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Scary for Cameron Smith! He gives himself a fantastic look at the first birdie of the day on the 7th, but just can’t get the putt to drop. Moments later, Dustin Johnson launched a majestic putt on the 9th and was about 15 feet for eagle.
5.31pm BST standings
As we approach the turn, here’s how the leaders lie. -14: Hovland (7) -12: McIlroy (7), Young (6), Smith (6) -11: Cantlay (9) -10: Scheffler (7), Johnson (7)
We were able to catch our breath in the last few minutes as the pace slowed for the leaders. However, it is unlikely to last. Both the 9th and 10th holes are short par-fours and have seen plenty of birdies and eagles so far today. Fireworks come from the leaders.
Victor Hovland misses his birdie at the short par-four 7th. Simon Thomas emails from Greece (he’s reading from a beach bar there) to inform us that Victor is a big death metal fan: “Metallica are too easy for him to listen to.”
jinnes7 emails: “The Fisher and Donaldson donut is called Fudge, not Toffee.” I stand corrected. I also confessed my sins to the local journalists who were sitting next to me. They are also disgusted. Apparently 10,000 of them were baked especially for a spot in the tournament. I’ve only eaten about half of them.
Updated at 17.18 BST
There’s a sense here that the pitching magic that Cameron Smith had in his hands through the first two rounds has spilled over to Victor Hovland. Can he keep up the pace? He is a superb talent but has yet to finish in the top 10 or even compete in a major championship. This is completely new territory for him.
The final pair complete the par-five 5th. Cameron Young birdies to get to 12 under, the number Cameron Smith is stuck with after par. That’s not quite happening for Smith in this third round. At least until now. Meanwhile, Victor Hovland extended his lead with another birdie at the 6th. It is now 14 years under the week. Rory McIlroy followed him in the Cup by close range – he is now tied with Young and Smith.
Jordan Spieth has been struggling a bit with himself this week. But he just drained a long birdie putt on the 13th to reach eight under. A modest holiday. He knows it might be a little late, even now.
16.57 BST standings
We can’t argue with this ranking. An elegant and orderly cavalry charge around the Old Course. -13: Hovland (5) -12: Smith (4) -11: McIlroy (5), Young (4) -10: Cantlay (6), Scheffler (5), Johnson (5)
A good putt from McIlroy secures his birdie at the 5th. It briefly threatened the hole, but the first breakout of the day has been confirmed. He joins Cameron Young at 11 under. Hovland can’t make three incredible long putts in a row, but his birdie means he leads the solo championship at 13 under. Almost certainly the first Norwegian to lead a major men’s championship. Suzann Pettersen has done many of these (and won them) in the women’s game.
Updated at 16.55 BST
Par-5 5th Update: DJ can’t make par, but Scotty Scheffler does and joins his partner at 10 under. Behind them, Victor Hovland’s ball is climbing the surface, as is Rory McIlroy’s. The latter will give the former the line of upcoming eagle strokes.
A key period as the last three pairs hit the par-five 5th. Scotty Scheffler and Dustin Johnson both missed the green by two shots. Behind them, Rory McIlroy drives his car down the middle of the fairway. It needs a spark.
Patrick Cantlay made a move. The American birdied the 6th, his third of the day, and joined Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy on 10 under.
Scandalous by Victor Hovland. He holed 38 feet on the 3rd and now repeats the trick from a similar distance on the 4th. He joins Cameron Smith at the top of the chart.
Victor Hovland on the 4th fairway. Photo: Jane Barlow/Pennsylvania
Updated at 16.56 BST
Two steps forward, one step back for the DJ. After those birdies on the 2nd and 3rd, his initial putt on the 4th was wide and resulted in a missed putt. He is now 10 under and tied for fourth place.
Tommy Fleetwood sets new club target of nine under. His putt on the 18th finished left of the green and his first putt was 15 feet short, but he drained the birdie putt and put some pressure. He signs for 66 and will now be hoping, perhaps desperately, that the wind will pick up and make life difficult for those still off the course.
Contrasting fortunes for the chasing European duo in second place. Victor Hovland drains a long putt, but Rory McIlroy, who hits his approach much closer, can’t follow him into the cup. The Norwegian is one behind the leader on 11 under, McIlroy two back.
A fine touch from Tommy Fleetwood on the 17th. He misses the green on the fairway hole to the left, but soft hands drop the ball onto the green and he holes out for par. The Southport man is about to set himself a new target at the club. Currently eight under, birdie would be good, eagle great on the 18th.
