The story remains more or less the same for Rory McIlroy at The Renaissance Club. Last year, it was the final round where things came apart, as Chris Gotterup played the spoiler. And this time, McIlroy didn't even need to wait for Sunday.

His share of the lead evaporated in a fog-shortened Saturday at the Genesis Scottish Open. And by the time the horns blew, it was Matt Fitzpatrick — his Ryder Cup teammate — who was left holding the advantage.

Saturday's third round, however, never really found a rhythm due to bad weather. Play was stopped twice: first for 2 hours and 23 minutes in the morning, and again at 7:55 p.m., after the final groups had only managed a short stretch of golf.

And for McIlroy, the day went the wrong way almost from the start. He started the round as one of the co-leaders after 36 holes. But three bogeys in his first eight holes pushed him all the way back to 6 under and down to a tie for 25th when play stopped.

The damage started at No. 3 with a bogey. Then it got worse at No. 5 when he came up badly short with a wedge and was left scrambling from the fringe.

It kept going at No. 7 when he drove into rough, hacked a recovery shot only a few feet out of a bush, and ended up back in trouble.

While McIlroy fought his own game, Fitzpatrick was doing the opposite. He opened with four birdies in his first seven holes and briefly reached 12 under before giving one shot back at No. 8. But even with that bogey, he still finished the day tied for the lead at 11 under.

Déjà vu for McIlroy? Last year at the same course, he went into Sunday tied for the lead, only to be beaten by Gotterup. Gotterup closed with a 66 to win by two shots.

Michael Thorbjornsen Finds His Game in the Fog

Michael Thorbjornsen came into Saturday at 6 under after rounds of 66 and 68. Then he birdied five of his first 13 holes, including back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th to finish 11 under.

Asked about the thick fog, he told Sky Sports, “Yeah, this is crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

In one interrupted round, he climbed 12 places up the board.

"Towards the end of the round, over the last three holes, I hit a couple of drivers up into the air and lost sight of them before they reached the apex," Thorbjornsen said. "You just have to trust yourself that you've hit good shots."

Johnny Keefer, third alternate for next week's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, did the same thing in his own way. Keefer signed for a 64. It was the low round of the day and moved him up 22 places to 10 under.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas