British Open 2013: Leaderboard, live updates, scores and more from Saturday’s third round at Muirfield

Tiger Woods may have ushered in the era of Boom Baby in golf, but he’s playing small ball at this week’s British Open. Now he has to do something he’s never done if he’s to end his five-year majorless drought: come from behind in the finale.

The strategy he outlined earlier in the week has kept the world No. 1 in the hunt at Muirfield, Woods’ conservative play on Saturday cost him a spot in Sunday’s final group and, perhaps, that elusive 15th major title. It took Woods 39 holes to hit his first drive of the week -- a blast that split the fifth fairway -- which is something he joked about on Friday.

For the second consecutive round, Tiger Woods will play in the second-to-last paring at the British Open. He’ll be paired with a familiar face on Sunday, too, as he plays with Adam Scott and his caddie, Steve Williams.

This won’t be the first time Woods has been paired with Scott and his former caddie, as Woods and Scott were in a group together for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open. Woods will begin the day in a tie for second place at 1-under, two strokes behind Lee Westwood. He is 14-1 in his career when he opens the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead, but 0-47 when he doesn’t. Woods and Scott are scheduled to tee off at 9 a.m. ET.

Lee Westwood continued to putt as well as anyone in the field on Saturday. Hhis flat stick propelled him into the 54-hole lead at the British Open. Westwood is 3-under heading into Sunday, two strokes ahead of Tiger Woods and Hunter Mahan.

Westwood one was of a few players to finish Saturday under par and his putter was a big reason why. It began early, when after hitting driver-driver, Westwood sunk a long eagle putt from off the green at No. 5. With the eagle, he moved to 3-under and into the lead for the first time on Saturday.

The 2012 U.S. Open brought us the birdman. The 2013 British Open has given us more fans with animal-themed outfits.

Just a tiger, elephant and eagle watching Tiger Woods putt. You know, the usual.

Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood were put on the clock early into their back nine on Saturday, just a little while after officials assessed Hideki Matsuyama a one-shot penalty for his snail-like pace.

“It’s a lot easier to give Hideki Matsuyama a one-shot penalty than it is to give Tiger Woods or Lee Westwood a one-shot penalty in this situation,” ESPN analyst Paul Azinger opined after the two co-leaders received a warning from tour officials to pick up the pace.

With balls typically rolling at least 50 yards -- and more on most holes -- players are getting plenty of distance off of the tee at the British Open. The big news was when Bubba Watson hit a 315-yard 6-iron during his round on Friday, but Charl Schwartzel topped that on Saturday.

Five-over on his round, Schwartzel had nothing to lose and pulled out his driver on the Par-4 15th and bombed one down the middle. His ball hung in the middle, avoiding bunkers on the left and right, rolling all the way onto the green of the 448-yard hole. The drive was so long, it interrupted the players already on the green as they stood back and watched it roll to within 20 feet of the pin.

The leaders are making the turn at Muirfield, and as they do, it’s Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood tied atop the Open Championship leaderboard. Both players are even-par on their rounds and 2-under overall.

Westwood had pulled away from the pack after a birdie on No. 7 moved him to 4-under, but he ran into trouble shortly after. He missed short putts on No. 8 and No. 9, carding back-to-back bogeys as he made the turn. Westwood finished the front nine in 36, but his card included three bogyes, four pars, a birdie and an eagle.

Densely-packed crowds often form during golf tournaments as fans try to catch a glimpse of the best players in the world. But, sometimes, there is this guy who is all alone.

If he’s expecting to see golf, he’ll be waiting a while as the final groups have already made their way through No. 5.

We chronicled Miguel Angel Jimenez and his glorious way of life yesterday, and that was before The Mechanic went out and sealed up the 36-hole lead at the British Open The 49-year-old Spaniard probably didn’t get much sleep, going to bed on the lead and likely showing up to Muirfield frazzled and nerves exposed. Ah, nevermind:

He wants you to know though, that he never smokes on the course. Off the course, he probably sleeps with a cigar in one hand and a glass of Rioja in the other.

The players at the bottom of the leaderboard are now finishing up the third round of the British Open, and once again low numbers and birdie opportunities are available for the morning tee times. The wind is once again up, coming out of the east to confound players who had not played with or prepared for that prevailing breeze. There are already two players in the clubhouse with posted rounds in the 60s, but can those favorable scoring conditions hold up?

Richard Sterne, who started the day on the cut line at 8-over, fired a third round 68 to make up three shots on the field early. The South African is having one of the best seasons on either tour, and he carded just one bogey at No. 4 before playing the final 14 holes in 4-under. Sterne’s playing partner also shot a good score, as blast-from-the-past Shingo Katayama turned in a round of 2-under 69.

There are plenty of notable names near the top of the Open Championship leaderboard after two rounds, resulting in several interesting pairings for Saturday’s third round. Tiger Woods will begin the day just one stroke off the lead, and he will be paired with a former No. 1 player in the world.

Woods will play with Lee Westwood on Saturday and the two will tee off in the second-to-last pairing of the round. Like Woods, Westwood will begin the day at 2-under after turning in a 3-under 68 on Friday, tied for the best round of the day. Woods and Westwood are scheduled to begin at 10:10 a.m. ET. Those two will draw plenty of attention during ESPN’s television coverage, but they aren’t the only notable pairing.

The second round of the British Open is in the books, but a few notable players won’t be hanging around for the weekend after a rough go of things during the first two rounds. Rory McIlroy and reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose and are among the players headed home early as both missed the cut.

Muirfield played more difficult as the day went on, with the projected cut line increasing throughout the second round. It eventually settled at 9-over, with 84 players making it to the weekend. Boo Weekley, Geoff Ogilvy and KJ Choi were among the players at 8-over who just made it clear.

Par was once again a good score on Friday at the British Open as Muirfield continued to play firm and fast. Nine players are under par heading into the weekend, led by Miguel Angel Jimenez who is the 36-hole leader at 3-under.

Many players were up-and-down throughout the second round, but Jimenez was steady, shooting an even-par 71. He carded 14 pars, two birdies and just two bogeys on the day. Muirfield’s closing stretch got the better of many players, but Jimenez played holes 13 through 18 at just 1-over.