Louis Oosthuizen headed into the final round of the 149th Open with a one-shot lead on Sunday, 11 years to the day since he lifted the Claret Jug at St Andrews.
Aiming to become the first wire-to-wire winner since Rory McIlroy in 2014, Oosthuizen carded a third round of 69 at Royal St George's to reach 12 under par, with 2020 US PGA champion Collin Morikawa his nearest rival following a 68.
Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth had enjoyed a share of the lead until dropping shots on the last two holes, the 2017 champion amazingly missing from two feet on the 18th and running off to sign his card before heading straight to the practice putting green.
At nine under par Spieth trailed Oosthuizen by three shots, with Corey Conners and Scottie Scheffler on eight under and US Open champion Jon Rahm, Dylan Frittelli and Mackenzie Hughes a shot further back.
Oosthuizen, who finished runner-up in the US PGA and US Open this season and had set a championship scoring record with his halfway total of 129, said: "The R&A weren't happy with the low scoring and they put some pins out there which were questionable.
"I made a few loose swings out there but I'm very excited, it is a great position."
Tweet of the day
This looks promising! pic.twitter.com/es3BhmH3xs
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 17, 2021
Jordan Spieth literally ran from the 18th green and headed to the practice green after missing from two feet for par.
Quote of the day
Just heard the Sky commentator, after Danny Willett pumped one over the fence, refer to the shot as "OB Kenobi."
That's genius! Is that already a thing? I am one-million percent bringing that back. "Sorry pal, think that's Obi Kenobi."
— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) July 17, 2021
The "Sky commentator" in question was none other than three-time Open champion Sir Nick Faldo, who came up with a new way to describe Danny Willett hitting his tee shot out of bounds on the 14th.
Shot of the day
'This is links golf at its best!'@jazzjanegolf posing for the bunker cam at the 11th.
Follow all the action from Round 3 here 👉https://t.co/xYY44zAFs3#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/OvhXrAsGxy
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 17, 2021
Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond produced a moment of magic from an unorthodox place on the 11th.
Round of the day
Moving day 65 and into the top 20 ✍️
That round will be tough to beat today. #TheOpen | @Workday pic.twitter.com/3mp5fpyH8w
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 17, 2021
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre carded the lowest round of the day and capped his 65 in some style with a birdie from 60 feet on the last.
Statistic of the day
There has never been a year where the four men's majors were won by players from four different continents.
We've had four different countries only once, in 2010. USA, South Africa, Germany and Northern Ireland. https://t.co/mrpREGV5PM
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 17, 2021
Louis Oosthuizen could make history in several ways on Sunday.
Easiest hole
For the third day running the par-five 14th played as the easiest, despite Marcel Siem driving out of bounds and making a triple-bogey eight. One eagle and 41 birdies resulted in an average of 4.532.
Toughest hole
There was no change in the toughest hole either, the 15th playing to an average of 4.390 and yielding just two birdies from the 77-man field.
Weather forecast
Another dry and sunny start with any dew evaporating by mid-morning. Becoming very warm or hot with light winds.
Key tee times
1405 Dylan Frittelli (RSA), Mackenzie Hughes (Can)
1415 Jon Rahm (Spa), Scottie Scheffler (USA)
1425 Corey Conners (Can), Jordan Spieth (USA)
1435 Collin Morikawa (USA), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)
Germany
Hungary
Scotland
Switzerland
