Fowler outshines McIlroy in the rain

Rory McIlroy (left) and Rickie Fowler share a joke at a wet and windy Royal St George's. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

In conditions that might have been created for Victor Meldrew, Rickie Fowler just wanted to have fun. After he'd shot 68 on a day of grinding misery to go two under, it sounded as if the American had had enough fun for nearly all of the other 72 windswept, spirit-lashed players left in this stormy Open Championship.

"I had quite a bit of fun out there today," he said to bedraggled hacks still shaking the water from their shoes. He would go on to say "fun" 14 times – Olympic-standard enthusiasm, even for an American kid wearing an outsize baseball cap and an orange-dappled white jump suit that would not have looked out of place in Essex 20 years ago.

For all but two of the 18 holes in which Fowler and Rory McIlroy slugged it out on the third day, the skateboard-generation kid from Jupiter, Florida, played with the sort of freedom that once attended the golf of another native of that state, Tiger Woods. Fowler is no Tiger Woods. Nor is McIlroy. But, at 22, and each glowing with the confidence derived from special talent, they are aware theirs is a rivalry that could light up the game for many years to come.

On Saturday, Fowler was a clear winner. "I love playing links golf," he said, "and this is only the second time I've played in the Open Championship, but I got a real taste of links golf for the first time at the 2007 Walker Cup at County Down.

"It's just the way I grew up, learning how to hit different shots, and that's how you've got to play around here, depending on the weather conditions or how the wind is blowing."

Fowler played with such zest and purpose that the wind and rain merely anointed his splendid golf. McIlroy, hoping to build on his spectacular annexing of the US Open last month – where Fowler missed the cut – never conquered the horizontal rain that struck hardest in their afternoon contest, and his sloping shoulders slumped further when he hit seven at the 547-yard 14th, to go with bogeys at the 1st, 3rd and 8th in a round of 74 that left him six shots behind Fowler. A birdie at the 7th was his only comfort, although he gathered his composure towards the end.

"This tournament, more so than anything else, you need to get a good draw and it just hasn't worked out for me this week," McIlroy said.

"It was really tough out there this morning, and I felt, for the first 13 holes, to get through those in two over par was a pretty decent effort. Then to give two shots away on 14 was very disappointing.

"I tried to make a couple of birdies coming down the last four holes, but wasn't able to do it, and I think 74 was the best I could manage."

Of his double bogey, he said: "You've done so well for 13 holes to keep yourself in it, and you've got half of Kent on your left, and you hit it right ... yeah, it was a tough one to take."

As for the Sunday chase, McIlroy needs sunshine where none is predicted. "If the conditions are decent, I could see myself going out and shooting maybe four or five under, and getting in the hunt. But if the conditions are similar to what they were on Saturday morning, it's going to be very tough to make ground up on the leaders."

But he won't sacrifice discipline for the sake of a glory charge. "You try to hit to the middles of these greens. It's just one of those golf courses where, if you get aggressive, you can look very silly."

McIlroy was predictably impressed with Fowler's round. "Rickie played really well. He's such a natural player and he's got a lot of feel, so he controls his ball flight very well. And he's got a great short game. He gets it up and down when he needs to, holes good putts at the right times. A 68 out there in those conditions was very impressive."

The drenched crowd came to cheer McIlroy and left wondering if Fowler might be the 22-year-old to beat at this 140th Open. He's got the game to do it in conditions that have left older, weather-beaten rivals hanging on the ropes.

If he does, it will be his first title – and, as he said, "I've just got to make sure I keep having fun."

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