152nd British Open – Day 3 Summary – Articles

Here’s everything you need to know about Day 3 of the final Major Championship of the season.

Billy Horschel led, Si Woo Kim chased after the ace, Robert MacIntyre showed his deftness and everyone battled the weather on the third day of the 152nd British Open.

Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's rainy and windy Royal Troon event.

Horschel leads

Horschel battled through pouring rain throughout the Troon course to shoot 69 and will go into the final round with a one-shot lead. The American started five shots behind the leader but found himself tied for first when he shot 32, with many of the leading players falling back in conditions along the Scottish coast. Despite some fine pars on the back nine, he lost two shots on his way home but still leads at four under as he seeks his first major championship. English duo Dan Brown and Justin Rose, American trio Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Xander Schauffele and South African Sriston Lawrence are all three under, one shot ahead of world number one Scottie Scheffler, with overnight leader Sean Lowry the other under.

Kim scores historic ace

King created a magical memory that will go down in history when he aced the 17th hole. At 238 yards, the hole is nearly twice as long as the eighth hole at the Stamps Course, and King hit a perfect 3-iron at the end of the day. It is the longest hole-in-one ever recorded at the British Open (since 1980), surpassing Frank Lickliter II's 212-yard par-3 fifth hole at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in 2001. “My caddie told me 'you better hit it hard with the 3-iron,' so I did, and when I hit it I saw it go over the fringe (thinking) 'it must be in 20 feet,'” he said. “And then people were yelling at me because I didn’t realize it had gone in. It was amazing. I’ve had a lot of holes-in-one in my life, probably more than 10, but I think this was the most memorable one because it was a major and it was the British Open.” Troon has had five hole-in-ones in Open history.

Weather in United Kingdom

There were a lot of low scores early in the day, but just as the leaders were about to tee off, it started to pour rain. Some people continued to hit good scores, some didn't, but it was definitely fun.

Really, Bob?

Is there anything he can't do? The Ryder Cup champion, who won the Rolex Series title at home last week, now hits the ball right-handed and raced across the cut at breakneck speed. The result may not have been ideal, but, of course, MacIntyre made par. “I had some luck,” he said. “Missed the bunker, and then you get there and you don't have a shot. I couldn't even stand in the bunker and hit it. I just thought, 'Why not hit it right-handed?' As long as it's on the right, it's fine. The only place I can't go is left, so I aim for the TV tower on the right and swing. As long as I hit the club face, it's fine. I might hit it once recently, but with a full swing, I don't think I've hit it once in my life.”

Don't hold back, bro.

Those are the words Nicholas Colsaitz said as he watched Cameron Young hit this shot, and we can understand why. A slight sway sent the American tumbling into the Coffin bunker. He kept his balance and hit a great shot to save par.

The Glory of the Bunker

Billy Horschel, these are very, very special.