The Open: Round 3 ‘This & That’

And just like that, there are only 18 holes of The 149th Open to go. 

“Moving Day” – and we’ll come to that soon enough – threw up tons of talking points.

Our man on the ground at Royal St George’s, Michael McEwan, has been taking copious notes of the things you might have missed as well as other musings and opinions.

Here’s what he’s got…

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Shot of the Day

Call me a “predictable Jock” all you want but I’m giving it to Bob MacIntyre for his huge putt for birdie on the last, an outrageous raker from off the green that changed postcodes between leaving the putterface and hitting the hole. Capped a superb 65 that was just about the worst the Obanite could have shot today. Immense.

Club Toss of the Day

Axe-throwing is apparently quite a big deal in Kent, so maybe that’s what inspired this fabulous fling from Rory McIlroy on the 14th. Or maybe it was yet another poor tee shot.

Round of the Day

Bob again – and for very good reason. His 65 was the best round of the day score-wise. It was also what he needed to do. Having made the cut on the number, he effectively got a free hit at the weekend. With his early Saturday tee time, he could afford to go out, free-wheel it and try to post as low a score as possible in the best of the conditions. That’s exactly what he did, improving 47 spots on the leaderboard in the process. Gritty. 

Best Dressed

V. Hovland is bringing J. Lindeberg back with a bang. The Swedish brand is clearly still loud and non-traditional but it’s doing so with a much more understated, quiet confidence than previously – which makes it a perfect fit, in more ways than one, for the gutt undring (that’s Norwegian for ‘Boy Wonder’, FYI). 

Worst Dressed

Tony Finau. Hands down. This monochromatic misadventure has a bit of everything going on. Houndstooth, plaid, Burberry, the works. It’s starting to feel like Nike is just taking the piss.

Disappointment of the Day

Marcel Siem’s a lovely lad, a brilliant talker, an even better golfer and a quite incredible story. But that’s still no excuse for wearing a white belt.

WTF of the Day #1

Rory McIlroy, man. Out like a Lambo, back like a Lada. A bang-average 69 in the absolute best of the conditions means that, unless he can shoot a 55 tomorrow (which is unlikely), then his major drought will extend into an eighth year. Yes, these tournaments are hard to win – but they’re even harder when you don’t give yourself a chance. 

WTF of the Day #2

On a scorching day, where most spectators departed looking like they’d just stared directly into the ark of the covenant, Dylan Frittelli turned up to play wearing a baselayer. Baffling.

Thought of the Day #1

They call Saturday ‘Moving Day’ – but isn’t every day ‘Moving Day’?

Thought of the Day #2

Has somebody with a man-bun ever won The Open, or would Marcel Siem be the first?

Stats of the Day

• According to Justin Ray – the oracle of golf stats – there has never been a year where the four men’s majors were won by players from four different continents. So far this year, we’ve had Asia (Hideki Matsuyama, Masters), North America (Phil Mickelson, US PGA) and Europe (Jon Rahm, US Open).

* Another J-Ray gem: 94% of Open champions since 1900 were at or within four shots of the lead going into the final round. So, if you’re the Claret Jug engraver, that’s “Oosthuizen”, “Collin” with two “Ls”, “i” before “e” in “Spieth”, “Conners” with an “E” and “Scottie” with an “ie” not “y”. Cool? Cool.