A Familiar Name Rises to the Top of The Open Leaderboard

The Old Course, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland — July 16, 2022

No one shot a 68 on the third day of The Open Championship on The Old Course at St. Andrews. That does not mean there was a lack of low scoring on “moving day’ of the year’s final major professional golf championship.

The low round of the day was a 65 posted by Kevin Kisner. He climbed 53 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 13th. However, Kisner started the day at even par, if he duplicates the score tomorrow he would need the leaders to drop two strokes to bring him into contention.

New Leaders

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland started Saturday’s round at 10 under tied for third behind the Camerons. Both shot a six-under-par 66 to stay tied and take over the top of the leaderboard. Were it not for a bogey on the 17th, McIlroy might have held the lead alone.

The Camerons are not out of it. Cameron Smith surrendered his three-stroke lead over McIlroy and Hovland by carding a 73. A bogey on the first was followed by seven straight pars before a birdie on the ninth evened him up at mid-round. A double bogey on the 13th, followed by a birdie on the 14th combined with seven more pars left Smith four strokes behind the leaders at 12-under.

Cameron Young matched five birdies with two bogeys through 15 holes trying to stay within striking distance of the lead. A double bogey on the 16th dropped him into a tie for third with Smith, four strokes behind the leaders. Both players may need a repeat of their early round 64s to contend for the win.

The final pairing will start the day with a big lead and have the advantage of watching their pursuers playing one hole ahead. An early run could cause the pressure to ramp up, and then anything can happen.

The Followers

It is highly unlikely the golfer raising the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon will come from anywhere but the final two pairings. Si Wo Kim’s 67 moved him into a tie for fifth with Scottie Scheffler at 11 under.

Dustin Johnson could not find the magic of Friday. His 71 left him in sole possession of seventh place, six strokes out of the lead at 10 under.

Tommy Fleetwood’s 66 moved him into a tie with U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick, and Adam Scott for eighth at nine-under.

Jordan Spieth put together a 68 to sit eight-under-par in a tie for 11th with Patrick Cantlay. On the other end of the spectrum, English amateur Barclay Brown shot a five-over 77 to drop 52 places into a tie for 64th at one-under.

The Leaderboard After Round Three at The Open Championship