Rory McIlroy is in great shape to win his first event of 2016, and he’s trying to do it as tournament host.
McIlroy is three ahead of the field 15 holes into his third round at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, pulling ahead of Danny Willett at 9 under par. The Masters champion, playing a group behind McIlroy in the final pairing with Scot Marc Warren, is 2 over on the round and has also played 15 holes.
Wet and windy conditions at The K Club led to multiple suspensions of play before ultimately canceling out play for the day. There are 15 players who still need to finish their third rounds before the final round can begin.
McIlroy was happy to get through the conditions without dropping a shot, but, given his aggressive nature, he figured he still missed some opportunities.
“Today was a day to just hang in there and try not to make too many mistakes and that’s what I said I wanted to do today,” he said. “No bogeys in 15 holes, that was good. I feel like I left a few out there, but at the same time, I can’t complain with a three-shot lead going into tomorrow.”
The four-time major champion is hosting the tournament for the second time this year, missing the cut last year in more trying conditions at Royal County Down. Until this week, McIlroy hadn’t even seen the weekend at the Irish Open since 2012. Winless this year, McIlroy has finished in the top four in three of his last six PGA Tour starts and only worse than tied for 12th once.
Earlier in the week, McIlroy lampooned those who have said he’s been playing poorly this year, saying his “bad weeks” have been top-10 finishes. If he’s going to notch his first win of the year, McIlroy is going to have to avoid frustration.
“I just have to approach it like I did today, just take whatever comes and just make sure I’m ready to go whenever they tell us to go play,” he said. “I feel like my game is good enough that I’ll keep giving myself chances, hit fairways, hit greens, and if I can knock a few in, hopefully that will be good enough to get the job done tomorrow.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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