Spieth stretches lead to 3 ahead of final round at The Open
Jordan Spieth's name atop the leaderboard is becoming a routine sight on the PGA Tour.
The 23-year-old has held the lead or co-lead after seven straight rounds on Tour after a a 5-under-par 65 Saturday at The Open Championship. His impressive play puts the two-time major champion three strokes ahead of second-place Matt Kuchar, and six shots clear of the rest of the field heading into Sunday's final round.
Spieth entered play Saturday with a two-stroke lead on Kuchar, and ensured that would be three with an impressive birdie on the 18th hole. Benign conditions around Royal Birkdale allowed for ideal scoring, and Spieth went bogey-free for the second time this week with five birdies on the card.
Branden Grace paved the way for a scoring assault on the English track, breaking the men's major championship record for the lowest round with a 62 and vaulting 40 spots up the leaderboard into fifth. Spieth and Kuchar were certainly aware of that as they teed off to begin their round, and attacked the course early.
Kuchar had a chance to match Spieth's 65, but the veteran American missed a short birdie on the 18th to settle for a 66. It appears to be a two-man race with 18 holes to play for the second straight year at The Open.
With a win tomorrow, Spieth would join Jack Nicklaus as the only players ever to win three tournaments of the career grand slam before the age of 24.
Place | Player | Total to par | 3rd-round score |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jordan Spieth | -11 | 65 |
2 | Matt Kuchar | -8 | 66 |
T3 | Brooks Koepka | -5 | 68 |
T3 | Austin Connelly | -5 | 66 |
T5 | Hideki Matsuyama | -4 | 66 |
T5 | Branden Grace | -4 | 62 |
T7 | Dustin Johnson | -3 | 64 |
T7 | Henrik Stenson | -3 | 65 |
T7 | Chan Kim | -3 | 67 |
T7 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | -3 | 67 |
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