Saturday was fresh again at St. Andrews’ Old Course. Scores were low and high, depending on whom you asked. Neither of the Camerons produced the type of round needed to separate from the chasers. In fact, both were surpassed by two golfers hungry for a major title in 2022. It’s a pity that only one of the many contenders will return home with the Claret Jug as champion golfer of the year. The entertainment and thrills are ours, so it’s time to run a third day down, and look ahead to one last early rise for wondrous golf from the kingdom of Fife. Here are the five things we learned on Saturday at The Open Championship.

Rory. McIlroy.#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/ZgVKfXf8ie

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2022

1. Two golfers will battle on Sunday for the year’s fourth major title

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland did their countries and their selves proud on Saturday. Each produced a score of 66 on the championship’s third sunrise, and each earned a spot in Sunday’s final game. McIlroy has been down this road before, and won. Hovland has not done true battle for a major title, and Sunday will reveal just how much character the Norwegian linksman has in reserve.

McIlroy produced the only bogey among the duo. It came at the 17th, where he drove into the left rough, then approached over the green, onto the road that gives the hole its name. From there, the northern Irishman recovered to 30 feet, from which he took two putts to get down. Better are the memories from the five birdies and one eagle that he posted across the rest of the scorecard. At the tenth, from the deepest championship tee, the 2014 Open champion at Hoylake drove into a bunker, but recovered into the hole for an unexpected, eagle two. On the hole called Bobby Jones, McIlroy preserved his place atop the leader’s board.

Hovland surrendered a clean card, and zero shots to the old dame on this day. His birdies came early, with five in the bag before the 11th tee. He added one more at Home, and set a tee time with McIlroy for 2:50 pm Heaven Standard Time.

Viktor Hovland was dialled in during Round 3 of #The150thOpen

Watch his best moments ? pic.twitter.com/6WlkoDoR22

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2022

2. Four golfers are in contention for CGOTY

It’s not an EGOT, but CGOTY is equally as coveted by professional golfers. The two Camerons (Smith and Young) had a finger or two around the Claret, but neither one did much of anything on Saturday. Smith struggled early, while Young stumbled late. Each has the game to post 64 on Sunday, and each will need it to have a shot at victory.

One of the co-leaders might struggle on Sunday, but it’s long odds that both will. Young had two bogeys through 15 holes, then made a clumsy double at the 16th. Smith was simply adrift on the breezes. He had two bogeys and two birdies, and that was all. On a tough weather day, he’d have gained advantage. On this day, he was fortunate to remain in the hunt. Beginning four shots in arrears, the Camerons have work to do.

Cameron Young shows no fear at the 17th#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/gFR8LaFrjy

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2022

3. A sextet of golfers will battle for glory on Sunday

If we must include Si Woo Kim and Scottie Scheffler as possibilities for glory in the 150th Open Championship, it will come with a record round. Both are in the antepenultimate game, five shots behind the leaders. Both golfers have shown a penchant for reeling off birdies. Chances are that someone will have set the tone early in the day, perhaps going out in 29 or 30 strokes. This pairing will need to take every risk and leave nothing and everything to chance. Have stranger things happened in the storied history of the Open Championship? Certainly, such as the consecutive eagles turned in by Shane Lowry today. There’s plenty of room for more.

UNBELIEVABLE SCENES! 

Back-to-back eagle twos for @ShaneLowryGolf ?#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/WF28OPAbow

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2022

4. English hearts will break again

Either Matt Fitzpatrick or Tommy Fleetwood will post 65 tomorrow, and his total of 16-under par will end up one or two shots shy of the CGOTY. Fleetwood posted 66 today. He began the day with four birdies in six holes, then went stale through the middle of the round, before posting three birdies in his final five holes. He’ll need 63 on Sunday to have a shot. Fitzpatrick stood five birdies against two bogeys, and lost ground to McIlroy and Hovland. He’ll need something special and low on Sunday to hoist the hardware.

Fantastic Fitzpatrick?

A string of birdies moves the Englishman to -8#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/pwpMb1rSTC

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2022

5. So…who’s it going to be?

Nearly as demanding as selecting the shot of the day, is predicting the winner of a tournament. If we take the safe bet, it’s McIlroy. If we take the daring route, it’s Hovland. If redemption is our flavor, one of the Camerons regains the magic wand and soars beyond the challengers. If we’re bonkers, we pick someone more than four shots back. Since we are bonkers, we’re going with Si Woo Kim, who becomes the first Korean golfer since Y.E. Yang to win a men’s major title.

Another day of outrageous shot making on the Old Course ?

Vote for your #Doosan Shot of the Day for the chance to win a prize ?#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/LNeytBcVnu

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2022