Adam Scott leads British Open, Tiger Woods in the hunt

Adam Scott leads British Open, Tiger Woods in the hunt
The Associated Press Posted: Last Updated: Jul 21, 2012 1:54 PM ET
Memories of Ballesteros at Royal LythamWith Brandt Snedeker suddenly falling apart, Adam Scott seized control Saturday during the third round of the British Open and was positioning himself to win his first major title.

Tiger Woods also moved past the collapsing Snedeker but, with the round winding down, he remained five strokes behind the Aussie leader on a glorious day at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Scott started with six straight pars before birdies at the seventh and eighth holes pushed him to 11 under for the tournament. He became the first player to reach 12 under with another birdie on the par-5 11th, before a poor wedge shot at the 12th led to his first bogey of the round.

Making history

Anirban Lahiri had already made history at this year's British Open before he stepped up to the ninth tee in the third round.

With one swing of his 9 iron, he put himself in the record books again.

The 25-year-old Indian, making his Open debut, made the first hole in one of the 2012 tournament Saturday when he aced the par-3 No. 9 from 150 yards, the ball landing to the right of the cup and bouncing in.

A grinning Lahiri raised both hands in the air and gave a bow. The shot was played in front of his dad, making the moment all the more sweet.

"It was looking a little right of the hole, but it got a really, really friendly bounce. When it goes in, everybody goes wild, I go wild, it was fantastic," said Lahiri, who shot par 70 to remain at even par for the tournament.

"You're just looking around, you don't know how to express yourself, and then you see your dad jumping up out there blowing you kisses. These moments don't come every day."

It was his third hole in one in tournament play — and fifth in his career. He was convinced to take the 9 iron after going with a wedge on that hole during the second round and finding the bunker.

— The Associated Press
Still, Scott was in control after starting the day one stroke behind Snedeker, who went through the first two rounds without making any bogeys. That all changed on the far end of the course, where the quick-playing Tennessean had four bogeys in rapid-fire succession over a five-hole span. It didn't get any better on the back side, where a bevy of errant shots led to two more bogeys. He was 5 over on the day, a staggering six shots out of the lead that had been his just a few hours earlier.

Woods got off to a sluggish start with a couple of bogeys, but he made the turn at 1-under 33 after closing the front side with three birdies in four holes. He hasn't won a major title in more than four years, the last of his 14 championships coming at the 2008 U.S. Open, before his personal life imploded and his body was wracked by injuries.

Woods couldn't keep it going on the back side, a couple of misread putts costing him two crucial strokes. He was 6 under through 15 holes, while 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell passed Snedeker, too, joining Woods in the second spot on the scoreboard.

Snedeker got off to a solid start, but the trouble started when he came up short of the green at the fifth and couldn't get up and down, taking his first bogey of the Open after 40 holes without one. Just like that, they started coming in droves.

At the sixth, he knocked his ball into one of the 206 bunkers on the course, the first time all week he'd been in the sand, and he was forced to hit sideways just to get it out. A birdie at the par-5 seventh provided a brief glimmer of hope, but Snedeker bogeyed the next two holes and made the turn with a 3-over 37 for the round.

Scott made pars on the first six holes before two straight birdies suddenly gave him some breathing room on the rest of the field. With his long putter, he rolled in a 25-footer at the eighth and turned with a 32.

Woods' very first shot rolled off the back of the green at the par-3 opening hole. His chip was a little too delicate, stopping 8 feet short of the hole, and he missed the putt. Another bogey at the third rekindled memories of his performance at Olympic last month, where he was tied for the U.S. Open lead after 36 holes but faded badly on the weekend.

This time, he got back in the game.

Woods sparked his round with a 60-foot birdie putt at the sixth, earning his first fist pump of the day. He nearly closed the front side with four straight birdies — his putt from the fringe of the eighth green stopped about an inch shy of the cup. He shook that off by knocking his tee shot at the par-3 ninth to 4 feet, rolling in the putt for a halfway score of 33.

Woods was playing with 22-year-old Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, who made a stunning up-and-down from a bunker for a birdie on No. 7 but fell from contention with a double-bogey at the 14th.

Zach Johnson had the best round among those in the clubhouse, signing for a 4-under 66 that left him at 5-under 205 overall. If the wind picks up Sunday, he might have a chance to make a move on the leaders. If nothing else, he bounced back nicely after struggling to a 74 on Friday.

"I felt much more relaxed, much more patient and never got too ahead of myself," Johnson said.

Three-time major winner Ernie Els also was at 205 after a 68.

Taking advantage of the favourable conditions, Masters champion Bubba Watson made a charge up the leaderboard before the last group teed off. He played the first 13 holes at 5 under, starting the back side with three birdies over a four-hole span. But a bogey at the 14th and a double-bogey at the 15th left him with a rather disappointing 2-under 68.

He settled for a 208, knowing those two poor holes likely ruined his chances of making a serious challenge for his second major title of the year.

Then again, maybe he'll get some help from the weather.

"I'm hoping it's calm when I play and then it's really rough for them," Watson said, "and rainy for them, too."

Playing the geriatric contender role that Tom Watson nearly pulled off for a win at Turnberry, 52-year-old Mark Calcavecchia surged into contention with a 31 on the front side and a 4-under score overall. But he couldn't keep it going, either, finishing with a 69 and even with Watson at 208.

"It was adventuresome," Calcavecchia said. "But I hung in there and finished OK."

India's Anirban Lahiri gave the gallery a thrill when he aced the 150-yard ninth hole with a 9-iron.

Even before the hole-in-one, it already had been a memorable British Open for Lahiri's homeland, which had two players makes the cut in golf's oldest major for the first time. Jeev Milkha Singh also got through to the weekend.

"Just when I thought that it was fantastic, it gets even better," Lahiri said. "I made a good swing on it. It was looking a little right of the hole, but it got a really, really friendly bounce. I was just hoping it ended up close. When it goes in, everybody goes wild. I go wild. It was fantastic."

C/P CBC Sports