Back to back birdies for DJ. He is two under for 3rd place and now joins Cameron Young in a share of second place at 11 under for the week. Remember, he led after 36 holes on the Old Course in 2015, but carded a pair of 75s to fall out of the competition.
Thanks, Dave. An early test for leader Cameron Smith. As we discussed, his performance has been sensational so far this week. But he leaves his putt long on the first leg and has four feet for par. It misses! He just grabs the edge and the Australian showed the first sign of weakness. The lead is down to one.
16:01 BST leaderboard
Then it’s time for the final couple. First shot Cameron Young (-11), followed by leader Cameron Smith (-13). That’s it. End of tee shots on the 1st. Up the green, McIlroy’s 12-foot putt for initial birdie misses left. Also steam for Hovland. At 2, a superb approach from Dustin Johnson sets up a birdie putt. It’s time for the door points and then I’ll hand over to Matt.
-13: Smith (-) -11: Young (-) -10: Johnson (2), McIlroy (1), Hovland (1) -8: Fleetwood (16), Lowry (12), Cantlay (3), Gooch (3), Scheffler (2)
With the wind in their favor, players are starting to drive the par-4 7th hole now and Xander Schauffele is also making a very comfortable eagle putt. But like Spieth, his stroke lacks conviction. However, the birdie takes last week’s Scottish Open winner to -7.
Tommy Fleetwood’s fine run around St Andrews continued and he added birdies on 14 and 15, the latest from 15 feet, to move to 8-under (equal seventh). Down at 7-under, it’s a trio of opening pars for Sahith Theegala. Barkley Brown? Not so good news unfortunately. He has hit 3 and 4 to move back to 4-under and is now tied for the amateur lead with Italy’s Filippo Celli.
“Play well,” Rory McIlroy tells Victor Hovland as the Ryder Cup teammates tee off on 1. Both, as you’d expect, find the fairway with long irons.
Matt is there and offers us this:
There are six Norwegian fans in jackets with Norwegian flags waiting for Viktor Hovland. They bought tickets, found accommodation, paid for flights … and then he lost his form. “We thought he’d miss the cut and we’d still have those jackets, but he was incredible yesterday.” He is said to be hailed at home as part of a new generation of sports stars transcending non-traditional Norwegian sports.
Jordan Spieth drives his eagle putt wide on 7, but at least the birdie moves him to -6. Now it’s time for Rory! He arrives on your first wearing white pants and a green t-shirt with small dots. Scheffler, who also has a green top, parries the hole with his tee shot, while Johnson, from closer distance, also has to make par on the 1st.
South Africa’s Jordan Spieth and Triston Lawrence drop to 7th. Photo: Russell Cheyne/Reuters
Updated at 16.26 BST
The famous duo of Dustin Johnson and Scotty Scheffler just started in 1st place. There is a statistic that the last 10 Open winners at St. Andrews have had at least a top 3 finish at Augusta National. The Masters course designers, Bobby Jones and Alistair McKenzie, took inspiration from St Andrews for their Georgia masterpiece. So it seems only right that Johnson and Scheffler — winners of two of the last three Green Jackets — are at the epicenter of the argument here.
John Rahm looks confused when a ball appears on the 7th green as he prepares to putt. It belongs to Jordan Spieth and the Spaniard’s surprise is that it came from an incredible angle after skipping a bunker. Spieth has managed five pars and just one birdie so far, but will have a great chance for eagle on this 371-yard par four 7th.
Bryson DeChambeau spoke after a 67 that currently sees him in 17th place, seven off the lead.
I don’t think you’ll ever know how to play this golf course perfectly. Every day it’s different. It shows a unique golf course every time the wind pops up or doesn’t pop up. It’s just different.
I don’t know how to explain it either. You really can never really conquer it. You can never really control it. You just have to go out there and try to take what it gives you and hit the greens where you can and two putt where you need to.
What I mean by that is you just have to be very strategic. You will never fully understand this golf course.
An Australian and an American lead, but thanks to Thomas Pieters and Shane Lowry, there are now four Europeans in fifth or better. The penultimate pairing of Rory McIlroy and Victor Hovland kicked off in just over half an hour. I just checked and the last time Hovland played alongside McIlroy he shot a 64! It was in the second round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Rory had outshot Hovland 69 to 71 in the first round of this event in Los Angeles.
Shane Lowry doubles in two holes for back-to-back eagles
Take that away. I don’t think my brain can handle…
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