It’s ‘moving day’ at The Open

We’ve made it to the weekend at The Open. It took 29 hours of coverage, some up-all-night marathons, and lots of coffee, but we’re here. The weekend at the British Open may be the best two days in golf. The schedule is much more manageable. You can wake up at a semi-reasonable hour compared to the first two days, get your breakfast and coffee, lock in for the day and still have the afternoon to do real life things.

A total of 79 players made the cut this year at 3-over and above. The spread is nine shots and on Saturday, Carnoustie appears to be playing gettable for those chasers deep down the leaderboard. There is absolutely no wind and it’s softened a bit from earlier in the week after a good day of rain on Friday. So it could be a wild moving day, especially for some of the superstar names who have to go low. That includes Tiger Woods, who is six shots back in the middle of the pack and has, well, shown out on Saturdays this year.

We’re going to strap in for a good 11 hours to keep track of a juicy moving day full of possibility. Updates and nuts and bolts for the day below:

This was a Saturday that reminded us why we think the Open is the best major. We had Tiger Woods changing up his strategy and making a huge run up the leaderboard to give himself a chance on Sunday. We got the vintage Jordan Spieth brilliance that seems to be so well-suited to the creativity demanded at a links-style test like the Open. We got reigning Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele excelling in the biggest moment of his career.

We had manic leaderboard movement that left us with a mix of vets and 20-somethings, Americans and internationals, and a spread that’s not so wide as to eliminate only a select few. The winds are supposed to come on Sunday, but this is as good as you want heading into that test.

More on Tiger’s brilliant day.

More on what makes Spieth so brilliant to watch play links golf.

More on Tiger’s change in strategy that paid off.

More on Justin Rose setting a new Carnoustie Open record.

Your final 54-hole leaderboard:

4:30 a.m. — We are up! The coffee is poured and we are feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep compared to the last two days. There is no wind at Carnoustie and we’re hearing it’s scoreable in the third round. Golf Channel is getting us started with the coverage until NBC takes over at 7 a.m. So I’ll start my day with Terry Gannon and Nick Faldo.

5:20 a.m. — Bryson DeChambeau takes the first tee with Henrik Stenson. He’s in his weather gear and his Hogan cap. He looks like an elderly mob boss in a monochromatic jump suit with all white shoes and the old man cap. He just does. I’m sure it’s state-of-the-art Puma gear, but from afar, that’s the look.

5:45 a.m. — Minimal action in the early going. The biggest names on the course are Pat Reed, Justin Rose, Stenson, and DeChambeau. The current Masters champ is the biggest early mover, pouring in three birdies in his first seven holes to get to even for the championship. He was my pre-championship pick to win so I don’t mind seeing this move. He’s jumped 36 spots up the board.

6:15 a.m. — The amateur Sam Locke, who works at Paul Lawrie’s golf center, is 3-under through his first four holes. It’s a great story and one the locals in Scotland are pulling for here on moving day. Locke is not going to win but he’s one of those great ancillary stories you get in a full 156-man field, especially now that he’s here on the weekend making moves. The 1999 champ at Carnoustie, Lawrie, was unable to play because of injury.

7 a.m. — We’re now live on NBC. David Feherty and Justin Leonard are in the tower. Tiger Woods has arrived and well, he’s getting fueled up!

7:30 a.m. — Chris Wood is lighting up in the early wave and showing the later players that a number is out there. Wood went out in 31, the lowest number of the week, and then promptly started his back nine with a birdie at the 10th hole.

Wood has moved 46 spots up the the leaderboard and is now tied for 6th place. Here’s hoping Woods can duplicate this run in about an hour.

8:10 a.m. — Phil Mickelson is off and running and Tiger is up next. On the course, Wood remains the biggest early mover and is now 7-under for the day. The course record is 63, set by Tommy Fleetwood during last year’s Dunhill Championship. The course obviously plays far different for that event than it does for a major like this. Wood is going to hit the toughest stretch on the course, the closing four, so it will be tough to break that record. Still, he’s going to have a late Sunday tee time now thanks to this run. Pat Reed’s charge got wrecked in that closing four holes again. Justin Rose, however, is still on the move up and is 6-under for the day as he heads to the 18th.

9:05 a.m. — Justin Rose matches the Open scoring record at Carnoustie with a third-round 64. Rosie finished things off with two birdies on venue’s demanding last two holes. Here’s a longer write-up on the round and how it provides a template for Tiger to make his charge.

