British Open leaderboard: Chris Wood sets early Sunday pace on vulnerable Hoylake setup

The leaders are still on the driving range at the Open Championship, but Royal Liverpool is already yielding some low numbers early on Sunday. With Rory McIlroy beginning the day with a six-shot lead, the chasers around him -- Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia -- must post a round in the low-to-mid 60s to even have a chance. And so far, we’ve seen a few rounds start to touch the mid-60s.

Chris Wood is the early pacesetter, getting in the clubhouse with a 7-under round of 65. Wood rolled in birdies on the final four holes to card an inward 32. Two of those last three holes are gettable par-5s, so if a player can get to within a couple shots coming down the stretch, there’s at least hope. Just like Wood, a chaser will probably need to go bogey-free during his final round.

Wood’s round matches the lowest of the week, and is only the second 65, joining Dustin’s from Friday. Hoylake can play as one of the easier major championship venues, with those par-5s and relatively (for Open links courses) flat greens. The R&A also isn’t beholden to setting a course up in the hardest possible way with the toughest pin placements, like the UGSA. After Wood, there are already three players, Brendon Todd, Koumei Oda, and Thomas Bjorn, to post 5-under rounds of 67 so the scores are out there. Here’s a look at some of the best rounds going on Sunday:

Fowler is the best bet to make a run. He’s the closest to Rory, and also closed the same size gap by the 12th hole on Saturday afternoon. The best chances for red numbers are on that finishing stretch par-5s, but there’s also room to make a run at the start. That’s where Fowler got it going Saturday with four birdies in his first six holes to put the pressure on. If he repeats or comes close to that, then we could have a game by the time the final pairing gets to the back nine. Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard with Rickie and Rory about 15 minutes away from the first tee: