Rory McIlroy 'ready for one more day of grinding' as he looks to end decade-long wait for major glory at US Open

Rory McIlroy in action at the US Open. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The 35-year-old posted a one-under par 69 on Saturday with McIlroy’s third round including four birdies and three bogeys as the Northern Irish ace put himself in contention to end his decade-long wait for a fifth major.

Thirteen years after claiming a first US Open title, the world number three is within striking distance once again and is part of a trio sitting in joint-second on -4 for the tournament alongside Patrick Cantlay and Matthieu Pavon.

They all trail leader Bryson DeChambeau, who won this competition in 2020, by three shots as the American struck six birdies on Saturday to post an impressive three-under par.

NBC’s Brad Faxon mentioned on commentary that time spent flying between tournaments had allowed McIlroy the opportunity to reflect on his game – comments which were put to the Holywood native during his post-round interview – and he says there’s some truth to it.

"It might be true – I don’t know if I want to disclose it right now!” he laughed. “It’s nice to know Fax is giving away all of our secrets.

"We spend a lot of times on planes and I spend a lot of time thinking about my game in the air, and sometimes things come to me! I have a good feeling with most things...I felt good with the putter at Memorial last weekend too, but sometimes it’s good to get away from the golf course and think about things.

"Everything is feeling good. I’m going to hit some balls to try and figure out some of my loose iron shots, but I’m really excited for tomorrow.”

After winning four major titles in the span of three years, McIlroy hasn’t tasted success on golf’s biggest stage since 2014 despite producing remarkable consistency – he’s enjoyed 20 top-10 finishes after the last PGA Championship triumph, including three in 2023.

He’s now only 18 holes away from finally adding to his collection once again and McIlroy insists he’s ready for Sunday's grind.

"Fairways and greens is the mindset I’ve tried to hold onto,” he said. “I felt I did a good job over the first three days.

"It’s a grind. The US Open feels like you play two tournaments in one week. They are long days, it’s tiring – I’ll try to recover as well as I can tonight and get ready for one more day of grinding tomorrow.”

On his third round, McIlroy said: "It was difficult. I think the wind was up a little bit today compared to the previous two days, but overall I felt I gave a really good account of myself, I played really well and most things were firing...I hit a couple of loose iron shots towards the end of the round. Overall, I would have taken one-under par at the start of today.”