If you were working in a laboratory to construct prime golf television, you’d be hard-pressed to construct a better Saturday afternoon than what we’ve had so far in the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
British Open leaderboard 2017: Jordan Spieth leads as Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson chase on Saturday
Conditions are prime, scores are low, and the stars are out at Birkdale. But through the front nine, might we be breaking for a Spieth vs. Kuchar finish on Sunday?
With a rare day filled with sunny and calm conditions off the Southport coast in England, Jordan Spieth hasn’t let up a bit after sleeping on a 36-hole lead overnight. A mistake free 3-under-par 32 to open the front nine on Saturday has the 23-year-old in prime position to win the third leg of the Career Grand Slam from out front on Sunday afternoon. But while he’s created a small bit of distance between himself and the rest of the pack, plenty of big names are still within striking distance. Playing partner Matt Kuchar, still in search of his first major title at 39, stands just two behind Spieth at 7-under-par.
But for a period of time on Saturday, it appeared that the once-left-for-dead Rory McIlroy had risen into contention -- and we were rolling toward a big-time Sunday showdown between the game’s two biggest names we as the public might not deserve. Three early birdies in his opening five holes got McIlroy within a couple shots of Spieth’s lead -- with this chip-in on the 4th hole being the highlight of the run.
Perhaps sadly for all of us wanting big-name Sunday drama, that’d be the peak of Rory’s run. A pair of back nine bogeys pushed him back off the pace a touch, before an uncharacteristic mismanaged sideways-out of a fairway bunker led to a double-bogey at the 10th. He currently stands eight strokes off Spieth’s lead with a few holes to play.
Still, there’s plenty of other big time names on the leaderboard, even if Rory won’t last. Branden Grace grabbed the early morning headlines by carding the first ever major-championship 62, while two other massive names made early moves to get into Sunday contention. The world’s top ranked player in Dustin Johnson and reigning Open Champion Henrik Stenson carded early rounds of 64 and 65 to move to 3-under-par for the championship.
Here’s how the leaderboard stands as ominous skies begin to roll in at Birkdale with around nine to play on Saturday.
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