Sam Burns has taken a two-stroke lead into the final round of The 154th Open, with Ryan Fox making history by matching the lowest major round in men's history and Bryson DeChambeau staying in contention for the title. Burns played alongside DeChambeau and boosted his chances of winning his first major title with a third-round 65 at Royal Birkdale, moving to 10 under par ahead of Fox and Si Woo Kim. Fox capitalized on favorable conditions earlier in the day to post an eight-under 62, joining Burns and overnight leader Lucas Herbert in equaling the lowest major round in men's history.
Herbert scrambled to save par and posted a one-over 71, sharing fourth place with Ryan Gerard, while DeChambeau is the only past major champion inside the top 10 heading into the final round. DeChambeau responded to a two-shot penalty for a rules infringement the previous day by briefly getting within two strokes of the lead, only to bogey the final hole and fall four strokes behind.
DeChambeau had considered withdrawing from the tournament after the penalty incident but returned to make a slow start to the third round. He missed a par-saving putt from five feet but holed a long-range shot to pick up a stroke at the sixth hole, as Burns made an early charge with four birdies in his first eight holes to take the lead. Burns found himself two strokes ahead when Herbert carded back-to-back bogeys late in his round, while DeChambeau closed within three strokes after making a six-foot birdie at the 15th hole.
DeChambeau matched Burns' birdie at the 17th but hit a wayward drive on his way to a bogey at the final hole, as Burns two-putted from 30 feet to move closer to his first major win. 'I think yesterday was so far out of the golf tournament, and I just needed to play a really good round to get myself back in it, and I was fortunate enough to do that,' Burns said. 'Then today, I got off to a nice start. I was just trying to focus on executing and give myself as many looks as possible, and we did a good job of that.' Kim posted a third-round 67 to share second place with Fox, ahead of Gerard and Herbert, while first-round leader Jackson Suber and Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen sit alongside DeChambeau on six under par.
'I'd want a couple of drives back today, maybe, but outside of that, I feel like I didn't really miss a shot,' Fox said after posting the eighth 62 round in men's major history. 'Had a couple of great shots down the stretch, putted really nicely.' Home favorite Tommy Fleetwood bogeyed two of his last four holes to slip five strokes back, with defending champion Scottie Scheffler six adrift after a level-par 70 and Rory McIlroy sitting eight strokes behind.
'If I go out tomorrow and get to double digits, you never know, but I certainly am not going out tomorrow thinking like I've got a great chance to win,' McIlroy admitted. 'Played okay for the most part. It was a little scrappy in areas.'