Genesis Scottish Open Round 3: MacIntyre, Lee and Fitzpatrick Emerge From the Fog Tied at the Top

The North Sea had its say on Saturday. The Scottish haar rolled in off the water, swallowed The Renaissance Club twice, and turned the third round of the Genesis Scottish Open into a two-day affair. When it was finally finished on Sunday morning, three players were sharing the lead and the 36-hole picture had been blown apart.

Robert MacIntyre (65), Min Woo Lee (66) and Matt Fitzpatrick (66) are tied at 12-under 198 with 18 holes to play. Tom Kim, Chris Gotterup and Michael Thorbjornsen are one back at 11 under. Four more sit at 10 under. Rory McIlroy, who shared the lead after each of the first two rounds, shot 73 and is six back.

The Haar Takes Over

The timeline tells the story. Play was halted at 10:45 a.m. local time on Saturday because of heavy fog, a delay of more than two hours. The course reopened at 1:10 p.m., and the last groups did not tee off until after 6 p.m. Then the fog came back, and at 7:55 p.m. play was suspended for the night with Fitzpatrick and Thorbjornsen tied at 11 under. Officials sent the field back out at 7 a.m. Sunday to finish, with the final round to follow from a single tee.

For the late starters, that meant a strange rhythm: a few holes on Saturday evening, a short night, and a dawn restart with the tournament on the line.

MacIntyre Answers the Home Crowd

MacIntyre was the first to reach the 12-under target in the clubhouse, and the Scottish crowd got exactly what it wanted. The 2024 champion made back-to-back birdies from the 12th to climb into it, then produced the save of the morning at the last. Off the tee at 18, MacIntyre found a fairway bunker, played out, and still stuffed the approach to about three feet to make par. That 65 was the low score among the leaders.

Lee, the 2021 champion, started the morning on the 9th and ran off three birdies in a row to get to 12 and then 13 under. A dropped shot a hole later pulled the Australian back into the tie, but a 66 keeps Lee right in the final group.

Fitzpatrick's morning was the definition of patience. The overnight co-leader made nine straight pars, watching others make moves, then rolled in a 30-footer for birdie on the final hole of the round to grab a share of the lead. A 66, and the tour's longest active made-cut streak is now attached to a 54-hole co-lead.

Kim's Late Sting

Nobody will be more annoyed with the last hole than Kim. The co-leader after 36 holes played seven holes on Saturday without a single birdie or bogey, then came back Sunday morning and played the remaining 11 well enough to stand on the 18th green with a chance to go one clear. Instead, Kim three-putted for bogey and signed for 68 at 11 under.

Still, one shot back with 18 to go is plenty, and Kim has been here all week.

Gotterup, the defending champion, shot 66 to join Kim at 11 under. Thorbjornsen, who arrived as the fourth alternate for The Open, closed out a 65 and is suddenly a real threat to leave Scotland with a Birkdale tee time.

The Birkdale Scramble

That is the other tournament running underneath this one. Three Open spots go to the leading finishers not already exempt, and the pack near the top is full of candidates.

Johnny Keefer, the third alternate for Royal Birkdale, shot a 64 to post 10 under. "I think I had the mindset this week that anything can change," Keefer said, per the AP.

Kevin Roy (65), Keita Nakajima (67) and reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (66) join Keefer at 10 under. Roy got up and down from 51 feet for birdie at the 14th on Saturday and knows the math.

"I know there's some spots to get into The Open, so I've got really nothing to lose," Roy said.

Karl Vilips added his own wrinkle. Vilips was at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky when word came of a spot in this field, then holed a 28-foot eagle putt at the 7th on Saturday.

A Lost Day for Rory and Smith

McIlroy's round never found its feet. Off late on Saturday, McIlroy completed eight holes before the fog returned and looked out of sorts doing it: a missed tap-in for par, a duffed wedge off a par-3 tee, and a hack out of a bush after a wayward drive at the par-5 7th. A 20-foot par putt at the 8th kept things from getting worse. Back out on Sunday, a bogey at the 9th followed, and the first birdie did not arrive until the 18th. The 73 leaves McIlroy at 6 under and well back of the fight.

Jordan Smith had it worse. The 36-hole co-leader, who sat at 10 under through seven holes on Saturday, slid to a 72 and is at 7 under.

Eighteen Left, Plenty of Candidates

Fifteen players were within three shots of each other when the third round was completed, and the leaders were scheduled to go off together at 2:50 p.m. local time. A home hero, a former winner, and an Englishman who refuses to miss cuts are in the final group. One shot back are a defending champion, an alternate chasing Birkdale and a player still stewing over a three-putt. Nobody has separated. Sunday will decide who can.

Catch up on the Round 1 recap and the Round 2 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 report (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (AP Round 3 report, weather updates and leaderboard), DP World Tour, Golf Channel, Golf Today, Irish Golfer, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.