by One more to go, folks. Tomorrow is our last day of men’s major championship golf until next April, something you shouldn’t think too much about unless you’re a mentally strong individual.
On Saturday, Louis Oosthuizen maintained his lead at Royal St. George’s while much of the competition faded.
Saturday notes
As Jon Rahm noted in his excellent post-round interview with Todd Lewis, Royal St. George’s firmed up on Saturday, and the R&A selected some tricky hole locations. So while the winds in Sandwich remained light, the course played tough in round three of the Open Championship, allowing only four scores better than 67.
The stage is set for Louis Oosthuizen. After falling short at the 2021 PGA Championship and U.S. Open, he holds the 54-hole lead at Royal St. George’s. The South African fired a 69 in the toughest conditions of the tournament so far, and he maintains the top spot on the leaderboard for the third straight day. Tomorrow he’ll attempt to go wire to wire for his second career Open Championship and an exclamation point on the most impressive major seasons in recent memory.
The man who has the best chance of overtaking Oosthuizen, Collin Morikawa, had a rough start on Saturday, going two over through five. But he righted the ship, making four birdies on the way home and getting within one shot of the lead. Morikawa has the kind of big-stage experience that few 25-year-olds have ever been able to claim. In his past five major starts, he has a win and two other top 10s. If his typically shaky putter holds up, there’s no doubt Morikawa can keep up with Louis.
It’s 1:36 p.m. CT as we write this. Jordan Spieth just missed a two-footer on 18. We’re still recovering. Tied for the lead toward the end of the back nine, Spieth failed to capitalize on the par-5 14th, then bogeyed his last two holes. After finishing up, he literally ran to the practice green. Spieth is seeking his first major win since 2017, and now he’ll have to come from three strokes behind on Sunday.
After opening with a 71, U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm has now gone 64-68 to climb back into the top 10. It’s unlikely that he’ll contend tomorrow, but his strong performances in majors continue.
Robert MacIntyre birdied three of his final five holes to turn in a 65 for the lowest round of the day. He’s still eight shots off Oosthuizen’s pace, but it’s always nice to jump nearly 50 spots on the leaderboard.
Brooks Koepka is human, as it turns out. He bogeyed three of his first five holes on his way to a third-round 72 and will enter Sunday nine shots off the lead.
The Latest from The Fried Egg
Shotgun Start is coming at you soon with a recap of Saturday’s action at the Open Championship. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Quick Hooks
The Jutanugarn sisters are clinging to a narrow lead at the LPGA Tour’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Leaderboard
The Barbasol Championship continues for a third straight day! Leaderboard.
Undeterred, the Korn Ferry Tour’s Memorial Health Championship also stretches its streak of existence to three days! All seriousness, it’s a horse race out there. Leaders are already approaching -20. Leaderboard
Rose Zhang appears to be headed toward victory at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur. She is 5 up on Bailey Davis with five holes to play in the championship match. Once the current weather delay ends, Zhang will likely become the reigning champion of both the Girls’ Junior and the Women’s Amateur. She starts at Stanford this fall. (Our apologies if Davis makes an incredible comeback.)
Stanford sophomore and 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Michael Thorbjornsen boat-raced the field at the Massachusetts Amateur. Thorbjornsen shot 62 in the opening 18 of the 36-hole championship match to defeat 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt Parziale.
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