The final round of The Open Championship takes place on Sunday from Royal Portrush. Here’s how to follow all the action. Round 4 leaderboard Round 4 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES LOCAL) MUST READS Tough weather conditions in store for Sunday, tee times moved up McDowell: Rory ‘won himself a lot of fans’ McIlroy’s charge falls short, misses cut by one shot Lowry, Holmes tied for lead, seeking first major victory Koepka, Spieth bringing their best to another major Westwood leads strong British contingent Tiger misses cut, cites lack of consistency Win probabilities Nervous day for six Irish golfers Duval makes a 14, shoots 91 in Round 1 Frittelli stays hot after John Deere win Royal Portrush shines in opening round Rory’s 61 at age 16 at Royal Portrush Five things about Royal Portrush Writers roundtable: Predictions

Click here to read the full article…

Leaderboard: What’s happening at The Open

Click here to read the full article…

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Rory McIlroy’s frantic determination to make the cut Friday at The Open Championship, followed by his disappointment that left him fighting back tears after falling one shot short, left a huge impression on his good friend Graeme McDowell. “I think Rory probably won himself a lot of fans last night,â€� McDowell said Saturday after his 3-under 68. “… It’s great in sports when we see emotions because sometimes these guys look like robots out here. We’re not robots. We hurt, and we hurt a lot sometimes. “It’s a tough sport.â€� The first Open Championship in Northern Ireland in 68 years has been an especially emotional one for the three golfers born here – McIlroy (from Holywood); McDowell (a native of Portrush); and Darren Clarke (a Portrush resident). While they’ve enjoyed being the homegrown favorites, they’ve also felt the weight of giving their fans a good showing. Clarke was emotional as he hit the opening tee shot of the tournament Thursday morning, and was crushed when a triple-bogey at the 18th hole Friday moved him outside the cut line. The normally loquacious Clarke wasn’t able to discuss it with the media after his round When McDowell teed off Thursday, he also acknowledged shedding a tear. His home club, Rathmore, sits just outside the main gate, and McDowell used to sneak on to Royal Portrush as a kid. Three others from the Republic of Ireland – Padraig Harrington, amateur James Sugrue and 36-hole co-leader Shane Lowry – also understood the enormity of this week. Lowry said his legs were shaking on the first tee Thursday, and as the primary Irish contender now, he’ll have more support than anybody else this weekend. “There’s no point trying to shy away from it,â€� he said. “It’s an incredible feeling.â€� As for McIlroy, the four-time major winner and a big favorite this week, he tried to keep his emotions in check, but it was apparent he felt like he had let down his fans after an opening 8-over 79. Friday’s heroic effort put a buzz in the air that might be difficult to match the rest of the week, his 6-under 65 matching the low round of the championship and leaving him at 2 over. Alas, that was a stroke too much. RELATED: Tee times | McIlroy’s charge falls short | Nervous day for six Irish golfers | Rory’s 61 at age 16 at Royal Portrush  Walking down the 18th fairway Friday, knowing he would come up a stroke short but receiving a standing ovation fitting of a Sunday champion, McIlroy finally felt the enormity of the week. “I came here at the start of the week saying I wanted to do it for me,â€� McIlroy said afterwards. “By the end of the round there today, I was doing it just as much for them as I was for me. “I definitely feel over the last week has been .. an eye-opener for me,â€� McIlroy said. “Sometimes you’re so far away and you forget about all the people that are cheering you on back home. And then you come and play in front of them, it definitely hit me like a ton of bricks today.â€� McDowell said watching McIlroy on Friday gave him a perspective he might not have felt the previous day. “To watch him break down a little bit kind of … legitimized my tears in my eyes Thursday morning,â€� McDowell said. “I was on the first tee Thursday wondering what the hell was wrong with me. But when I saw Rory last night, I understand it means a huge amount to us all. … “To show that raw emotion, to see how much it means to him, to see how much it means to all of us being out here and to bring this great tournament to Portrush, and for him obviously to not play the way he wants to play, the way he battled coming down the stretch says a lot about him as a person.â€� McIlroy’s emotions touched others as well. Justin Thomas offered this tweet late Friday night. Even though McDowell and Clarke have longer and more direct ties to Portrush, McDowell acknowledged that it was McIlroy who shouldered the biggest expectations. After all, as a 16-year-old, McIlroy set the course record at Portrush with a 61 (prior to renovations leading to the current layout). “This was always going to be a difficult week for (McIlroy) because he was the Irish shining light coming in here,â€� McDowell said. “It’s all right for me and Darren and Padraig and guys like that saying it’s great. Rory was the guy with the spotlight on him this week. He was handling all the pressure. He’s done a phenomenal job. Rory is a rock star. “He was coming in with the pressure of a nation on his shoulders and he was always going to feel a lot more than we did. So it obviously meant a huge amount to him … He was the guy with all the pressure on him this week. It’s a lot to handle.â€� In addition to an entire country leaning on him, McIlroy was also hoping to end his drought in majors, one that’s now reached five years since the last of his four wins. “He won’t finish on four,â€� McDowell said. “He’ll win more. I have no doubt in my mind. “Five years is a huge gap for a man of his capabilities, no doubt about it. But people grow up at different rates. There’s so much happens in a man’s life. He’s met his wife, got married. Life gets in the way sometimes. “I feel like he’s gone through that transition in his life and he’s spent this year trying to really get himself settled … I feel like mentally he’s settling back down and getting back into a rhythm again.â€� McDowell said double-digits in majors is well within McIlroy’s grasp. At age 30, McIlroy certainly has plenty of time to achieve that. “He’ll get fairly criticized this week for not playing well,â€� McDowell said. “But he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders this week. It’s difficult to come home and try and do what he tried to do this week with all that pressure and all that spotlight.â€�

