Jason Day leads the Australian hopes of winning a second Open Championship in a row by a golfer from Down Under having clung to contention on day three at Royal Liverpool.
The former world No.1 carded a two-under 69 to finish three rounds at five under par and seven back of runaway leader Brian Harman. Cameron Young, second at last year’s Open, is second at seven under while Masters champ Jon Rahm is third at six under following a stunning 63.
Day got it to six under halfway through his round but no birdies on the back nine and a bogey at the 14th cruelled his chances of repeating his efforts at the 2015 Open when Day missed out on a playoff by one shot.
Min Woo Lee’s 72 dropped him to two under and 10 shots back.
“Yeah, the crowd was amazing all day,” Lee said. “It was good. They were getting boozy and louder at that point in time. No, it was great. I love the crowd, and, yeah, they’ve been good.
“Obviously Brian is playing amazing. I don’t know if he can get rid of — he’s obviously playing really well, so I don’t think — someone has got to go out and post a score to catch him, but yeah, I feel like I’m out of the question, so I’ve got to shoot a really, really low score tomorrow, and it’s doable. You get off to a hot start and you can do it. “
Cameron Smith carded a fine 68 to finish three rounds at one under. Adam Scott’s even par round saw him remain at three over.
