Rose fires 64 at Open to get back in contention

In flawless conditions for low scoring until a brisk breeze sprang up just as Spieth was finishing, the 24-year-old Texan drove the first green and sank a 12-foot eagle before adding four birdies.

Tiger likely won’t have the lead going into Sunday – unless something insane happens with the weather.

“I didn’t know if I carried it or not, if it was in the hazard or rough”. It is irrelevant to me.

The crowds were roaring, as Woods made some big putts and missed some narrowly and the ball once stopped right at the lip with just half a roll needed for it to drop into the hole. He has shot final-round 67s in both of the last two years in the Open. Eastern on NBC. The leaders tee off at 9:45 a.m., with notables like Woods (9:25 a.m.) and Rory McIlroy (9:05 a.m.) going off earlier. “It was a spirited effort today”, said the Southport golfer.

“I’m committed to making sure, even if I don’t play my best golf and don’t shoot the scores I want, I’m going to go down swinging and I’m going to go down giving it my best”. Woods has won The Open three times: 2000, 2005 and 2006. “Quite honestly, I never did that”.

A second-round three-over par 74 took his two-day tally to eight-over par 150, five shots adrift of the cut mark. Fleetwood shares third place with Pat Perez and Xander Schauffele.

In 2014 McIlroy was the victor of the Claret Jug at a sun-soaked Hoylake, but he refused to let the conditions get to him on Friday in his chase for a fifth major title and first for four years.

Woods might not win The Open this week, and he might not win the PGA Championship at Bellerive in August, and we can still debate whether or not he can catch Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships.

The umbrellas were up and the waterproofs out as rain greeted the players at the start.

“Then I felt like I made a good putt on 18 for bogey in the end”.

“Go out there and hit a lot of drivers”, he said simply.

“Are you going to trust down the center of the fairway, or are you going to protect a little bit?” It was a little more hard, so I’m happy to be in with a shot.

Perhaps none of the leading men will go full Jean Van de Velde, the star-crossed Frenchman who could still be standing in that burn if not for a rising tide back at the 1999 championship, but if the 499 yards of dusty turf is an uninvited guest, it’s a guest nonetheless.

The 147th British Open leader board reflected precisely this. “I played so well today I don’t feel like I should have shot four under”.

“I felt like I had something I had to prove to other people at last year’s Open, and to myself”, he said.

“I feel like there are low rounds in me. Maybe I’m just overly conservative and boring, and that’s perfectly fine”, he said. “I think I’m capable of that”.

Jordan Spieth described Monday’s “ceremony” to return the claret jug to the keepers of the game’s oldest championship as anything but enjoyable.

It was an absorbing third day with Woods knocking on the doors of a 15th Major.

Woods isn’t the only one who thinks so. “He actually left a couple shots out there today”.

Birdies on the fourth and sixth provided a solid platform, before a run of three more on nine, 10 and 11 put him into contention. She worked for Nick Faldo during several of his six major victories. “I really did. I hit a lot of good shots”, Woods told reporters. From tickets and transfers to hospitality & golf, Golfbreaks.com can build the ideal package to help you experience The Open in style.