![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5949.jpg\")
Ryan Fox celebrates victory on the 18th green. Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst\/R&A\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\nUpdated at\u00a013.38 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
Fox then sets about hoisting the Claret Jug properly for the cameras, before having a word with Sky Sports. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable to be honest \u2026 I still don\u2019t know what to think \u2026 my nerves are all over the place \u2026 I\u2019m not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18 \u2026 it\u2019s a dream come true \u2026 looking at this trophy now, it\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve seen it up close, so it\u2019s pretty amazing \u2026 I said to my caddie through six or eight holes, I feel a lot better than I thought I would feel right now \u2026 played really solid early and hit some great shots down the stretch \u2026 I stood on the [18th] tee and said to my caddie, we\u2019re gonna try to win this \u2026 I hit two perfect shots \u2026 I\u2019m not sure how I hit the putt, my hands were all over the place \u2026 I was just trying to get it towards the hole somewhere \u2026 it\u2019s surreal \u2026 champion golfer of the year has a pretty good ring to it \u2026 it\u2019s always been see a shot, hit a shot \u2026 as soon as I start thinking about it too much then some bad stuff creeps in \u2026 I just picked my shot and hit it \u2026 thankfully I kinda executed them pretty well!\u201d<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Time for Ryan Fox\u2019s speech. \u201cAw wow! \u2026 I don\u2019t really know what to think at the moment \u2026 my wife and kids are in Florida at the moment \u2026 I spoke to my kids last night and they said \u2018bring back the trophy\u2019 and I think that\u2019s a pretty cool one to bring back for them! \u2026 the English weather was fantastic \u2026 the support was amazing \u2026 this is pretty cool \u2026 thank you very much!\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The trophy presentation. The R&A chief executive Mark Darbon carries the Claret Jug onto the 18th green, that beautiful Art Deco clubhouse the backdrop. Darbon announces the results in the time-honoured style: \u201cWith a score of 270, the winner of the gold medal and the champion golfer of the year: Ryan Fox!\u201d At which point Fox enters from behind the grandstand, through a guard of honour, and soaks up the applause, before being handed the famous old jug and raising it carefully, gracefully to the sky!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox has broken the record for winning from the lowest position on the leaderboard after the first round. He was tied for 85th on Thursday, seven behind the 18-hole leader Jackson Suber. The previous record was held by Mark O\u2019Meara, who was tied 62nd after 18 holes in 1998 \u2026 also at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n You simply have to hand it to Ryan Fox. A final round of 68. Four birdies in the last six holes. During that run, he didn\u2019t have the luck: terribly unfortunate lies in bunkers at 15 and 17. But he took his medicine at 15, and stayed firm on 17, and this is his reward. Despite having to settle for that bogey on 15, he then seized the day with magnificent approaches at 16 and 18, setting up a pair of birdies that ripped the Claret Jug from Cameron Young\u2019s grip. A deserved win \u2026 though hats off to Young for a final round of 64 that took this whole championship to the wire. Young didn\u2019t lose it on the last hole today; it was the back nine yesterday that did for him. Oh, and Fox\u2019s excellence over the weekend. He was nowhere going into Saturday, having only just survived the cut. A record-equalling 62, followed by today\u2019s carpe-diem closing run of birdies, is some weekend\u2019s work. He\u2019s the new Open champion, and a very popular one!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ryan Fox wins the Open!<\/p>\n Ryan Fox wastes no time in taking his putt \u2026 and rolls his birdie putt straight into the cup! He raises both arms in the air as the gallery whoop and holler! Sam Burns gives him a hug, and New Zealand have their second Open champion, 63 years after the great Bob Charles!<\/p>\n -10: Fox (F) Ryan Fox celebrates victory on the 18th green. Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst\/R&A\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.38 EDT<\/p>\n Both players stalk the green, lining up their putts. The biggest putts in their lives. Sam Burns up first \u2026 and the right-to-left slider misses on the right. His race is run. He tidies up for par, a 72, and once again he\u2019s failed to convert at 54-hole lead into glory. Ah well, he\u2019s got a new baby to go home to.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox and Sam Burns stride up the last, both getting their flowers from the gallery. They\u2019ve both shot 62 this week. Outstanding. Meanwhile Cameron Young pounds drives on the practice range. The tension is palpable.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox will have a putt to win the Open! He swishes his eight iron straight at the flag, the ball landing softly, 12 feet shy of the pin. Sam Burns makes the dancefloor in regulation too, though he\u2019s got to make a right-to-left swinger from the best part of 30 yards if he\u2019s to have a chance of a play-off, which is the best he can do.