Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland separate from field

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – On Tuesday, Rory McIlroy said winning the 150^th British Open would be his Holy Grail. He’s 18 holes away from making history with his fifth major win and ending a nearly eight-year drought at the major championships.

But first, he will have to separate from Viktor Hovland, who is attempting to become the first Norwegian to win a major. Paired together in the third round, they shot matching rounds of 66 at the Old Course to share the 54-hole lead at 16-under 200.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Hovland said of the back-and-forth battle for the lead between him and McIlroy. “Probably not going to forget that one too quickly. No, I played great, but it was also cool to trade some holes with Rory as well.”

McIlroy poured in five birdies, a lone bogey and a one-in-500 hole-out eagle at No. 10.

“It was skill to get it somewhere close, but it was luck that it went in the hole,” McIlroy said. “You need a little bit of luck every now and again, especially in these big tournaments. And that was a nice bonus.”

The 33-year-old McIlroy broke the birdie seal with a pair of circles on the card at Nos. 5 and 6 and tacked on another at the ninth for a splendid outward nine. Then he crushed a 334-yard tee shot at 10 that caught a greenside pot bunker. His hole-out eagle was the shot of the day, and even Hovland took a moment to acknowledge it.

“That’s just a filthy bunker shot. So you just kind of have to go, hey, that was a sick shot,” Hovland said. “When things like that happen, you just kind of have to give each other a fist bump and say good shot.”

McIlroy wasn’t as fortunate when his drive at 17 stopped in the left rough and his second shot came out hot and bounded over the green, through the sand, rolled over the road and bounced back off the wall. Due to his ball being in a divot, he hit a low punch for his third that found the putting surface, but it resulted in his lone bogey of the day and dropped him back into a tie for the lead with Hovland. McIlroy didn’t waste any time returning to 16 under for the tournament by making a birdie at the last to shoot his second 66 of the championship.

While McIlroy eyes adding to his major glory, Hovland is in contention for the first time at one of the big events and noted that The Open is the first major he grew up watching and that being at St. Andrews would be extra special.

“I don’t think there’s any other place that would top it,” he said. “To win a…