Scottie Scheffler takes commanding lead, eyes history after strong third round at The Open

Scottie Scheffler was the leader at the end of the third round of The Open Saturday at Royal Portrush.

Scheffler, 29, continued his dominant play Saturday, finishing 4-under par to move to 14-under for the tournament. 

The three-time major champion played bogey-free golf and had an eagle and two birdies. Scheffler’s eagle came on the seventh hole while his two birdies were on the eighth and 16th holes, respectively. 

If Scheffler can hold and win tomorrow, he will be three-fourths of the way to the career slam and win his second major tournament of the year. Scheffler won the PGA Championship in May. 

If Scheffler does win The Open Sunday, he will join an exclusive list of players to win the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open before turning 30. 

The only three players to achieve that feat are Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. 

While Scheffler stayed in first place atop the leaderboard, there was a lot of movement behind him.

RORY MCILROY UNBELIEVABLY UNEARTHS HIDDEN GOLF BALL WITH SHOT IN BIZARRE SCENE AT THE OPEN

Matt Fitzpatrick entered the third round in second place at 9-under par but shot even par and dropped into third place. Li Haotong overtook second place from Fitzpatrick and shot 2-under par to move to 10-under par for the tournament. 

There is a four-way tie for fourth place as four different players surged to put themselves into contention going into the final round. 

Rory McIlroy shot 5-under par to move to 8-under for the tournament. Chris Gotterup, Harris English and Tyrrell Hatton all went 3-under par Saturday to improve to 8-under par for the tournament. 

Brian Harman entered the day in a tie for third at 8-under par but struggled Saturday and went 2-over par to drop into a tie for ninth place. 

Below is a list of the leaderboard entering the final round of The Open:

1. Scheffler, 14-under par

2. Li, 10-under 

3. Fitzpatrick, 9-under

T-4. McIlroy, 8-under

T-4. Gotterup, 8-under 

T-4. English, 8-under

T-4. Hatton, 8-under

8. Xander Schauffele, 7-under  

T-9. Russell Henley, 6-under

T-9. Nicolai Hojgaard, 6-under

T-9. Robert MacIntyre, 6-under

T-9. Rasmus Hojgaard, 6-under

T-9. Harman, 6-under

The first pairing will tee off at 8:30 a.m. ET in the final round of The Open. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.