Rory McIlroy prolonged his lead on the high of the DP World Tour rankings, however his look forward to a win on the Outdated Course goes on after he completed two photographs behind New Zealand’s Ryan Fox within the Alfred Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship at St Andrews.
The world No. 2 closed with a second successive six-under-par 66 to complete tied fourth on 13-under par with France’s Antoine Rozner as Fox fired a 68 to complete on 15-under and win by a shot from England’s Callum Shinkwin and Sweden’s Alex Noren.
Bidding for some comfort on the Outdated Course after his close to miss in The Open, McIlroy went into the ultimate spherical tied for eleventh with enjoying associate Pádraig Harrington, eight photographs behind 54-hole chief Richard Mansell, who would find yourself tied seventh after a disappointing 76.
Whereas he made six birdies within the first 13 holes to tie for the lead earlier than the leaders reached the scoring holes across the flip, the four-time Main champion couldn’t birdie the par-five 14th.
After dropping a shot on the seventeenth, the place he discovered the Street Gap bunker, McIlroy birdied the final to clinch his sixth top-10 in 9 begins at St Andrews — or eight in 11 for those who embrace his final two Open appearances on the Outdated Course.
“Performed effectively once more as we speak,” mentioned McIlroy, who appropriately forecast that a closing 64 would give him an opportunity of profitable his third title this 12 months.
“I did all the pieces that I needed to do. I didn’t make birdie on 14, which type of halted the momentum that I had after which it was a little bit of a battle on the way in which in.
“I got here up two or three wanting my goal ultimately and it appears like that concentrate on in all probability would have been ok to no less than get within the play-off.”
Fox (35) began the day 4 photographs behind Mansell, however he turned in three-under 33 and picked up two extra strokes to go to the seventeenth with a two-stroke lead.
He dropped a shot there to see his benefit reduce to only one stroke, however went on to make a tap-in par on the 18th to say his second DP World Tour title of the season, a transfer as much as third within the DP World Tour Rankings to an estimated twenty fifth on this planet, securing his Masters debut subsequent 12 months.
“I undoubtedly really feel like he was there with me as we speak,” mentioned Fox, who was second within the 2021 Professional-Am with cricketer Shane Warne, who handed away earlier this 12 months.
“He was missed by lots of people this week, particularly me. It was an odd feeling in the beginning of the week, however I additionally felt like he was there serving to out and it was actually good to do it for him this week.”
Harrington’s hopes of constructing a cost for his third win within the occasion suffered an early blow when he three-putted the fourth for bogey.
Whereas he rallied with birdies on the fifth, ninth and 18th, a 70 left him six photographs behind Fox in a tie for seventeenth on nine-under.
McIlroy prolonged his lead over Matt Fitzpatrick on the high of the rankings and can bid to grow to be European No. 1 for the fourth time within the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai from November 17-20.
On the Problem Tour’s Hopps Open de Provence, Rosapenna’s Ruaidhri McGee tied for ninth on 10-under, seven photographs behind Sweden’s Joel Sjoholm, after a pricey double-bogey seven at Golf Worldwide de Pont Royal’s 18th.
The Londonderry man, who shot 69 yesterday, strikes up two spots to forty third within the Street to Mallorca standings with Conor Purcell up two locations to seventy fifth after a level-par 72 noticed him tie for thirty fourth on four-under.
Holywood’s Tom McKibbin fell one spot to fifteenth within the race for 20 DP World Tour playing cards after a closing spherical 76 left him tied thirty fourth on one-under with three occasions remaining.
On the LPGA Tour, Stephanie Meadow birdied her final two holes to salvage a two-over 73 and tie for forty fourth within the clubhouse within the Ascendant LPGA in Dallas.