LOCAL FAVOURITE Graeme McDowell didn’t go quite as low as he wanted to get back in the mix at the Open Championship, but the Portrush native moved in the right direction on the leaderboard after his third round.
McDowell signed for a round of 3-under-par 68 and said he was pleased with his efforts.
With G-Mac 2-under for the championship, he’ll watch on this afternoon as co-leaders, Shane Lowry and JB Holmes get going.
Lowry, Holmes and Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and the rest of the chasing pack will have been licking their lips at the conditions for round three of The Open.
Royal Portrush was treated to clear skies and sunshine with only the slightest breeze for the early starters looking to climb the leaderboard on moving day, with the forecast suggesting the weather would stay the same throughout the day.
Lowry and Holmes are at eight under par after the opening two rounds and were scheduled to tee off at 3.50pm local time on the Dunluce Links.
Fleetwood and Lee Westwood (both -7) were set for the penultimate group, with Cameron Smith and Justin Harding – who were two shots back – the third-from-last pairing.
Rose and Koepka, who were two and three back respectively, were set to head to the first for a 3.20pm tee-off time.