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.33 EDT<\/p>\n Bogey at the last for Kim Si-woo, which is an awful shame. So close to becoming the first Korean winner of the Open. But in the end, it\u2019s an underwhelming 72, and he\u2019s -6.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox decides that he\u2019s not going to die wondering. He absolutely creams his drive down the middle of 18. Sam Burns has no other option, and powers one down himself. They\u2019re both in prime position. All sorts of possibilities opening up ahead. The final round of the Open Championship, everyone. This is epic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A 71 for Lucas Herbert. He\u2019ll finish the week at -6, but will always have that 62. A 71 for his playing partner Ludvig \u00c5berg too, and he ends up at -5. It\u2019ll be the Swede\u2019s second top-ten finish at a major this year, following his tie for fourth at the PGA. Just 26, his time will surely come.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fox puts for the lead \u2026 but the ball dribbles off to the right. Not so straight after all. He walks off with par, shaking his head. Par for Burns, who now has to birdie the last in the hope of forcing a play-off. Fox just needs par on 18 \u2026 or birdie for the Claret Jug! What an Open! This is going right down to the wire!<\/p>\n -9: Young (F), Fox (17) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox is forced to whip his ball out of the bunker while standing on the fairway, leaning in. He catches plenty of the ball and advances it up the hole. Good core strength, sir. He then wedges to ten feet, and will have a straight uphill putt for birdie and the outright lead. In the meantime, Sam Burns, having pulled his second to the left, can\u2019t wedge close and he\u2019ll have to make to do with par. He wears the look of a man who knows his race is run.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kim Si-woo hits his chip from the back of 17 a little fat. He can\u2019t make the 20-footer he leaves himself, and par means his race is almost certainly run. He\u2019d have to hole his second on 18 to tie with Cameron Young in the clubhouse. He\u2019s -7, and that fairway wood in was a hell of a shot. Not quite up there with Padraig Harrington back in the day, but it was something to witness nonetheless. An unlucky hard bounce. The small margins.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau ends the week with a 72. He\u2019s -4 overall. It promised so much, but Grassdance\u2122 took the wind out of his sails, one way or another. Some may blame the R&A, others the player himself. But here we are. At least he made the cut, which he couldn\u2019t manage in any of this year\u2019s other majors. And the love spills down from the stand. It\u2019s not quite Tommy levels, but the gallery appreciates the man\u2019s star quality. He stops to sign a couple of golf balls as well. We\u2019d miss him if he wasn\u2019t here.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox takes an iron for safety on 17 \u2026 but a mix of adrenaline and the conditions take his ball into the fairway bunker 325 yards on the right! It\u2019s only just toppled in, too, and he may have another almost impossible stance. What awful luck Fox is having. Sam Burns crashes his drive past that bunker and into the rough, but the lie looks reasonable. Meanwhile up the hole, Kim Si-woo padraigs a fairway wood into the green, a gentle fade in, but the ball keeps going and falls off the back. That\u2019s so unfortunate, as well.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox walks in his birdie putt! That\u2019s his third in four holes, and it\u2019s happening for the veteran Kiwi at exactly the right time! Par for Sam Burns, who makes a fine sandy save. And with Lucas Herbert having bogeyed 17 after sending his tee shot into the thick rubbish down the left for the second day in a row, it looks like we\u2019ve whittled it all down to four players: Young, Fox, Burns and Kim. It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n -9: Young (F), Fox (16) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Sam Burns attacks the flag on 16 with his second. He bites off too much. His ball slams into the bunker. Over to Ryan Fox. \u201cAw please be right!\u201d And it is right! A wedge, pin high from 150 yards to ten feet. A big chance to reclaim a share of the lead. Just before those shots, Kim Si-woo was possibly kissing goodbye to his hopes, having missed the green at 16 to the right, from where he was unable to get up and down. He\u2019s -7.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.02 EDT<\/p>\n A 68 for local hero Tommy Fleetwood<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood walks up the last, and gets the ovation he so richly deserved. The local hero\u2019s dream wasn\u2019t meant to be, but everyone loves Tommy whatever. He smiles broadly, puts his hand on his heart, then stops a moment to soak it all in. He makes a valedictory birdie for a 68, having knocked his final approach from 170 yards to ten feet, and ends the week at -7. More of your bedlam. Bedlam in the purest form. Imagine what it would have been like had he won? No need, it\u2019d have been exactly like this. They love Tommy whatever. Is there anyone with an interest in golf who doesn\u2019t? It\u2019s just not possible. Next year, somewhere, somehow \u2026 if the golfing gods listen to their people, that major\u2019s a-coming.