Tiger Woods continues to head the field in the 134th Open Championship but his four stroke overnight lead was halved with José Maria Olazábal now leading the chase at St Andrews.
No fewer then six European Tour Members occupy places in the top eight and 12 in the top 20 after a glorious sun-kissed afternoon at the Home of Golf, setting the scene for a magnificent finale.
Woods, out of sorts for much of the round, had to dig deep for a one under par 71 to finish his third round on 12 under par 204 in his bid to win a tenth Major Championship. His closest challenger is Olazábal after a four under par 68 took the double Masters Champion to ten under par 206 while double US Open Champion Retief Goosen and seven-times European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie are only a stroke further back.
Another Spaniard Sergio Garcia is at eight under par after a 69 alongside American Brad Faxon, only four strokes off the pace, while the reigning US Open Champion Michael Campbell and World Number Two Vijay Singh are also right in the thick of things at the top end of the leaderbaord in a share of seventh place at seven under par 209.
Throw into the mix the likes of Darren Clarke, John Daly, Søren Hansen, Marten Lafeber, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle, all of whom are in the group sharing ninth place at six under par 210 and within six shots of the lead and the final round has all the ingredients off a classic.
Goosen’s 66 was particularly impressive as he charged up the leaderboard with the joint lowest round of the day, his six under par round matched by Hansen who now lies just six off the pace.
Montgomerie, playing alongside Woods in the final pairing, was cheered throughout by the vocal home crowd and was rewarded with a birdie on the last for a two under par 70 to lie only three adrift of Woods.
“What a day, what a crowd,” said Montgomerie. “They were fantastic. I will remember the reception on the first tee for a long time to come. The last putt was important and if I can have a good round tomorrow I can win this. If I can shoot 66 tomorrow I have every chance of winning this.
“There are a number of players in a similar position who can win this and Tiger is not bullet proof. It is all set for tomorrow and it could be a great day as it was today.”
Olazábal will be out in the final group with Woods but the challenge could come from anywhere. “It was a great day,” said the Spaniard, “Tiger is not having a great day and we are still in the tournament.”
The highlight of Olazábal’s round was his eagle two on the 12th, his putt sneaking into the hole from some 50 feet in what he described as a “sweet moment”. Another good putt dropped at the last for a closing birdie. “I putted very well today which was the key,” he commented. “I will just try and play as I have done for the first three days and enjoy it.”
Garcia suffered a couple of three putts, one being on his very first hole, but rallied ewll for a 69, holing a monstrous eagle putt on the ninth along the way and he too remains firmly in the hunt.
