STAYING IN FRONT
Louis Oosthuizen keeps the lead heading into the final round.
SANDWICH, England — Collin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth had much in common as the third round of the British Open ended Saturday in the sort of gentle breezes and golden, early evening light more associated with Augusta National than the English seaside.
Morikawa and Spieth are precocious and thoughtful American golf stars in their 20s who have proved that they can win a major championship. Both are still in hot pursuit of Louis Oosthuizen, the mild-mannered South African who remains in the lead but hardly in charge of this major with just one round to play at Royal St. George’s.
Oosthuizen is 12-under par. Morikawa, who was paired with him Saturday, is one shot back at 11-under. Spieth is in third at 9-under.
But though Morikawa and Spieth are in similar positions, they finished their rounds in very different moods.
While Spieth bogeyed the final two holes, missing a 2foot putt on the 18th, Morikawa remained unflappable down the stretch after a shaky start, repeatedly putting himself in promising places with his glittering iron play.
While Spieth marched off after his 69, declining to speak with gathered reporters, Morikawa patiently and methodically made his appointed rounds after his 68. Tent by tent, he talked with the Open’s primary broadcasters and then, arms folded, walked over to the fence where, in this pandemic, the rest of the news media is kept at long microphone’s length.
“Sometimes you just need to find that momentum,” he said of his downand-up afternoon. “Hopefully you find it on the first hole, but sometimes it takes a few holes, and you’ve really just got to dig deep and just fight through it.”
As usual, the 24-year-old Morikawa spoke like a veteran, but he remains a newcomer at the British Open and has a chance to become the first man to win this tournament in his first appearance since American Ben Curtis won at Royal St. George’s in 2003.
After playing with Oosthuizen for the first time Saturday, Morikawa will be back in the final pairing with him Sunday with the claret jug at stake.
Does Morikawa see it as a head-to-head duel?
“This course can produce low scoring,” he said. “We’ve seen it already. So I wouldn’t count anyone out. I am not going to look at it as a head-to-head. I want to go out and try to birdie as many holes as possible and see what happens. I can only control myself. You know, everyone says that, but that’s the truth. Hopefully, I’ll just do my best and play really well.”
Other high-quality players remain within striking distance. Jon Rahm, the bearded Spaniard who won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines last month, is five shots off the lead at 7-under and has long had an affinity for links golf. Corey Conners of Canada and Scottie Scheffler of the United States are tied for fourth at 8-under.
But Oosthuizen and Morikawa will again be side by side Sunday. Both are aiming for their second major championship, and Oosthuizen, 38, has been aiming for quite a bit longer.
Morikawa won the PGA Championship in 2020, little more than a year after finishing his collegiate career at the University of California, Berkeley.
Oosthuizen won the British Open in 2010 at St. Andrews, the celebrated Scottish course that defines links golf for many. Oosthuizen, who had missed the cut in seven of his first eight majors and was ranked 54th in the world, took a commanding five-shot lead in the second round and surprisingly held firm to win by seven strokes.
It was a stunning performance, and he has remained one of the world’s finest and smoothest golfers, finishing as runner-up six times in major championships. Now he is back in close range after finishing in a tie for second at this year’s PGA Championship and second at this year’s U.S. Open.
The mental hurdle remains, and one has to wonder if it is a mental block at this stage.
“You know, finishing second isn’t great, so I will play my heart out tomorrow,” Oosthuizen said. “I think all of us are just human to think of lifting the trophy, and that’s going to be in your mind. But I think you just need to know it and how to handle it. Once we get on the golf course, it’s all golf. You need to believe that you can lift the trophy as well.”
Oosthuizen was at 13-under after 10 holes but then bogeyed the par-3 11th and the par-4 13th and could only come away with a par on the par-5 14th, which felt like another dropped shot considering how vulnerable the 14th had been to birdies throughout the round.
But he was able to recover and make a 15-foot putt to save par and then went on to birdie the par-3 16th and finish the round in more convincing fashion.