Englands Tommy Fleetwood Set the early clubhouse goal on a low scoring day in the 150th Open Championship st andrews.
Fleetwood, who finished second Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush in 2019, he carded seven birdies and a bogey in a third round of 66 to hit nine under par on the Old Course.
Australian CameronSmith started the day two shots up after setting a record 13 under par at a halfway open at St Andrews, but got off to a bad start with a three-putt bogey on the first.
Viktor Hovland’s long-range birdie on the third gave the Norwegian a one-shot lead alongside America’s Cameron Young Rory McIlroy two off pace after opening his round with three straight pars.
Former world number one DustinJohnson had birded second and third to improve to 11 under only to putt fourth from distance three.
Kevin Kisner had previously also used favorable conditions to climb the rankings, with the world No. 25 notching six birdies in a front nine of 30, one of Tony Jacklin’s record at a St Andrews Open in 1970.
Kisner’s luck ran out in 12th place with 351 yards when he dropped his chip just short of a viciously placed front pin position and it rolled back into a trough he couldn’t get up and down from.
Kevin Kisner stormed through the field with a third round of 65 in the 150th Open Championship
(PA wire)
But the American made amends with a two-putt birdie on par-5 14 and grabbed another shot on 16 before carding his second bogey of the day on road hole 17.
Kisner then three-putted for a disappointing par from the front edge of the 18th green to card a seven-under-par 65, admitting, “The bogey on 12 and the par on 18 are going to eat me up a bit, but it was such a damn day.”
Former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau completed his first 15 holes in Six Under before hitting the 16th with a 4-putt, saving par off the road behind the green on the 17th and on the last in an eventful 67 in Birdied to end Six Under.
With 83 players making the cut, England’s Richard Mansell went out at 8.35am alongside Marker Scott Herald – one of the teaching pros at St Andrews – in the first group and made an Eagle in ninth on his way to a 68.
