Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Jinnes7 emails: “Fisher and Donaldson’s donut is called Fudge not Toffee.” I am right. I have also confessed my sins to the local journalists, who are sitting next to me. They are also disgusted. Apparently, 10,000 of them were specially baked for on-site at the tournament. I’ve only eaten half of them. Updated at 17.18 BST There’s a sense here that the magic that Cameron Smith had in his hands in the first two rounds was carried over to Viktor Hovland. Can he keep up the pace? He’s a great talent, but he’s yet to finish in the top 10, or even contend, in a major league. This is completely new territory for him. The final pair completes the par-five 5th. Cameron Young makes birdie to get to 12 under, the number Cameron Smith is stuck with after par. Not exactly happening for Smith in this third round. So far at least. Meanwhile, Viktor Hovland extends his lead with another birdie at the 6th. He is now 14 down for the week. Rory McIlroy trails him in the cup by a short distance – now tied with Young and Smith. Jordan Spieth had a bit of a fight with himself this week. But he just drains a long birdie at the 13th to get to eight under. A subdued celebration. He knows it might be a little late, even now.
16:57 BST leaderboard
We can’t argue with this leaderboard. A classy and tactical cavalry raid 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. He briefly threatened the hole, but the first par breaker of the day is confirmed. He joins Cameron Young at 11 under. Hovland can’t make three outrageously long bogeys in a row, but his birdie means he has the solo championship lead 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-five 5th update: DJ can’t make par, but Scottie Scheffler does and joins his partner at 10 under. Behind them, Victor Hovland’s ball enters the fairway and so does Rory McIlroy’s. The latter will give the former the line to the coming eagle carriers. Key period as the last three pairs made it to the top five. Scotty Scheffler and Dustin Johnson are two shots short of the green. Behind them Rory McIlroy crashes his car into the middle of the road. It needs a spark. Patrick Cantlay made a move. The American birdies the 6th, his third of the day, and joins Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy at 10 under. Outrageous by Viktor Hovland. He holed from 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 leaderboard. Victor Hovland on 4th Street. Photo: Jane Barlow/PA 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 is wide and leads to a drop. He is now 10 under and tied for fourth. Tommy Fleetwood sets a new clubhouse target of nine under. His drive on the 18th ended up left of the green and his first putt was 15 feet short, but he drained the birdie and gave it a little fist pump. He signs for a 66 and will now be hoping, probably anxiously, that the wind will pick up and make life difficult for those still out on the course. Mixed fortunes for the chasing European duo in the second. Viktor Hovland drains a long birdie putt but Rory McIlroy, who hit his approach much closer, can’t follow him to the cup. The Norwegian is one behind the leader at 11 under, McIlroy two back. An excellent touch from Tommy Fleetwood in the 17th. He misses the green on the Road Hole to the left, but soft hands drop the ball onto the green and he holes out for par. The Southport man is set to set a new club target. Currently eight under, a birdie would be nice, an eagle great on the 18th. Birds back to back for DJ. He is two under at 3 and now joins Cameron Young in a share of second 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 contention. Thanks Dave. An early test for leader Cameron Smith. As we’ve discussed, his pitching has been impressive so far this week. But he leaves his birdie long at the first short and has four feet for par. Missing! He only catches the tip and the Aussie has shown a first sign of weakness. The lead is down to one.
16:01 BST leaderboard
So time for the last pair. Cameron Young (-11) bats first, followed by leader Cameron Smith (-13). This is. No more tee-shots on the 1st. On the green, McIlroy’s 12-footer for an opening birdie just misses left. Also parity for Hovland. At 2, a great approach from Dustin Johnson sets up a kick-in birdie. Time for the scores on the doors 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 setting up a very strong eagle putt. But like Spieth, his putt lacks conviction. However, the birdie moves last week’s Scottish Open winner to -7. Tommy Fleetwood’s delightful run at St Andrews continues and he added birdies at 14 and 15, the latter from 15 feet, to move to 8-under (tie for seventh). Further down, at 7-under, is a trio of openings for Sahith Theegala. Barkley Brown? Not so good news unfortunately. He went 3 and 4 to slip back to 4-under and is now tied for the top amateur spot alongside Italy’s Filippo Celli. “Play well,” Rory McIlroy tells Viktor Hovland as the Ryder Cup teammates tee off on 1. Both, as you’d expect, find their way with long irons. Matt is out there and brings us this: There are six Norwegian fans in Norwegian flag jackets waiting for Viktor Hovland. They bought the 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 amazing yesterday.” They say he is being honored back home as part of a new generation of sports stars who excel in non-traditional Norwegian sports. Jordan Spieth is dripping with eagle width at 7, but at least the birdie puts him at -6. Now it’s time for Rory! He arrives at the first tee, wearing white pants and a green tee with small spots. Scheffler, who also has a green tee, birdies the hole with his opening putt, while Johnson, from closer range, also has to make do with a par at the 1st. South Africa’s Jordan Spieth and Triston Lawrence drop to 7th place. Photo: Russell Cheyne/Reuters Updated at 16.26 BST The duo of Dustin Johnson and Scotty Scheffler just went 1st. There is a statistic that the last 10 Open winners at St Andrews have all had at least one top three finish at Augusta National. Masters course designers Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie took inspiration from St Andrews for the Georgia masterpiece. So it seems fitting that Johnson and Scheffler – winners of two of the last three Green Jackets – are here in the thick of contention. Jon Rahm looks bewildered as 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 unlikely angle after bypassing a bunker. Spieth has managed five pars and just one birdie so far, but he will have a great opportunity for eagle on this 371-yard par four 7th. Bryson DeChambeau speaks after a 67 that sees him currently in 17th place, seven off the lead. I don’t think you ever know how to fully play this golf course. Every day is different. It presents a unique golf course every time the wind comes up or doesn’t come up. It’s just different. I also don’t know how to explain it. You can never really master 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 shots where you have to. What I mean by this is that you have to be very strategic. You are never going to fully understand this golf course. An Australian and an American top, but thanks to Thomas Pieters and Shane Lowry there are now four Europeans in fifth place or better. The penultimate pairing of Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland started in just over half an hour. Just checked and the last time Hovland played alongside McIlroy, he shot 64! That was in the second round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Rory had edged Hovland 69-71 in the first round of that match in Los Angeles.
Shane Lowry chips in twice on two holes for back-to-back eagles
Wipe it off. I don’t think my brain could handle the idea of Lowry making back-to-back eagles, but that’s exactly what the 2019 Open hero did! He’s holed again for the second hole – the one from the fairway – so he played the par 4s at 9 and 10 in just four strokes and didn’t have to use his putter once. Huge roars from the crowd and a beaming Lowry doesn’t hesitate to flog them further. What a move! Shane Lowry celebrates after making eagle on 10. Photo: Russell Cheyne/Reuters Updated at 15.39 BST
15:13 BST leaderboard
Thomas Peters! The Belgian curls an eight-footer from right to left on the par-5 14th and that takes him to nine under and a tie for fifth. It’s -7 in the day. Meanwhile, Shane Lowry follows his eagle chip-in at 9 with another birdie at 10 to join Pieters. Everything happens! -13: Smith (-)-11: Young (-)-10: McIlroy (-), Hovland (-)-9: Pieters (14), Lowry (10), D Johnson (-)-8: Herbert (3 ), Scheffler (-), Hatton…