9:10 a.m. — Tiger is on the board with his first birdie of the day and is now officially in the red for the championship. Tiger scrambled to make a long par putt at No. 1, missed a great chance at No. 2, and then poured one it at the 4th for his third straight birdie on that hole this week.

9:55 a.m. — Kevin Kisner, our 36-hole leader, delivered a delightful interview to NBC about his overnight and daily accomodations. Kisner is actually sharing a house and direct bathroom with co-leader Zach Johnson. He’s also had an extremely related Saturday so far.

10:15am: GOOD MORNING WAKE UP AND POP THE TOP ON THAT MONSTER. Tiger Woods is two shots back in a major championship. He’s T-7 and 4-under on the day and for the championship after big fireworks on the 9th and 10th.

After being left for dead by yours truly for his inability to make putts of any significant length, Tiger did this on the 9th to get it to 3-under and pull within three of the yet to tee off Kevin Kisner and Zach Johnson.

He followed that up with stuffing one at the 10th for a tap-in bird. Cat’s notably playing much more aggressive on Saturday, taking far more drivers off the tee than the past two days. So far, so good — but something to watch as the day goes on and he gets into the tougher finishing stretch.

Tiger Woods is two back at a major, and STILL that’s not been the only huge fireworks of the last 30 minutes or so. Jordan Spieth — who’s far from the tour’s longest player — drove the first green and made eagle to pull within one of the leaders. Viva firm, baked out fairways. We’re in for a hell of day.

11:00am ET: Our leaders are off, but they’ve got company. Guess who it is.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth’s reached 6-under par for the championship, and sits as I type this in good position to pull one-ahead with an upcoming birdie putt on the 5th. (Edit: He missed it.) He reached the leaders with this birdie putt on the 4th, to move to 3-under for the day.

Meanwhile, Tiger’s still cruising on the back nine. He just nearly dropped in a couple of unlikely birdie bombs on both 12 and 13 — two holes where par is completely fine — and probably earns you at least a quarter-shot on the field. He’ll have an upcoming eagle putt on the par-5 14th for THE OUTRIGHT DANG LEAD.

Overnight leaders Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner are off — and they’ll dictate a bit how much of Tiger’s run and Spieth’s early hot start matter. If both throw down some low numbers, things might get stretched out a bit. If not? Boy we’re gonna be in for a hell of a Sunday tomorrow.

11:15am: He leads. Help me. What a damn day.

1:15pm: Alright, let’s reset. Our final group’s onto the back nine, and we’re recovering after Tiger Mania. Both overnight leaders Kisner and Johnson held some form of a tie for the lead for most of the front nine, and outside of a slow start from Johnson, neither much as much as blinked with huge names giving chase — though Johnson just gave one back to fall to 7-under a moment ago.

Oh, but hey, look who’s equaled Kisner once again at the top: Jordan Spieth. A birdie at the 14th just pulled him to level at 8-under before he enters the teeth of the golf course from 15-18. He’s struggled on the closing stretch all week (as have most players) so that’s something to watch over the course of the next hour.

Overall, you’re probably feeling pretty good if you’re Tiger at the moment. The lead’s still at 8-under par, and the guys out in front are running out of the more gettable holes. Tiger walked off the golf course telling Steve Sands he’d expect the lead to get to 10 or 11-under. If Kisner fails to take advantage of things at 14, who knows where the lead could end up at the end of the day.

The 79-player tee sheet starts just after 9 a.m. local in Scotland. They will be in twos all day rolling off No. 1, with the anchor pairing going at 11 a.m. ET (or 4 p.m. in Scotland). Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will play in consecutive groups right in the middle of the tee sheet so expect to see plenty of their shots early on NBC. The pace should be a brisk four hours on Saturday. Here are some of your marquee tee times:

The first two marathon days at the Open are always fun, but we get a much more manageable schedule on Saturday. After two 14.5-hour broadcasts, it starts a good three hours later in the third round and should finish up by 3 p.m. ET. NBC joins the coverage on the weekend after their Comcast sister Golf Channel took the reins for those first 29 hours of coverage over two days. You’ll also have the usual menu of streaming options should you need those while out and about on Saturday:

4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. — Golf Channel

7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — NBC

4:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Golf Channel/NBC simulcast stream

4:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — “Spotlight” coverage

5 a.m. to 3 p.m. — 3-hole stream focusing on Nos. 8 to 10

5 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Marquee groups stream

4 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio (Ch. 92/208)