Birkdale, July 19 (IANS) Sahith Theegala produced his best golf of the week to climb steadily up the leaderboard in the third round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, carding a 2-under 68 to move into a tie for 29th heading into Sunday’s final round.
The Indian-American, supported by Hero, looked set for an even bigger leap before a bogey on the closing hole denied him a place inside the top 25. Even so, his third-round effort marked a significant improvement after opening rounds of 71 and 69 and ensured he will take positive momentum into the final day.
Theegala, who had missed the cut in each of his previous three Open Championship appearances, began confidently with birdies at the second and seventh to turn in 2-under 33. A bogey at the 10th briefly stalled his progress, but he responded impressively with birdies at the 14th and 16th to reach 3-under for the tournament. A closing bogey dropped him back to 2-under overall, but the 68 lifted him from tied 52nd overnight to tied 29th.
The other two Indian-origin players in the field, Aaron Rai and Akshay Bhatia, had failed to survive the halfway cut.
At the top of the leaderboard, American Sam Burns seized control of the championship with a superb 5-under 65 to open a two-shot lead at 10-under-par, putting himself in prime position to capture his first Major title.
Burns began the day three shots behind halfway leader Lucas Herbert but quickly erased the deficit with an aggressive front nine. Birdies at the second, fourth, seventh and eighth helped him turn in 31 before he added birdies on all three par fives on the inward half. His only blemish came with a bogey at the ninth.
The World No. 18 will now bid to become the fourth consecutive American and the fifth in the last six years to lift the Claret Jug.
Burns’ remarkable total of 127 over the second and third rounds is the lowest combined score over any two rounds in men’s Major Championship history. Carrying over the momentum from a back-nine 30 on Friday, he combined crisp iron play with a red-hot putter throughout another outstanding round.
“I think coming into the day, I was just trying to focus on executing and give myself as many looks as possible, and we did a good job of that,” Burns said.
“After finishing bogey, bogey, bogey on Thursday, I was pretty upset. That’s an understatement.”
The 29-year-old, whose last worldwide victory came at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March 2023, almost skipped the championship following the birth of his second child, Belle, earlier this month. Instead, he now stands one round away from the biggest victory of his career.
Ryan Fox stormed into contention with a brilliant 8-under 62, the third score of 62 recorded over the last two days after Lucas Herbert and Burns achieved the feat on Friday. Fox shares second place at 8-under with South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, who posted a 67.
American Ryan Gerard continued his dream Open debut with a 69 to sit at 7-under alongside Australia’s Herbert, whose hopes were dented by consecutive bogeys at the 15th and 16th during a round of 71.
A group of high-profile contenders remains within striking distance. Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg recovered from an opening-hole bogey to shoot 67 and reach 6-under, while England’s Tommy Fleetwood carded a 69 despite bogeys on two of his final four holes to finish the day at 5-under.
Bryson DeChambeau, the only Major champion currently inside the top 10, remained firmly in contention after a 69 left him four shots behind Burns. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler also stayed in the hunt despite a level-par 70 that left him at 4-under.
Burns holds the advantage, but a tightly packed leaderboard featuring proven champions and emerging stars promises an intriguing battle for the Claret Jug.
–IANS
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