Louis Oosthuizen has a one-shot lead over Colin Morikawa in the fourth round of the Open

[ad_1]

SANDWICH, England – Even with his swing emptying during the last hour on Saturday, Louis Oosthuizen came out of 18th with a one-stroke lead at The Open, and another shot to end his 11-year wait for a second major title.

Round three ended undulating like the fairways at Royal St. George’s the way it started, with Oosthuizen holding Colin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth and three shots separating the trio.

Oosthuizen, runner-up at the two previous majors, overcame his first real wobble of the championship in ninth with a 15th base tackle and an 8-foot-tall jumper in third and 16th leading to a 1-under 69 finish.

That put him at 12 under 198, as the South African stayed on course to be the first winner of the oldest golf tournament since Rory McIlroy in 2014.

Colin Morikawa, right, and Louis Oosthuizen will be in the final duo again on Sunday at The Open. Neil Hall / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

Morikawa slid with a 15-foot flying hit off the hole in the 18th green, and settled for 68th as he advanced to a second major championship to claim his PGA Championship win last year. The American was four shots behind after 10 holes and made a powerful push as Oosthuizen showed signs of fading, reducing the difference to a single shot.

Spieth leveled in the lead until he missed the last two openings – missing an equal shot from two feet in the 18th minute – to complete nine disappointing comebacks from missed opportunities. The main champ hit three 69secs and got back three shots, just as the day started.

It looked very different with an hour to the day, as the three players tied for the lead at 11 under four holes to play in one day, pin locations – not the weather – proving to be Royal St George’s greatest defense.

The wind speed did not exceed 10 miles per hour, and it seemed that a clear sky with bright sunshine would definitely bring another low-grade day. However, the pins were hidden away, sometimes near cliffs, while the sturdier trails brought deep ragged shelters and bunkers to play.

It ensured that some of the big names weren’t able to launch the challenge.

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson started four shots off the lead but knocked out the competition by making five bogeys in his 11-hole opening. Two late flyers could only give him 73, leaving eight shots behind.

Brooks Koepka, a four-time major champion, was at the back after successfully managing a round of 72.

McIlroy started a lot back but made it to the round at 4 under the championship after making five birdies. The back nine was another story, and McIlroy threw an iron to the floor—he called it a “little toss”—during a series of three bogeys in five holes on his way to shooting the 69, his first tour of the 1960s at Royal St. George. I left him at level 1 without any chance of getting a second claret bottle.

Instead, Corey Connors (66) and Scotty Scheffler (69) have moved on to compete in the under-8 while Jon Ram – looking to add the US Open to last month’s US Open – shot a 68 and was an under-7 alongside MacKenzie Hughes and Dylan Fritelli.

Marcel Sime, who qualified from the second-tier Challenge Tour in Europe just last week, rebounded from the No. 8 after coming off limits in fifth 14 with two birds in his last three holes. He was in a triple tie for ninth place, six of the lead.

They are all chasing Oosthuizen, who won at St Andrews in 2010 and has climbed his career in Grand Slams ever since. That includes last month’s US Open, where he was leading by two slots to play until Ram Byrdie Byrdie finished. He was also the runner-up in the PGA Championship for Phil Mickelson.

.

[ad_2]