K.J. Choi will take a slender one-stroke lead into the final round of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex after a dramatic back nine at Carnoustie Golf Links.
The South Korean was threatening to run away after opening a comprehensive six-stroke lead after 14 holes, but back-to-back double bogeys at the 15th and 16th blew Europe’s only Senior Major Championship wide open with 18 holes to play.
The 54-year-old birdied the last to sign for a two under par round of 70 to lead by one on eight under par from Australia’s Richard Green, but the 54-hole leaderboard does not tell the full story.
Choi, whose best Major Championship finish was a tie for third at the 2004 Masters Tournament, started the day with a two-shot lead but soon found himself with a healthy cushion after a run of four birdies in a row from the third.
He dropped a shot at the par four seventh, but still made the turn at three under and in the driving seat with others, including playing partner Stephen Ames, struggling to keep up the pace.
It was more of the same for the man with 32 professional wins as he navigated the back nine, with birdies at the 12th and 14th as he moved to five under for the day and seemingly in complete control.
The next two holes, however, gave hope to Choi’s competitors as unfortunate lies off each of his tee shots meant he was on the back foot and gave four shots back to the course, before steadying the ship and finding a closing birdie for a round of 70.
The 32-time worldwide winner, reflecting on the back-to-back double bogeys, said: "The 15th is right-to-left wind. I'm hitting a high cut, driver, and I hit a little pull. I thought I hit it in centre of the wedge and if it came out 50 yards in the fairway, I thought a bogey is still good. But it just got stuck in the rough and then just 20 yards and made a nice double-bogey.
"Then on 16, I hit a high draw, 5-iron, the same thing. A little small backswing, hurry up on the downswing, a little bit of pull. I thought I made good impact on the first swing and it came out barely going down on the green and it came out again, bunker. And then came out and double-bogey again."
Australia’s Green, who has finished inside the top three in two Senior Majors in 2024, has a good record at Carnoustie after securing a tie for fourth at The Open in 2007 and will go in search of adding a maiden Major to his record after a four under 68 on day three.
"Was a nice round of golf, to go out and play with Paddy and feel the heat of battle out there was pretty good and pretty good to execute the shots that I needed to and to perform," he said. "You know, to get that score in the end has set me up for tomorrow.
"As much as I can take out of them, myself and how I deal with the pressure. Us players, you know, I think you've got to learn in those situations to deal with the pressure the right way. As much experience as you can have in those situations is good. I'm going to take that little bit of experience out of those events and see how I go."
India’s Arjun Atwal, a three-time DP World Tour winner is third on six under par, two clear of Englishman Paul Broadhurst on four under. The 2016 winner was slipping away after being one over through 11 holes, but a scintillating run of an eagle and three birdies in five holes sees him well in the hunt for a third Senior Major.
Argentina’s Angel Cabrera is fifth on three under, while Canadian Stephen Ames and Irishman Pádraig Harrington share sixth on two under.
