Rory McIlroy moves into contention at Irish Open, 2 shots behind leader Hurly Long

And they didn’t get anything going on the back nine at The K Club, either.

Long needed a birdie on the last hole to restore a two-shot advantage over McIlroy after a 70 gave him a 13-under total of 203. Jordan Smith, who held a share of the overnight lead with Shubhankar Sharma, then also birdied the par-5 18th to move into second place, one shot behind Long.

Long has never won a European tour event and is ranked 252nd in the world, so McIlroy might like his chances playing in front of a home crowd that will likely be boisterous throughout the final round.

McIlroy had his only blip on the par-5 16th, where he rescued a bogey after finding water. But he responded with the two birdies.

“Last night I thought I was maybe a little bit too far behind and out of it, but I played a really good round of golf today to get myself back in it,” McIlroy said.

Sharma struggled throughout the day and finished with a 75 that included a double bogey and three bogeys to go with two birdies.

Shane Lowry, who was born about 45 minutes away in Clara, was five shots back in a tie for 13th after a 72. While Lowry may still have an outside chance, he’s not expecting it to be easy to chase down Ryder Cup teammate McIlroy.

“He’s going to be the man to beat tomorrow,” Lowry said.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Rory McIlroy moves into contention at Irish Open, 2 shots behind leader Hurly Long

Our Community