CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) – The Latest on the British Open (all times local): 8:10 p.m. Americans Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner share…
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) – The Latest on the British Open (all times local):
8:10 p.m.
Americans Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner share the lead on 9-under par heading into the final round of the British Open, with Tiger Woods four shots back in his bid for a first major title in 10 years.
Schauffele and Kisner are going for their first victory in a major, while Spieth is seeking his fourth and to be the first back-to-back British Open champion in 10 years.
Schauffele will be in the last pairing with Spieth after rolling in a long birdie putt on No. 18 for a 4-under 67.
Kisner, who led after the first round and was a co-leader after the second round, parred his last four holes for a 68.
Another American, Kevin Chappell, is alone in fourth place, two shots behind after a 67.
Woods shot 66 and is in a tie for sixth place with six more players, including Rory McIlroy (70) and Tommy Fleetwood (71).
___
7 p.m.
Jordan Spieth has shot a 6-under 65 and is tied for the lead in his bid to become the first back-to-back British Open champion in 10 years.
Spieth began the third round by driving the 396-yard opening hole and making the 10-foot eagle putt. He didn’t make a bogey and took the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th, a hole where he made bogey each of the previous two rounds.
Spieth was at 9-under 204.
Kevin Kisner also was at 9 under with three holes remaining.
If Spieth stays in the lead, he would be the first defending champion to lead going into the final round since Tiger Woods at Hoylake in 2006.
___
5:15 p.m.
Tiger Woods has shot a 5-under 66 in the third round of the British Open and is in contention to win his first major in more than 10 years.
He scrambled for par at the tough 18th hole at Carnoustie, after his tee shot landed on the bank of the Barry Burn and bounced right into the thick rough. He laid up, pitched to three feet, and made a par.
At 5 under overall, Woods was two shots off the lead.
The last of his 14 majors came at the U. S. Open in 2008.
___
4:55 p.m.
Brooks Koepka is unlikely to be celebrating back-to-back major victories at the British Open on Sunday.
The U. S. Open champion started the third round five shots off the lead but is 4 over for the day after three bogeys on the front nine and a double-bogey at the par-4 12th.
Koepka is 3 over for the tournament, 10 shots off the lead.
Also playing himself out of contention on a day featuring plenty of birdies is Jason Day, who also made 6 at No. 12 and is 1 over after 15 holes. He is even par overall.
___
4:15 p.m.
Tiger Woods is back on top of the leaderboard at a major championship.
With a tap-in birdie at the par-5 14th hole, Woods joined Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood and three others in a share of the lead at the British Open.
The 14-time major champion is 6 under for his third round.
Spieth, the defending champion, has also made a strong start to his third round, eagling the first hole after driving onto the green, and then rolling in a birdie at No. 4. He missed an 8-footer on No. 5 for the outright lead.
___
3:10 p.m.
Tiger Woods is making a bit of a move in the British Open, sinking a long putt on the ninth hole for an opening 3-under 33 on the front nine.
Woods made a 40-footer on the ninth for his third birdie against no bogeys on the front nine to get to 3-under par for the tournament. He was three shots behind the leaders, who had yet to tee off in the afternoon at Carnoustie.
Scoring conditions were ideal on a warm day with little wind and greens softened by rain the day before. There already was a 64 on the board by Justin Rose and a 65 by Yusaku Miyazato.
Woods began the day six shots back. The three-time British Open champion is searching for his first win of the year and his first major championship since winning the U. S. Open in 2008.
Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner shared the overnight lead at 6-under par.
___
1:30 p.m.
Justin Rose tied the lowest score ever in the British Open at Carnoustie, shooting a 7-under 64 to move onto the early leaderboard on a day when scoring conditions were ideal.
Rose, who needed to make an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole just to make the cut a day earlier, started his round with a birdie on the first hole and finished it with birdies on both 17 and 18. He didn’t make a bogey on the normally tough Carnoustie links.
The round ties the low at Carnoustie shot in the final round in 2007 by Steve Stricker and Richard Green.
Rose finished nearly three hours before the leaders teed off, and was at 4 under for the tournament, two shots off the lead held by Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner.
Tiger Woods is out on the course, making a par on the first hole. He is even par for the tournament.
___
12:45 p.m.
More than three hours before the co-leaders tee off, Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner have a little more company.
In mild conditions that allow for low scoring, Chris Wood of England already is 6 under for the day through 11 holes and is at 4-under par, just two shots off the lead.
Justin Rose, who made the cut with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the second round, is 5 under through 15 holes and 2 under for the tournament. Masters champion Patrick Reed was right there with him until missing a 6-foot par putt on the 16th hole, dropping him to 4 under for the third round and 1 under for the tournament.
Tiger Woods was on the range, preparing to tee off on the weekend at the British Open for the first time since 2014 at Hoylake.
___
11:20 a.m.
Carnoustie is still waiting on the one element that defines a strong test at the British Open: the wind.
The third round began with little more than a mild breeze, and several players were taking advantage. Masters champion Patrick Reed ran off three straight birdies starting at No. 5 and has made the turn at 3 under. That makes Reed even par for the championship, six shots behind.
Justin Rose, who made a birdie on the 18th hole Friday to make the cut, was 2 under through 8 holes.
It wasn’t easy on everyone. Former champion Henrik Stenson hit into a dry burn on the fourth hole. With his right leg flexed on the turf and his left leg in the 3-foot deep ditch, he managed to get the ball out, but still made double bogey.
