Rich Beem makes Rory McIlroy claim ahead of day four at The Scottish Open as he closes in on elite 10-man list

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Rory McIlroy heads into the final round of The Scottish Open tied for the lead.

McIlroy looked like his old self out on the links yesterday, as he strolled down the fairways at The Scottish Open with a renewed sense of verve and vigour.

And with The Open Championship just around the corner, now is the right time for the five-time major champion to find some form.

It has been a challenging last couple of months for the 35-year-old. McIlroy embarked on a lengthy media blackout over in the United States after his name was leaked in relation to his driver being deemed as non-conforming ahead of the PGA Championship.

McIlroy was fuming with whoever leaked that information, and his season quickly went downhill from there.

However, he’s back with his people now, and it hasn’t gone on unnoticed that he looks so much more comfortable.

McIlroy said the fans at the Scottish Open have been amazing, after firing a third round 66 that saw him leap to the top of the leaderboard alongside Chris Gotterup.

The Masters champion has been in imperious form at The Renaissance club this week, especially over the past two days.

Now he has victory well and truly in his sights.

Rich Beem says Rory McIlroy has an opportunity to do something ‘significant’

After round three at The Renaissance Club, Rich Beem discussed the importance of day four at The Scottish Open for McIlroy.

Following the 35-year-old’s recent trials and tribulations, a win on Sunday really would be a major boost for him.

He still has a lot of work to do though, and Beem has already warned McIlroy about Gotterup and Wyndham Clark ahead of the final round.

The American spoke on Saturday about how McIlroy has the opportunity to take a significant step forward ahead of The Open.

“Well I think it would be significant in the fact that it would be the first win since winning the career Grand Slam. I think it kind of almost puts The Masters in the rearview mirror, not quite obviously, but it helps him say, ‘listen, I just won a another tournament now’. I think that will also help him have a great frame of mind going into next week as well. I just think that the win after the last major championship will be pretty significant for Rory, and hopefully he’ll see it through tomorrow. He’s got a great opportunity to see it through tomorrow I should say.“

If the Northern Irishman does win The Scottish Open, can you imagine the hype heading into Royal Portrush?

It would be off the scale, and there is nothing McIlroy would love to do more than win The Open in his homeland.

Rory McIlroy on the verge of joining the elite

A win on Sunday at The Scottish Open would be an immensely important one for McIlroy, certainly from a psychological standpoint.

It would also see him join an incredibly elite group of players.

With a victory on Sunday, McIlroy would become just the 11th man to have won 30+ PGA Tour titles and five or more major championships.

McIlroy adding his name to that list above would serve as further evidence that we are witnessing a living legend play the game right in front of our eyes.