Italian Open: Although Matt Fitzpatrick leads the DS Automobiles Italian Open by one stroke going into the final round, Rory McIlroy and Aaron Rai are right on his tail.
The US Open champion Fitzpatrick played superbly in the windy conditions on Saturday at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, finishing his third round 69 with a birdie to take the solo lead.
Second-ranked McIlroy and an Englishman After contrasting rounds, Rai is tied for second place on nine under, one stroke behind Fitzpatrick.
McIlroy, who is in the lead at the halfway point, shot a 71, which he completed with a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
Meanwhile, Rai shot a perfect 65 with two eagles and two birdies to move up the leaderboard significantly.
Matt Fitzpatrick acknowledged it would be wonderful to hold the trophy after recovering from a front-nine bogey with birdies at the 10th, 12th, and 18th holes.
He said: “It would mean the world. I love coming to play the Italian Open.
“I love the country. I love playing golf here. The fans are fantastic and to win tomorrow would be a great feeling.”
McIlroy, who, like Fitzpatrick, hopes to represent Europe when the Ryder Cup is held at this location the following year, is aware of the difficulty of his Sunday challenge.
He said: “I think national opens are pretty important things in our game. I’ve been quite fortunate that I’ve won a few of them.
“This would be another great one to add to the list. So big incentive tomorrow to go out and play well.
“I know it will be a tough day. Fitzpatrick is very solid. These are the sort of conditions that he relishes. He’s going to be tough to beat.”
Rai was pleased with his day’s work, saying: “I hit a lot of fairways, which is key this week. Hit a lot of good iron shots and made some key putts as well today.
