great rounds of his career given the stage and setting. The home crowd in Northern Ireland was begging for McIlroy to make a move on Moving Day and he obliged, but he'll need to conjure up the course record 61 he shot as a 16-year-old amateur this Sunday if he's going to reel in Scheffler and prevent the final round from being a coronation walk for the world No. 1. 

2025 Open Championship leaderboard, Round 3

1. Scottie Scheffler (-14): There is a sense of inevitability when Scheffler is playing like this. There were some fantastic rounds of golf from the rest of the field on Saturday in gettable conditions, but the problem was that the course was gettable for Scottie, too. He didn't take the bait on certain sucker pins and didn't even take advantage of every gettable hole, but he did refuse to give anything back to the field. 

Scheffler had two loose swings that, for most players, would've led to auto-bogeys: a jammed short iron on No. 11 that ended up in the shrubbery on a downslope above the green and a yanked tee shot into the thick fescue on No. 14. On the 11th, he calmly popped the ball up and onto the green, leaving a little under 10 feet for par. On the 14th, he took his medicine and chopped it out to the fairway, setting up a wedge to, again, just inside 10 feet. Both putts never left the center of the hole, and you could feel Fitzpatrick's despair growing as each putt found the bottom of the cup. 

There is no margin for error going up against Scheffler when he's at this level, and while it's possible all he can do on Sunday is shoot a 69 and post 16 under, he'll require someone to threaten the course record to make him sweat. 

2. Haotong Li (-10): All week people have been waiting for Li to fade away, but of the names that have been at the top of the leaderboard after each round, it's only him, Scheffler and Fitzpatrick that have stayed there. Li, like Scheffler, continues to get around Royal Portrush by making as few mistakes as possible. He went bogey free on Thursday and has only combined for three across the middle two rounds, including a tough one on the 18th Saturday that took some air out of his sails. Still, he's in line for another strong Open finish after a T3 back in 2017, and he's proving himself on a big stage that his excellent play on the DP World Tour this year is for real. 

3. Matt Fitzpatrick (-9): Fitzpatrick finally blinked in the final pairing, struggling on the back nine to shoot an even-par 71 on a day where birdies and eagles were flying around Royal Portrush. After a bogey on No. 1, he bounced back with a chip-in eagle on No. 2 to tie Scheffler for the lead. He got to 11 under as he made the turn, hanging just two off Scheffler's lead. Everything unraveled on the second side as he made three bogeys and just one birdie to undo all of his progress on the front and fall five off the pace. It's still been a terrific week for the Englishman, who is poised to register the best Open finish of his career. However, for someone who had high hopes of hanging with Scheffler, he is no longer in the final pairing and will now have to contend with the zoo surrounding McIlroy on Sunday. 

T4. Rory McIlroy, Chris Gotterup, Harris English, Tyrrell Hatton (-8): If pressure and nerves can impact Scheffler, we'll find out on Sunday because McIlroy will be in the game in front of him and the Northern Ireland crowd will send roars cascading back to Scottie every time Rory makes a birdie. He got off to a dream start on Saturday, and even with some mid-round hiccups, he delivered the kind of performance the fans were craving with his 66. 

Joining McIlroy at 8 under, six off the lead, are a pair of unsurprising veterans and a man who is loving life on the links. English and Hatton were steady with 68s on Saturday, keeping themselves in the mix but leaving a few opportunities out there that could've given them the kind of round they needed to really feel in contention. Gotterup, meanwhile, continues his strong play after winning the Scottish Open with a 68 as well, and he's making a late Ryder Cup push with his performance across the pond. 

8. Xander Schauffele (-7): A great round of golf from Schauffele has him in position for his best major finish of the year. The reigning champion shot a 66 on Sunday to move up nine spots on the leaderboard, and while he's likely too far back to keep the Claret Jug for another year, he's building some positive momentum after a lost first half of the season. 

