Rory McIlroy has revealed what he believes he will need to do in the final round if he is going to secure a medal at the Paris Olympics.
Rory McIlroy has perhaps gone a little under the radar at the Olympics this week – by his standards anyway – with the Irishman producing a very solid opening three rounds. However, he is only four shots back with 18 holes left to play at Le Golf National after a five under par round of 66 on Saturday.
But McIlroy goes into Sunday in real contention to clear the hurdle which proved to be just too big for him in Tokyo three years ago, with Nicolai Hojgaard the only player in the top 10 to produce a better round than the 35-year-old on Saturday.
Rory McIlroy sets target for Sunday at the Olympics
The four-time major champion is three shots off third place Tommy Fleetwood, with Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele both one shot further ahead of the Englishman.
And speaking in his press conference after his round, McIlroy suggested what he believes he is going to need to do to have a chance of finishing on the podium on Sunday.
“Yeah, it would have been nice to be able to squeeze a couple more shots out of the back nine. But I think tomorrow, depending on what the leaders do, I’m going to have to probably shoot my lowest round of the week to have a chance at a medal. That’s the goal,” he said.
The door is open
There is clearly a lower round out there for McIlroy. Four of the five names ahead of him have all gone below 66 at some stage over the week at Le Golf National, so there is definitely an opportunity there.
Schauffele believes that a 62 may be needed to secure the gold medal, but it would be a surprise if everyone near the top of the leaderboard went anywhere near as low as that.
That perhaps opens the door for McIlroy, who probably feels that he has little choice but to twist rather than stick, as he looks to keep the pressure on those currently eyeing a place on the podium.
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