Click here to read the full article…

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The winner of the claret jug may have to endure the toughest weather The Open can offer. There’s a chance that wind gusts could reach 35 mph Sunday afternoon. Even if the worst wind doesn’t come, it’s still expected to blow about 20 mph throughout the day. Rain is also forecast for the final round. RELATED: Tee times | McIlroy’s charge falls short, misses cut | Lowry, Holmes tied for lead | Westwood leads strong British contingent This Open has seen spells of wind and rain but it mostly has been played under relatively docile conditions, at least by Open standards. Many of Royal Portrush’s greens are elevated, as well, requiring aerial approaches. That will put players at the mercy of the wind. Royal Portrush has proven to be a proper Open test. Now the players will face proper Open weather as they compete for the claret jug.

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…

Xander Schauffele, in contention this weekend at The Open Championship, said it was “a little bit unfairâ€� after his driver was ruled nonconforming during random testing by the R&A going into this week’s tournament at Royal Portrush. After finding a new driver, Schauffele was 3 under through 36 holes, then moved inside the top 10 of the leaderboard midway through Saturday’s third round. Schauffele was found to have an illegal driver during random testing. The event’s governing body selected 30 drivers from the field of participants to test for conformity, and Schauffele’s driver did not pass. After finding out that his driver was deemed non-conforming, Schauffele scrambled to find a new driver, and he expressed his displeasure with the testing process. “I had a little bit of a run-in with [the R&A] because they only test 30 players,â€� Schauffele said. “I thought it was a little bit unfair. I would gladly give up my driver if it’s not conforming. But there’s still 130 other players in the field that potentially have a nonconforming driver, as well.â€� The USGA and the R&A have rules in place to limit the CT (characteristic of time) of a driver face, and last year, the R&A began testing the drivers of Open Championship participants during the week of the event. Of the 30 players tested in 2018, no drivers were found non-conforming. In 2019, however, Schauffele’s driver was found to be illegal; Schauffele said his Callaway driver “barely missedâ€� being under the limit. Schauffele said he confronted the R&A about its testing process. “Had a word with them and hopefully they take my comments seriously and my concern just because it wasn’t my plan to show up Monday morning of a major … sorry, it was Tuesday event where I was doing driver testing here. It’s not really what players want to be doing,â€� he said. Schauffele then offered a solution in his press conference: “Just test the whole field. It’s plain and simple.â€�  “We offer the testing as a service to players so that they can ensure that their drivers conform,â€� the R&A said, according to the Golf Channel. “We believe that 30 is a reasonable sample and a practical option for conducting this process in the week of a major championship.â€� With an Open Championship to play, and a driver that was ruled nonconforming, Schauffele tested different driver heads on Wednesday to find one that he was comfortable with to use in competition. After his opening-round 3-over 74, Schauffele said his driver wasn’t matching, but he got it figured out before his second-round 6-under 65 that tied for the lowest round of the week. “(Thursday), it wasn’t really matching my bag, which was a bummer,â€� Schauffele said. “I was getting a little upset on the golf course. I was testing a little bit on the range again (on Friday) with two different heads but moved a few weights around and sort of found a good setting.â€� After his second round, Schauffele explained his thoughts moving forward: “I have a legal driver now and I sort of put that one to rest, and happy to see that ball performing like it did today or the driver performing like it did today, so that was very comforting. Like I said, it will get better every day. We’ve still got two more.â€�

Click here to read the full article…