On course for The Open in the rain
A SEETHING Andy Sullivan surged up the leaderboard on day three of the Scottish Open with a five-under par 67.
The Englishman was faced with an 18th hole salvage job after a nightmare bogey, doublebogey run on 16 and 17 at Dundonald Links.
He succeeded in stunning style, holing out from a bunker to claim an eagle that kept him in contention at seven-under-par.
But had it not been for a lengthy delay on the 18th tee, Sullivan reckons his frustration over dropping shots on the previous two holes would have wrecked his chances.
“I knew 16 and 17 were going to play tough,” said Sullivan.
“I just didn’t expect to hit it in the bunker the third day in a row on 17.
“We had a bit of a wait on the 18th tee which probably did me a world of good.
“It got my head back in the frame because I was absolutely seething.
“Ross Fisher lost a ball, so it really gave me time to compose myself and get back in it.
“If I had to hit that tee shot within a couple of minutes I’m not sure it would have hit the fairway.
“It might have gone further, but I’m not sure it would have hit the fairway! There was a lot of anger on the tee at the time.
“It just gave me time to cool down, compose myself and get my head back on.
“In the end, it was a good way to finish and good after putting in all that hard work with the weather that I got my rewards.”
Meanwhile, Andrew “Beef” Johnston undermined a solid day’s play with a bogey on 18 as the weather deteriorated.
Nevertheless, the upbeat star, who lies on five-under-par insists he still has a chance of victory in today’s final round.
“I feel good about it – why not?” he said.
“Every day I felt I’ve played better so hopefully I can continue that.
“It was small margins out there. But I’m really positive after that. I played nice in those conditions.”