Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 14th hole during the continuation of the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2021 in Dublin, Ohio.
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Rickie Fowler has a chance to cap off a remarkable comeback story with his first major title, while Rory McIlroy can end his nine-year drought in the final round of the US Open on Sunday.
Fowler worked his way up to a par-70 round at Los Angeles Country Club on Saturday to enter the final round tied for the top of the standings with fellow American Wyndham Clark at 10-under.
They will again be part of the final pairing on Sunday and are scheduled to tee off at 2:30 p.m. local time (21:30 GMT).
Fowler, a Southern California native, is a former top 10 player who fell off the golf map in recent years, but has been in first place at the end of every round to the delight of his many fans in Los Angeles.
“Tomorrow is when the tournament starts,” he said on Saturday.
“After going through the past few years, I’m not afraid of failing.”
Clark, who won his first PGA Tour event last month, has been attacking the George C. Thomas-designed course near Beverly Hills with impressive confidence for the first three days and won’t go without a fight on Sunday.
One blow behind the leaders is a scarred McIlroy, another fan favorite looking to capture his elusive fifth major championship and first since 2014.
“I feel like the last three days I’ve executed that game plan very, very well, and I just need to do it for one more day,” he said.
The world number three from Northern Ireland will play alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler, who finished his third round with an eagle-birdie double-strike to build momentum in the final round. Playing in the penultimate group, they will play at 14:19 local time (21:19 GMT).
Harris English, who has quietly put together a solid three rounds to sit just four off the leaders, will play alongside fellow American Dustin Johnson. They are scheduled to take the course at 2:08 pm local time (21:08 GMT).
Sunday’s winner will walk away with $3.6 million of the $20 million tournament purse.