T9. Russell Henley, Nicolai Højgaard, Robert MacIntyre, Rasmus Højgaard, Brian Harman (-6): Harman had a tough day and bowed out of contention with a 73, as the 2023 champ just couldn't keep up the scoring pace on Saturday. Henley shot a 65 to tie for the low round of the day and moved himself into the top 10; he's trying for consecutive top 10s at The Open for the first time in his career. MacIntyre couldn't make the move he hoped on Saturday and showed his frustration, putting an all-world club spike on camera as he knew the conditions were ripe for a low round that he just could not produce. Then there are the Højgaard twins, who unfortunately just missed out on a final round pairing together because of when they finished, but they are in position for their best career major finishes as well. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 2:23 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler makes his third birdie of the week on the long 16th 

It certainly feels like the door is closing on anyone else's hopes of lifting the Claret Jug. Scheffler fired a low, cutting long iron into the front of the 16th green and ran it up to just below the hole as he continues to play one of the hardest holes at Royal Portrush to perfection. He poured that putt in to get to 14 under and briefly extend his lead to four, before Haotong Li birdied No. 17 in front of him to get to 11 under and keep a little pressure on. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 2:10 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Big finish in store

Matt Fitzpatrick gets one back on the par-4 15th to get within three strokes of Scottie Scheffler at 13 under. Scheffler has been sensational to close his rounds throughout his career and this week has been no different as he has played the final three holes in 4 under across the first two days. Ahead of Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li by three as he enters this stretch, Scheffler looks to summon another strong finish to take a little more oxygen out of this championship.

[Jul 19, 2025 at 1:56 pm ET · Adam Silverstein]

Rory McIlroy in the clubhouse with a 66

Northern Ireland's favorite son acquitted himself well on Moving Day, transversing Royal Portrush and The Open Championship leaderboard with the second-best round of the day as he entered the clubhouse. McIlroy posted a nearly flawless 66 with a thunderous eagle on the 12th immediately atoning for his lone blemish, a bogey on the 11th. Staying within himself throughout the third round, McIlroy remained composed despite facing adversity on multiple occasions. He fed off the home-field advantage he possesses this tournament to go 5 under for the day moving up to T5 on the leaderboard -- exactly five shots back of Scottie Scheffler (-13).

While Scheffler still has five holes remaining -- and his lead could certainly balloon given he's 4 under from the 14th through the 18th so far this week -- McIlroy has at least put himself in striking distance ahead of Sunday's final round. Given he missed the cut the last time The Open was held in Portrush, this has undoubtedly been a positive experience for the Ulsterman. Still, claiming another Claret Jug on the shores of Northern Ireland just over 24 hours from now would be an even greater accomplishment, and it would solidify one of the best seasons of his storied career.

[Jul 19, 2025 at 1:42 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Westwood ties Open record

The former world No. 1 narrowly misses a 15-foot birdie bid on the last for a slice of history on his own, but he will settle for a share of the low nine hole score in Open history. After turning in 4 over, Westwood found a different gear on the back side with six birdies against three pars. He shot 40-29 for a ho-hum 69 that did not include a nine-hole score in the 30s.

[Jul 19, 2025 at 1:15 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler with a Houdini act on No. 11

The first really bad shot of the day from Scottie came on the tough 11th as he jammed his iron into the ground and hit a hot pull into the long grasses on the hill left of the green. It looked like an impossible spot to get up-and-down from but Scheffler got the ball to come out soft and trickled it to 12 feet away, and calmly poured that in for par. All the while, Matt Fitzpatrick was making a bogey himself so Scheffler's lead is now three. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 1:05 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy adds another birdie after kissing the flagstick on 15

McIlroy is now 5 under on his day and 8 under for the tournament, five back of Scottie Scheffler, after his fourth birdie in the third round on the 15th. McIlroy had a wedge from 156 that caught a flyer out of the first cut, but landed just short of the pin and bounced square into the flagstick and fell to just inside 4 feet from the hole. He capitalized on that good break to add a birdie to his eagle earlier on the back and move a little closer to Scheffler. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 12:46 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Masterclass from Scheffler

Amid the magic tricks and Northern Ireland roars, Scottie Scheffler has kept about his business. After a slowish start, Scheffler has summoned sensational shotmaking in his three holes of the front nine to play them in 3 under and command a two-stroke lead over the field. He hit 8 of 9 greens in regulation on that side.

