The Open: The story of day three at St Andrews

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Having restarted round two at 7am this morning, those that had returned to finish were out on the course for just 32 minutes before play was suspended. Gusts of up to 45mph saw the tournament temporarily descend into farce and none more so than in Tiger Woods’ group. The three-time Open champion had to scamper across a fairway for his scorecard before playing partner Louis Oosthuizen’s ball went from three feet from the hole, to one foot, to six feet on the 12th green. With just his eyes peeping through his snood and woolly hat combo, the South African could only laugh.

Others weren’t laughing, though, with plenty of players – notably Jordan Spieth and Lee Westwood – scathing in their assessment. They had just over six hours to chunter amongst themselves before the announcement came – The Open would finish on a Monday for the first time since 1988 when Seve Ballesteros beat Nick Price at Lytham. Though frustrating, the call seemed like the right one from the R&A. From the softness of the course to Tom Watson bowing out amidst near-darkness and half-empty stands, this has been an Open of not-quite-rights so far. Trying to squeeze everything in by Sunday night would have fatigued the players, lowered the standard of golf and seen the Claret Jug lifted in Watson-esque surroundings.

After being buffeted by the gales for nearly 11 hours, Saturday’s spectators were finally rewarded at 6pm when play resumed. It was a case of feast or famine when it did. Sergio Garcia was one of the winners, birdieing 17 and 18 to get to five-under par. In stark contrast was the Spaniard’s playing partner, Lee Westwood. The Englishman dropped three shots in his closing three holes to narrowly make the cut at level par. It was a similar, if less extreme, situation in Dustin Johnson’s group. The American was the personification of calm as he made two pars and a birdie in his final three holes to regain the outright lead at ten-under. That is five clear of playing partner Jordan Spieth who had a face of thunder as he missed a six-footer on 17 for par, before bouncing back with a birdie at the 18th.

The biggest cheer on that final hole was reserved for home favourite Paul Lawrie. The 1999 Open champion displaying great battling qualities to finish with eight straight pars and get in at eight-under. That is one clear of fellow late-finishers Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen. Some 14 shots further back and missing the cut is 14-time major champion Tiger Woods who puffed his cheeks as he walked of 18 having made just a par after almost driving the green.

Scott Arnold had the run of the evening. The Australian, coached by TG Top 50 pro Adrian Fryer, birdied four straight holes on the back nine to get in on the cut mark. It was another good day for the amateurs too and five of them, split by five shots, go into the final two rounds to battle for the Silver Medal.     

What they said…

Sergio Garcia (Spa, -5): ‘It was a nice finish, I got fortunate on 17 hitting the pin but nice to finish that way and get the second round finished finally! During the delay I went back to the house and spent some time with family, ate a little bit, chilled and had a little workout session. I’m excited about being in contention again, everybody knows how much I love this Championship and this crowd so I’ll try my best and hopefully gives them lots of things to cheer about.’

Dustin Johnson (USA, -10): ‘It’s been a long day. I wasn’t happy to make bogey on 14 this morning but with the wind as it was it was difficult. I came out tonight and finished strong, very happy with that and happy with my position. It’s been a mental test so far and it’s going to keep doing that. But that’s what you expect over here, I like the challenge, I’m up for it and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.’

Paul Lawrie (Sco, -8): ‘Long day to play six holes but sometimes that’s what it is, the weather plays its part and you just have to sit in the players’ lounge and eat cakes! We started on 13 and the ball wasn’t blowing off this morning so it was obviously a pretty close call. The most frustrating bit for us is knowing people are paying lots of money only to have to stand around not watching us play golf. I can’t thank the crowds enough and I hope they come back the next two days. I’m feeling good, been playing well recently. I’ve got a new putter in the bag and I’m rolling it really pure on the greens.’

Jordan Spieth (USA, -5): ‘It was a long day but glad to be in and it made for a beautiful evening here. It was as high a wind as I’ve played in this morning. I need two very special rounds to keep this major streak alive, Dustin’s not going to let up and I’m going to need some very special rounds. I struck the ball beautifully towards the end there and hopefully I can take that into tomorrow.’

Tiger Woods (USA, +7):  ‘I felt like I was playing well enough to win this event. On the very first hole on the first day, I fat a sand wedge in the water. I fatted my 3-iron off the tee, and then I fatted my 8-iron into the green on 2, drove it in a divot there on 4. It was just one thing after another. I had my opportunities, I just didn’t get the ball close enough, and then when I did, I didn’t make them.’

Jason Day (Aus, -7): ‘It’s just slow steps. 36 holes, we’re going to have slightly easier conditions tomorrow. It’s still going to be tough, but I think the scoring conditions are going to be a lot more accessible, more playable. I don’t know what Monday holds for us, but there’s definitely going to be a lot more opportunities, so I would say there’s going to be a lot more guys moving up the leaderboard quicker, and then we’ve got Monday. We’ve got 36 holes left. It felt like Sunday out there today how much I was grinding it.’

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