The 18-hole finale of the 144th playing of the Open Championship on Monday is going to be a doozie.
It will be all-out madness, no doubt. A look at the 54-hole scoreboard at St. Andrews show a list of the usual and unusual suspects when it comes to major championship golf.
Sunday presented the field with a perfect opportunity to score well. Some big names did, others didn’t.
The big news is that HE is there again and HE is Jordan Spieth, winner of the Masters and U.S. Open and now with a great chance to become the first player to nail three straight since Ben Hogan.
The other big news is that big-hitter Dustin Johnson didn’t make a move, in fact, he went backwards, opening the door for a host of contenders and that is exactly what you have.
Here is what they look like, what they did and what they need to do on Monday:
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: He shot 67 Sunday and is tied at the top of the leader board with a 21-year-old upstart amateur, who has everyone surprised, if not shocked. But Ooszthuizen knows what it takes to win at St. Andrews. He hoisted the Claret Jug at the Old Course back in 2010. “Nice to be in position to lift the Claret Jug,” he said after an impressive round. He will be in the final twosome on Monday.
PAUL DUNNE: What makes him stick out is the “a” before his name. Talk about an unlikely 54-hole leader! He’s the first amateur to be in that position since Bobby Jones in 1927. He’s a student at the University of Alabama-Birmingham where another Irishman played and that is Graeme McDowell. Dunne was a qualifier for this championship and was nearly late for his last-round qualifying tee time. His 66 on Sunday earned him a spot in the final twosome with Oosthuizen. “He played unbelievable,” is how Oosthuizen described Dunne’s Sunday. Dunne came into the championship as a 1,500-to-1 shot to win.
JASON DAY: No one showed more heart last month at the U.S. Open than Jason Day. And here he is again. He had the 54-hole lead at Chambers Bay and now he has a piece at 12-under after his 67. The vertigo that knocked him down and nearly out of the U.S. Open last month is under control and he was all smiles on Sunday after his round. “I’m very happy with how I played. I’m going to embrace it and enjoy the challenge,” he said of the final 18.
JORDAN SPIETH: He’s ba-a-a-a-ck! The best putter in the field made his run up the scoreboard early Sunday and put up a 66 to get to 11-under and within a shot of the leaders. “I hope I’m within a couple so I don’t have to make up too many shots,” Spieth said after finishing long before the leaders. He got his wish. He’s within one and the hope for history is very, very alive. His putter started looking the way it looked at Chambers Bay. He made only one mistake all day and it led to his only bogey at the par four ninth. He’s the players everyone will watch on Monday. He’s in the penultimate pairing with Day. It’s an excellent pairing for both. Don’t be surprised if the winner comes out of this twosome.
PADDY HARRINGTON: His 65 jumped him to 10-under, just two back of the leaders. He has the most majors of all the contenders and has won the Open Championship twice (2007, 2008). He broke a long winless drought last March when he prevailed at the Honda Classic. He is methodical, calculating and knows what it takes to lift the Claret Jug. He is the only man at 10-under par.
DANNY WILLETT: Willett started the day a shot off the lead but when the other contenders were going low, he was swimming upstream against the current. He really hurt himself when he hit his tee shot out-of-bounds right on the par five 14th. His 72 left him at nine-under, where he started to day. Now, he’s in a pack with eight others.
MARC LEISHMAN: Leishman shot the day’s low round — 64 to join the nine-under pack. He had a chance to shoot 63 and tie the major championship record for low score. Still, he moved into contention with spectacular play.
SERGIO GARCIA: Garcia played with Spieth and loved the pairing on Sunday. “I like this kid, I like his heart,” Garcia said of the Masters and U.S. Open champ. Sergio’s 68 has him close again but it is the story of his career. He is close but has never grabbed the cigar.
JUSTIN ROSE: He has what it takes to win a major but will he have what it takes when the weather turns ugly on Monday?
RETIEF GOOSEN, ZACH JOHNSON, ROBERT STREB, JORDAN NIEBRUGGE, ADAM SCOTT: What a mixed bag. Major champions Goosen, Johnson and Scott. All are capable. As for the rest, not so much. Niebrugge, an amateur, has done marvelous to get where he is.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: The 36-hole leader was the disappointment of the day. He started slow while everyone everyone else was going low. His only birdie of the day came when he ran one in from well off the 15th green, a blind pig finds the acorn kinda shot. Three straight bogeys to finish his round added up to 75 and at seven-under, he’s probably too far behind going into the last day.
The final round on Monday should be a sharp contrast to the conditions that led to so many low scores on Sunday. The forecast is for wind and rain, which means it’s anyone’s tournament.
