Jordan Spieth fired a 6-under 65 on a mild Saturday at Carnoustie to secure a share of the lead alongside Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele after day three of the 2018 Open Championship.
The defending champion, who entered the day three off the lead of Kisner, got cooking early with an eagle on the par-4 first hole, and then added a birdie on the 4th hole to turn in 3-under 33. A back-nine 32, highlighted by gains on Nos. 11, 14, and the tough par-3 16th, saw Spieth sign for a blemish-free 65 and a three-day score of 9-under par.
With stronger winds expected for Sunday’s finale at Carnoustie, the 24-year old American said the strategy will probably call for a more “boring” round of golf.
“It’s forecast for 15-20 miles an hour winds- and here it’s a heavy wind, and that’s a different golf course, so you’ll see different scoring tomorrow,” said Spieth, who hit 10 of 15 fairways and 15 of 18 greens on Saturday.
“We’ll probably have to adjust the game plan a bit to play the fat spots and centers of greens – hopefully the speed control stays the same.
“I know as well as anybody that anything can happen in an Open Championship on a Sunday, so just try to make the round as boring as possible.”
The bogey-free round by Spieth was his sixth in a major championship – the most since 2015, with Jason Day and Adam Scott following with five.
Schauffele, who also seems to play his best on the big stage, bounced back after bogeying 17 with a birdie on 18 to post a 4-under 67 and join Spieth and Kisner at 9-under par.
Schauffele offset two bogeys with six birdies while hitting 67% of fairways and greens. The California native is looking forward to being paired with Spieth in Sunday’s final group.
“Jordan is such a nice guy. If anything, we can hopefully get something going, and we can start feeding off each other,” said Schauffele.
“He won last year and he’s playing great golf right now. So I think he’d be a lot of fun.”
Overnight leader Kisner, meanwhile, shot an under-the-radar bogey-free 68 on Saturday to keep pace with Spieth and Schauffele.
“It was the most solid tee to green I’ve played all week,” said Kisner, who hit 9 of 15 fairways and 11 of 18 greens on Saturday.
“I really am feeling more comfortable with the long game. I did not hole the amount of putts I had the first two days, but the conditions got tough coming down the stretch and made a couple of nice par putts coming in and put myself right in perfect position to have a chance to win.”
Kisner will be paired with Presidents Cup teammate Kevin Chappell (67) in the second to last group.
Francesco Molinari continued his impressive play with a 6-under 65 to move into solo-sixth at 6-under par.
Tiger Woods was a shot back at 5-under par following a third-day 66. The 42-year old Woods sits T6 alongside Rory McIlroy (70), Alex Noren (67), and Tommy Fleetwood (71), among others.
Justin Rose shot a 64, matching the Open course record at Carnoustie to move to 4-under par.
“It was a beautiful morning to play golf. I felt like it was an opportunity to score well out there,” said Rose, who rocketed 52 spots up the leaderboard, from T65 to T13.
Yusaku Miyazato posted a bogey-free 65 to lead a group of eight players tied at 3-under par, one clear of Pat Perez, who tumbled 25 spots down the leaderboard after a 3-over 74.
Super senior Bernhard Langer shot a 68 on Saturday to move into the red at 1-under par. The 60-year old German sits T36 alongside Phil Mickelson (70) and Rickie Fowler, who essentially ended his chances with a 73.
2018 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING
TOP 10 LEADERS: ROUND THREE
POS-PLAYER-SCORE (TODAY)
1. Jordan Spieth -9 (-6)
1. Xander Schauffele -9 (-4)
1. Kevin Kisner -9 (-3)
4. Kevin Chappell -7 (-4)
5. Francesco Molinari -6 (-6)
6. Tiger Woods -5 (-5)
6. Webb Simpson -5 (-4)
6. Alex Noren -5 (-4)
6. Matt Kuchar -5 (-1)
6. Rory McIlroy -5 (-1)
6. Tommy Fleetwood -5 (E)
6. Zach Johnson -5 (+1)
NOTABLES IN TOP 20
POS-PLAYER-SCORE (TODAY)
13. Justin Rose -4 (-7)
13. Charley Hoffman -4 (-3)
13. Tony Finau -4 (E)
13. Adam Scott -4 (-3)
20. Danny Willett -3 (-1)
20. Ryan Moore -3 (-2)