[Jul 19, 2025 at 12:32 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler backs up his eagle with a birdie on the 8th to extend his lead to two

While Rory tries to mount a charge on the back nine, Scheffler is doing his best to put this thing out of reach late on the front. After an eagle on the 7th, Scheffler backed it up with a birdie on the 8th after a perfect iron shot to hole high. No one has been willing to challenge that pin all day, but Scottie played a little out right but instead of going deep like most of the field, hit it inch perfect on the yardage to set up a straight up the hill look for birdie. Now he's -13, which is two clear of Fitzpatrick, four clear of Haotong Li and six ahead of McIlroy and company at 7 under. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 12:27 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy creates a roar with an eagle on No. 12

After the insanity of the double ball strike on No. 11, McIlroy bounced back from that bogey with an eagle on the 12th, pouring in a long putt from the back of the green that crept over the ridge and funneled into the bottom of the cup to send the crowd into a frenzy. That keeps him in the mix, tied for fifth with Xander Schauffele and Harris English at 7 under. He'll need a couple more coming in and some help from Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick to have a real shot at winning, but it's been incredibly fun to watch Rory saunter around Royal Portrush today with his A-game. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 12:19 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler eagles the 7th to reclaim the solo lead at -12

After six pars to start his round, Scheffler came alive on the par-5 7th with an eagle to jump to 12 under, moving one ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick who made birdie. They're now putting some distance between themselves and the field, as Haotong Li is -9, Tyrrell Hatton is -8 and Xander Schauffele is -7 in pursuit. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 12:05 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy hits two balls on one swing

One of the strangest things you'll ever see at a major championship just happened to McIlroy. A wayward drive right on the 11th put him near the gorse bushes, but he drew what appeared to be a great break when he found a trampled down area where spectators have been. However, when he hit his shot, he dug up an embedded golf ball under his that wasn't visible. That ball popped straight up and landed at his feet, while McIlroy's ball ended up coming up well short of the green. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 11:49 am ET · Patrick McDonald]

Hats off for Hatton

"I've fatted it," Hatton uttered when he struck his third shot into the par-5 7th. Well, it's a good thing he did because it found the bottom of the cup for an eagle-3 and pushed his name to 3 under on the day and 8 under for the championship. Hatton is out here smiling and having a good time. Awesome stuff.

[Jul 19, 2025 at 11:25 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Russell Henley matches the low round of the day with a 65 to get in the clubhouse at -6

Henley got on a heater in the middle of his round, punctuated by an eagle on No. 12, and while he couldn't keep it going down the difficult closing stretch at Royal Portrush, he got himself into the clubhouse with a 6-under 65 to match the low round of the day by Corey Conners. Henley began the day at even par but is now in a big tie for 4th on the leaderboard, four back of the co-leaders at 10 under. Given the scoring conditions it's unlikely he's still in the top 5 by the end of Saturday, but he put himself in strong position for another top 10 at the Open. 

[Jul 19, 2025 at 11:14 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Matt Fitzpatrick ties Scottie Scheffler for the lead at -10

While the rest of the field piles up birdies, Scottie Scheffler has gotten off to a sluggish start. He saved par on the first but couldn't take advantage of the par-5 2nd and made another par, allowing Matt Fitzpatrick to join him at -10 with a chip-in eagle. On the par-3 3rd, Scheffler made a rare mistake missing right of the pin and having his ball roll off the side. He jammed his birdie putt up the hill and well past the hole, forcing him to make a long par putt just to stay in a share of the lead. 

A scratchy start from the world No. 1 has given some life to those chasing behind -- although Rory McIlroy still sits at -6 after failing to birdie the par-5 7th after a terrific tee shot.