Rory McIlroy will have to play catch up in the final round of the $2.75 million Omega European Masters if he wants to get his hands on a trophy he should have held 11 years ago. The World No. 2 trails Argentinean Andres Romero by three shots heading into the final 18 holes.
The Northern Irishman is on 11 under par in a tie for fifth after a third-round 69. Romero is 14 under. Australia’s Wade Ormsby is a shot behind on 13 under, while Tommy Fleetwood and Gavin Green are tied for third on 12 under.
McIlroy should be closer to the lead. He finished with back-to-back bogeys, errors he blamed on the aftereffect of winning the FedEx Cup last Sunday.
“I felt a little flat out there, a little tired,” he said. “Maybe it all sort of caught up with me. I’m looking forward to getting into bed early tonight and getting a good night’s sleep because I’m pretty tired.
“I played pretty solid, obviously made those mistakes coming in. If I go out and play a good front nine tomorrow I’ll be right in it. If I get off to a good start, especially how tough those first four holes are playing, if I can play those in a couple under I’ll be right there.
“I would love to win here. I just didn’t quite have it today in the way that I did the previous days, especially yesterday with that finish. I need to gather myself, get rested up and put everything I have into tomorrow.”
Winning the European Masters is high on Rory’s priority list for two reasons: he is endorsed by title sponsor Omega, and should have won this title in 2008. McIlroy bogeyed the final hole 11 years ago and lost in playoff.
Romero added a 66 to the 61 he shot in Round 2 to jump into the lead. The 38-year-old is seeking his third European title, and first since the 2017 BMW International Open.
“I really feel good this week” Romero said. “I have a lot of friends around, I like the golf course very much. I hope that tomorrow I will play on the same level that I did today.”
Fleetwood is in good position to get his first win of the season. The World No. 13 has five top-10s this season, including second in the Open Championship. He hasn’t missed a cut since last year’s French Open.
“I know people have started to talk about the cut run that I’m on, but I’d quite happily give up a few cuts to have a couple of wins” Fleetwood said. “Because that’s kind of what it’s all about.
“Apart from just winning an event, which is great, this has got a lot of history about it, a lot of great winners and it’s a great European Tour event to have on your resume.”
