With perfect scoring conditions, it’s time to go low on Sunday at the British Open

A defining characteristic of the Open Championship is the fickle weather presenting an entirely different course from morning to afternoon and day to day. The conditions change quicker at St. Andrews than anywhere else, and following that unplayably hard mess of Saturday, the third round on Sunday features some of the best scoring conditions this field will ever face in a major championship. ESPN’S Andy North will not stop harping on it, and the major championship scoring record of 63, set 26 different times over the years, may finally fall Sunday. St. Andrews was always the venue where that could take place if the wind stayed down.

St. Andrews is supposed to be played in the wind, that’s how it was designed. But the wind is down right now, and it’s not supposed to gust all day Sunday. Rain throughout the weeks leading up to the Open, including overnight Saturday, has made it so uncharacteristically green and soft. The Old Course is not particularly long, measuring around 7,300 yards but playing even shorter than that (Chambers Bay got up around 7,900 yards last month). With the greens so soft, even the hardest pin placements are open and gettable and this elite field is going to stuff them close with high-lofted irons on this shorter layout.

The early bellwether of a great scoring day and potential new scoring record is David Duval. The 43-year-old and 2001 winner of The Open is a Golf Channel analyst and not a full-time player anymore. But he can still put together a round and he made the cut on the number. After getting out early, he’s jumped 42 spots up the leaderboard with a 5-under round of 67. He’s now inside the top 20 on the board and while it would be awesome to see him in the mix on Sunday, the group coming behind him will probably carve up the course as well.

Marc Leishman has the best round on the course and is an eye-opening 7-under through his first 13 holes. He went out in 32 and has now birdied three of his first four holes on the second nine. Jim Furyk posted a 6-under 66 to go from a tie for 61st place into a tie for 12th. Only one player in the field has finished the third round over par.

So if the leaders Dustin Johnson and Danny Willett stall out, or the weather turns in the afternoon, this group of chasers will have an opportunity to be near the top of the board with 18 holes to go on Monday. Jordan Spieth will be 90 minutes ahead of DJ with a chance to make a move before the leaders even tee off. Rain is supposed to pop up here and there and that will affect the golf in different stretches, but as long as the wind stays down, the scores are going to be low and we could get a challenge to that 63 record. It’s a remarkable change from Saturday, but that’s how it goes at The Open.