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Cameron Smith’s British Open dream threatens to turn to despair following a deflating, rueful third round at St Andrews.
Australia’s big hope had his two-shot halfway lead reduced to a four-stroke deficit with a frustrating one-over-par 73 on Saturday.
Smith’s round was the equal-worst of any player in the top 20 and left the world No.6 needing to play catch-up on championship Sunday.
Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy and Norwegian young gun Viktor Hovland surged past Smith with a pair of 66s to reach 16 under, giving the co-leaders a four-shot buffer over the chasing pack.
Smith will play with Cameron Young in the second-last group on Sunday after the American’s 71 also left him at 12 under.
No player has ever claimed the Claret Jug from more than four shots back entering the final round in 29 editions of the Open at the home of golf.
That at least leaves Smith with hope after his chances appeared to be slipping away on the back nine on Saturday.
Disaster struck when he double bogeyed the par-four 13th to slump five shots behind.
What appeared to be a great drive ran and ran and ran all the way to within a half a metre of a fairway pot.
With no stance, he was forced to play his approach out of the bunker and tugged his ball into the gorse.
Smith then needed two more shots to find the green before missing his bogey putt.
But a desperately needed bounce-back birdie on the 15th and Road Hole trouble for McIlroy on No.17 has kept the Queenslander in the hunt.
Adam Scott is the only other Australian in contention after a fighting round of 70 left the former world No.1 six shots off the pace at nine under in a tie for eighth.
Anthony Quayle posted a lovely third-round 68 to jump to five under and into joint-24th with fellow Australians Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert, whose hopes were dashed with disappointing 73s.
Brad Kennedy (72) is a further shot back, with Jason Scrivener at two under after a second straight 71.
Smith set the tone for his flat round with an uncustomary three-putt bogey on the very first hole.
After making an unofficial PGA Tour-record 255 feet worth of putts on Friday, Smith couldn’t get his magic wand working in round three.
He couldn’t buy a putt and managed only one birdie in 21 holes from the 10th on Friday through the 13th on Saturday.
The dismal return was a far cry from the 11 birdies he compiled en route to setting the new Open 36-hole scoring record at St Andrews during the first two rounds.
A missed-eight footer for birdie at the 18th typified Smith’s frustrations on the greens and had the usually unflappable star cursing his misfortune as the Claret Jug continued to slip further from his grasp.
“The golfing gods weren’t with me today. I felt like I hit a lot of good putts with nothing really dropping,” Smith said.
“I stuck in there pretty good and I hit the ball pretty good. It’s probably actually the best I’ve hit it all week. Had lots of opportunities, just no putts were dropping which was quite frustrating.”
Rory McIlroy has complete faith in his ability to end an eight-year major drought in the best way possible by winning the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
Five days after describing winning the Open on the Old Course as golf’s ‘Holy Grail’, McIlroy will take a share of the lead into the final round with Norwegian Ryder Cup teammate and playing partner Viktor Hovland following a six-under-par 66.
McIlroy boosted his bid to end an eight-year major drought and become the first European winner at St Andrews since Nick Faldo in 1990 with five birdies and a brilliant eagle from a bunker on the 10th.
Only a bogey on the famous ‘Road Hole’ 17th prevented the Northern Irishman from holding the outright lead as Hovland, chasing his first major title, also posting a 66 to join the Northern Irishman on 16 under.
“We fed off each other really well,” said McIlroy.
“We both put ourselves into a great position going into tomorrow.
“I know if I play my game I can shoot scores like this on this course and I need to do it one more day and then I’ll give you all the superlatives and everything else if that does happen.”
Smith and American Cameron Young will start the final round on 12 under, four shots behind, after rounds of 73 and 71 respectively, with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and South Korea’s Si Woo Kim a stroke further back.
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson is six shots back following a 71, with Tommy Fleetwood and US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick on nine under, alongside Australia’s Adam Scott.
McIlroy lifted the Claret Jug in 2014 and claimed his fourth major in the US PGA a month later, but has not won one of the game’s biggest titles since.
Augusta National co-founder and three-time Open champion Bobby Jones famously said that a player’s career would not be complete without lifting the Claret Jug on the Old Course.
And while McIlroy does not think that is strictly true, the world No.2 is well aware of the significance of winning the oldest major title at the home of golf.
“It’s the Holy Grail of our sport,” McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference.
Asked about the significance of winning on Sunday, he added: “It would mean everything because of what I have been through the last few years, trying to get the fifth one.”
Even an error-free front nine of 33 had McIlroy a shot behind an inspired Hovland, who had birdied four holes in a row from the third to take over from Smith at the top of the leaderboard.
However, McIlroy then holed out from a bunker short of the 10th green for a stunning eagle to vault into the lead, before Hovland commendably held his nerve to birdie the same hole.
McIlroy found the green in two on the 614-yard 14th to set up another birdie and move into the outright lead, only to then fire his approach to the daunting 17th over the green and off the wall.
The resulting bogey dropped McIlroy back alongside Hovland, who brilliantly saved par from just over the green, with both players then making a birdie on the last.
HOW THE AUSSIES FARED IN THE BRITISH OPEN THIRD ROUND:
204 (67-64-73): Cameron Smith – tied third
207 (72-65-70): Adam Scott – T8th
211 (74-69-68): Anthony Quayle – T24th
211 (69-69-73): Min Woo Lee – T24th
211 (70-68-73): Lucas Herbert – T24th
212 (68-72-72): Brad Kennedy – T35th
214 (72-71-71): Jason Scrivener – T55th