20. Haotong Li -3 (-4)
OTHER NOTABLES
POS-PLAYER-SCORE (TODAY)
28. Louis Oosthuizen -2 (-2)
28. Patrick Cantlay -2 (-1)
28. Pat Perez -2 (+3)
36. Bernhard Langer -1 (-3)
36. Phil Mickelson -1 (+2)
36. Rickie Fowler -1 (+2)
40. Patrick Reed E (-3)
40. Lee Westwood E (-2)
40. Marc Leishman E (-2)
40. Jason Dufner E (-2)
51. Jason Day +1 (+1)
61. Henrik Stenson +3 (E)
61. Paul Casey +3 (+1)
61. Brooks Koepka +3 (+4)
61. Tyrrell Hatton +3 (+1)
74. Bryson DeChambeau +5 (+2)
77. Kiradech Aphibarnrat +6 (+3)
78. Rafael Cabrera Bello +7 (+6)
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
BEST ACTION FROM CARNOUSTIE ON DAY 3
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP STAT LEADERS
DRIVING
1. Bryson DeChambeau – 379 yards
2. Lucas Herbert – 375 yards
3. Brendan Steele – 374 yards
FAIRWAYS HIT
1. Marcus Kinhult – 34/45, 75.6%
1. Tiger Woods – 34/45, 75.6%
3. Bernhard Langer – 33/45, 73.3%
3. Erik van Rooyen – 33/45, 73.3%
GREENS HIT
1. Tommy Fleetwood – 42/54, 77.8%
1. Louis Oosthuizen – 42/54, 77.8%
3. Phil Mickelson – 41/54, 75.9%
3. Kyle Stanley – 41/54, 75.9%
3. Danny Willett – 41/54, 75.9%
SCRAMBLING
1. Kevin Kisner – 17
2. Paul Dunne – 16
2. Matt Kuchar – 16
2. Shaun Norris – 16
HOW JORDAN SPIETH SCORED LEAD
SPIETH’S TOP-LINE NUMBERS
Stat-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3
DRIVING: 296-293-337 yards
FAIRWAYS HIT: 7-7-10 (of 15)
GREENS HIT: 10-12-15 (of 18)
PUTTS: 28-25-29
SPIETH’S SCORING
Cumulative through 54 holes
Par 3: +1 (1 Birdie, 6 Pars, 2 Bogeys)
Par 4: -8 (1 Eagle, 9 Birdies, 27 Pars, 1 Bogey, 1 Double)
Par 5: -2 (2 Birdies, 4 Pars)
Total: -9 (1 Eagle, 11 Birdies, 37 Pars, 3 Bogeys, 1 Double)
Carnasty’s Final Four: +3 (1 Birdie, 7 Pars, 3 Bogeys, 1 Double)
HOW XANDER SCHAUFFELE SCORED LEAD
SCHAUFFELE’S TOP-LINE NUMBERS
Stat-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3
DRIVING: 329-323-336 yards
FAIRWAYS HIT: 9-10-10 (of 15)
GREENS HIT: 12-10-12 (of 18)
PUTTS: 30-24-27
SCHAUFFELE’S SCORING
Cumulative through 54 holes
Par 3: E (1 Birdie, 7 Pars, 1 Bogey)
Par 4: -3 (7 Birdies, 28 Pars, 4 Bogeys)
Par 5: -6 (1 Eagle, 4 Birdies, 1 Par)
Total: -9 (1 Eagle, 12 Birdies, 36 Pars, 5 Bogeys)
Carnasty’s Final Four: -2 (3 Birdies, 8 Pars, 1 Bogey)
HOW KEVIN KISNER SCORED LEAD
KISNER’S TOP-LINE NUMBERS
Stat-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3
DRIVING: 314-289-318 yards
FAIRWAYS HIT: 7-9-9 (of 15)
GREENS HIT: 9-13-11 (of 18)
PUTTS: 22-29-27
KISNER’S SCORING
Cumulative through 54 holes
Par 3: -2 (3 Birdies, 5 Pars, 1 Bogey)
Par 4: -1 (4 Birdies, 32 Pars, 2 Bogeys, 1 Double)
Par 5: -6 (1 Eagle, 4 Birdies, 1 Par)
Total: -9 (1 Eagle, 11 Birdies, 38 Pars, 3 Bogeys, 1 Double)
Carnasty’s Final Four: +1 (1 Birdie, 10 Pars, 1 Double)
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP: THIRD ROUND QUOTES
“The way that Tiger is striking those two or three irons, he’s certainly going to be in it, which is really exciting for us. I’ve always wanted to battle it out in a major with Tiger. Who hasn’t? It’s kind of a dream come true just to have the opportunity.”
– Jordan Spieth
“Growing up, I always hit it well and played well in tough conditions. I wasn’t the guy to shoot 61, I was the guy to shoot like 70 when it was playing really hard. So maybe there’s something to that and hopefully it can help me tomorrow if the wind gets up.”
– Xander Schauffele
“I really am feeling more comfortable with the long game. I did not hole the amount of putts I had the first two days, but the conditions got tough coming down the stretch and made a couple of nice par putts coming in and put myself right in perfect position to have a chance to win.”
– Kevin Kisner
“Dropping those two late shots was a blow, I’d have been happier to be two off the lead heading into the final round. However, I’m still in the tournament, I just need to get off to fast start and if the wind picks up, that will make it interesting. I think a lot of the guys will think they still have a chance.”
– Rory McIlroy
OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD
Carnoustie Golf Links | Par 71, 7,402 yards | Carnoustie, Scotland | July 21, 2018
Credit: Getty Images, R&A Media, Fastscripts
