Jimenez leads Senior British Open by 2 after 3rd round
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Miguel Angel Jimenez shot par 72 in blustery conditions to remain 9-under overall and two shots clear heading to the final round of the Senior British Open on Saturday.
Tied for second were Tom Pernice (71) and Kirk Triplett (73) of the United States, defending champion Bernhard Langer (73) and Stephen Ames (74) of Canada.
A dozen others, including 68-yearold Tom Watson, were within four strokes of the leader.
Only 13 men broke par in the third round at St. Andrews in winds gusting up to 25 mph (40 kph).
“We started with some flow and then we had a lot of ebb,” Triplett said.
Jimenez’s four birdies neatly cancelled out his four dropped shots. He made the unlikeliest of birdies at the long 14th when his blind approach from thick rough somehow bounced and rolled its way to no more than a foot from the cup. A neat up-and-down from the Road Hole bunker left of the 17th green kept things going. But a 10-foot putt for birdie on the final green slid past. It was, he felt, a day for patience.
“It would mean a lot to win The Senior Open, especially here at St. Andrews,” Jimenez said. “Seve (Ballesteros) was the first Spaniard to win The Open on this golf course, and it would be amazing if I could join the club with him.”
Watson won the British Open five times, but not at St. Andrews, and remains hopeful of annexing this seniors title for a record-breaking fourth time.
“It’s good to be in position,” he said.
LPGA Tour
GULLANE, Scotland – Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang led the Ladies Scottish Open by one stroke after an increasingly tough scoring day in the third round on Saturday.
None of the top five broke par 71, as the wind picked up in the afternoon and grew to a howling 35 mph (55 kph) at Gullane.
Ariya and Yang carded 2-over rounds of 73 to be 8 under for the tournament.
Ariya bogeyed four holes before the Thai eagled the par-5 16th from 40 yards.
“I’m just really lucky,” Ariya said. “I wanted to make birdie.
“When the wind started to blow, I said, ‘Here is the Scottish Open, the real one.’ I had so much fun, I hit everywhere.”
Yang, on her 29th birthday, birdied her last hole to join Ariya at the top after three bogeys on the back nine.
Their closest challenger was Minjee Lee of Australia (71) at 7 under.
Two more South Koreans, Haeji Kang (71) and So Yeon Ryu (72), were a shot further adrift.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (68), South Korea’s Jin Young Ko (68), and Australia’s Sarah Kemp (67) made ground to rise into contention. Kemp enjoyed the low round of the day after going out during the calmer morning. She was five off the lead.
American golfer Tiffany Joh, the overnight leader after a course-record 62 on Friday, played in the final group with Ariya and Yang and hit trouble. She dropped seven shots over six holes before the turn, and finished her round on 9-over 80. But she was only four shots back.
Sophia Popov of Germany was one of the early starters and earned a hole-inone on the par-3 eighth to follow an eagle on the second. She was seven shots off the lead.
European Tour
HAMBURG, Germany – Bryson DeChambeau shared a one-shot lead with Richard McEvoy heading to the final round of the European Open on Saturday. Both golfers seek their first European Tour title. DeChambeau started the third round ahead by a shot.
But McEvoy carded a 3-under 69 for the Englishman to lead the tournament at 12 under. DeChambeau had to birdie the last hole to tie him with a 70 at Green Eagle Golf Courses.
Right behind them were Masters champion Patrick Reed (69), and Austria’s Matthias Schwab (70).
McEvoy’s momentum – he went out in 32 – was stalled by a three-hour delay for lightning in the area. But after winning in France last week on the Challenge Tour, he’s enjoying his attitude and form.
“I prevailed last week so fingers crossed I can finish it off again tomorrow,” he said.