Tight at the top at St Andrews

bruced
July 19, 2015

Jason Day is tied with Louis Oosthuizen and amateur Paul Dunne for the lead after the third round of The Open Championship on Sunday.

The Australian finished with a five under 67 to leave himself on 12 under for the iconic event at the Home of Golf, one stroke ahead Jordan Spieth.

Day took advantage of the benign conditions on the Old Course to card a flawless round with two birdies on the front nine and three on the back.

The Queenslander had a ten foot birdie putt on the 18th to take the outright lead, but pulled it left and tapped in for a par.

Oosthuizen would roll in seven birdies in his round, but bogeys on the eighth and 12th cost him. The South African played a delightful wedge on the final hole to set up a tap in for his birdie and a share of the lead.

But the highlight of the day belonged to Dunne, as the 22-year-old amateur picked his way around St Andrews for a sizzling bogey-free 66. Bobby Jones was the last amateur to win the Open, and that was in 1927.

Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth is sitting one shot off the pace following a solid 66. The two-time major winner started off well enough, rolling in three birdies on the opening nine. A missed five footer on the ninth would lead to a bogey, but he bounced right back with three birdies in a row.

The Texan battled hard to make par from off the green at the 13th before a final gain on the 15th would see him finish on 11 under.

Overnight leader Dustin Johnson was disappointing in the third round, as the slow greens seem to upset his putting. The American was one over par before he finally rolled in a birdie from off the green on the 15th.

But a string of poor shots saw the US Open runner-up slip three shots back after a trio of bogeys on the final three holes, including a missed four footer on the final green, which pushed him back to seven under, five shots off the pace.

Danny Willet, who the first outright leader on 12 under, would collapse on the back nine, carding three bogeys to fall back to nine under. The Englishman would lament his errant tee shot on the 15th that went out of bounds, though he recovered well to card a six.

Elsewhere, Australia’s Marc Leishman surged up the leaderboard following his 64, the lowest round of the day, to finish on nine under and join Sergio Garcia. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington is by himself on ten under following his seven under 65.