San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Oosthuizen leads, but late scramble sets up tense finish
SANDWICH, England — Louis Oosthuizen stood on the 11th tee with only one bogey on his card over 46 holes at Royal St. George’s and a twoshot lead Saturday afternoon in the British Open.
Five holes later, he stood over a 10foot putt that he had to make to avoid trailing for the first time since the 12th hole of the second round.
Jordan Spieth was tied for the lead and belted a drive down the middle of the 17th fairway, leaving him only a halfwedge to the green. He walked off the 18th green three shots behind, so furious at missing a 2foot putt that he bolted for the practice green and refused to speak to the media.
In the middle of all this chaos was Collin Morikawa, who went from a twoshot deficit to four shots behind after five holes, and he was fortunate it wasn’t worse. The Cal alum was still four shots behind on the 11th hole and was tied for the lead four holes later.
The final two hours set the tone for a final round off the English coast where about all anyone could count on is good weather.
Oosthuizen still managed to take the lead with a 1underpar 69, getting a boost from a bold tee shot on the par3 16th to 8 feet for a birdie that gave him a oneshot lead over Morikawa (68), three clear of Spieth (69).
Highlights
Leading: Louis Oosthuizen (69) at 12-under 198.
In pursuit: Collin Morikawa (68) was one shot behind.
Fuming: Jordan Spieth (69) bogeyed his last two holes, headed straight to the putting green and declined all media requests. He had been tied for the lead in the 17th fairway but fell to third, three strokes back.
Sunday’s TV: 3-11 a.m. !38
“I did have a lot of opportunities to go two or three better, but that’s what this golf course can do to you,” said Oosthuizen, a South African.
He faces a huge test. Since his British Open victory at St. Andrews in 2010, he has been runnerup six times in majors, including the past two.
Different about this chance is it’s the first time Oosthuizen has had the lead. He was part of a threeway tie going into the last round at St. Andrews in 2015 (he lost in a playoff ) and at the U.S. Open last month (he finished one shot behind Jon Rahm).
“Go one better,” Oosthuizen said, repeating a theme he has mentioned all week. He knows he’s playing well enough to believe this major might be different.
“Finishing second isn’t great,” he said. “So I will play my heart out tomorrow and see if I can lift the Claret Jug again.”
The R&A did its best to help to make Royal St. George’s as difficult as it could be under the circumstances. Wind is the best defense on any links course, and it has largely gone on holiday at this British Open.
The course played to its maximum length, the back of every tee in play, making the course play 90 yards longer — 7,179 yards — than the scorecard.
Several pins were tucked behind knobs and invited trouble.
“The pin locations were no joke,” Rahm said after a 68, leaving him five shots behind. “I don’t know if on TV you could appreciate it, but those are some of the hardest pin locations collectively I’ve ever seen.”
Morikawa, already a major champion at age 24, will be playing in the final group of a major for the first time.
His iron play is world class, and that wasn’t the problem Saturday. He misjudged the wind on the second hole and had to make a 7footer to escape with bogey. That was a good bogey. That also was his last one.
“I’ve never been in the position all the previous other times,” said Morikawa, who has a major and a World Golf Championship to his credit. “To be honest, you build a game plan and we see what we need to do all the way through the tournament and I stick to it.”
Oosthuizen’s struggles with his swing along the back nine made it more than a threeman race. Corey Conners had a bogeyfree 66 and Scottie Scheffler a 69 to get within four shots. Rahm was in a large group that included Mackenzie Hughes and Dylan Frittelli.