<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood of England (left) and caddie Ian Finnis embrace on the 18th green. Photograph: Peter Byrne\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.13 EDT<\/p>\n Sam Burns nearly makes his birdie putt \u2026 but it stays stubbornly out on the right lip. \u201cHow\u2019s that stayed out?!\u201d he mouths. Par will do on a very difficult hole \u2026 as Ryan Fox\u2019s fate illustrates. He tidies up for bogey, and to be fair that\u2019s sensational course management. There was no point risking everything on a high-tariff wonder shot. He\u2019s taken his medicine, and he\u2019s still in the mix. But he\u2019s not still in the lead.<\/p>\n -9: Young (F) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fox doesn\u2019t faff about. He knows there\u2019s nothing to be gained in trying to be clever, so just accepts his fate. All he can do is play his ball back down the hole, and see what transpires from there. Try anything clever and he could be in a Thomas-Bjorn-infused world of pain. And it\u2019s the right decision, because he chips up from 50 yards to six feet, and will have a good chance to limit the damage to bogey.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox takes the flag on at the par-three 15th. He\u2019s on line \u2026 but doesn\u2019t have the distance. The ball smacks into the face of the big revetted bunker \u2026 and pings back into the trap, all the way back, resting up against the front edge. At first glance, he might not have any backswing whatsoever. That\u2019s an awful break for Fox, just as he\u2019d scaled the heights. Sam Burns lands his tee shot about a yard further, onto the green, and will have a 20-foot look at birdie. The small margins. Oh my.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kim Si-woo nearly drains a 30-footer across 15 for birdie. It shaves the right-hand edge of the cup. So close to joining Cameron Young in the lead. But Ryan Fox makes it! Whoops all around as the popular Kiwi \u2013 who doesn\u2019t have a single top-ten finish at a major to his name \u2013 takes a step closer to the Claret Jug!<\/p>\n -9: Young (F), Fox (14) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Fox is in the fescue to the left of 14. But he\u2019s caught a good lie, and takes advantage of his luck, clipping confidently onto the green and rolling out to a couple of feet. Birdie incoming! Sam Burns however only just smacks his ball out of the bunker. He doesn\u2019t commit to the stroke, and is fortunate the ball doesn\u2019t topple back into the sand. He\u2019s now got two putts from distance for par, in the knowledge that his playing partner will almost certainly be joining Cameron Young at the top.<\/p>\n Ryan Fox lines up his putt on the 14th green. Photograph: Andy Buchanan\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.43 EDT<\/p>\n Ryan Fox splits the fairway on the par-five 14th \u2026 then pulls his fairway wood over the back-left of the green. Sam Burns is also hitting his second from prime real estate \u2026 but his ball trickles into the pot bunker to the left of the green. Birdies still not beyond the realms, with the pin in an accessible position thanks to the contouring of the green, but the next shots are big.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kim Si-woo knocks a fine wedge onto the green from a tight spot to the left of 14. He leaves himself an uphill look at birdie from 20 feet \u2026 and though he reads the right-to-left swing perfectly, he doesn\u2019t give the putt enough oomph. His head drops a little, but he\u2019s got away with that overly ambitious driver off the deck, and remains at -8.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The outgoing champion Scottie Scheffler talks to Sky Sports: \u201cI was proud of how I fought today \u2026 I did my best \u2026 I tried to stay aggressive \u2026 I got two unfortunate bounces off the tee on 13 and 14 that really hurt \u2026 the [birdie on 17] was unusual \u2026 [the second shot] was a shot that I typically would not have played from over there! \u2026 maybe I should do it more often! \u2026 I played as hard as I could \u2026 I played a lot better than my score \u2026 the bounces not going my way \u2026 a lot of lips \u2026 I feel good that I could compete when things aren\u2019t going my way.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lucas Herbert doesn\u2019t get any spin on his chip in to 14. His ball shoots 30 feet past, and he can\u2019t make the putt coming back. Just a par on the first of the two par-fives: he remains -7. Par as well for his playing partner Ludvig \u00c5berg, who at -5 really needed something there. And when they clear off, Kim Si-woo decides to take driver off the deck out of rough down the right! Everyone going for broke like Scottie, it would seem. He doesn\u2019t catch it, and sends his ball into more rough, down the left this time.<\/p>\n Lucas Herbert and his caddie on the 14th. Photograph: Oisin Keniry\/R&A\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.37 EDT<\/p>\n Sam Burns doesn\u2019t take the flag on. He bundles a chip out to the right of the bunker, finding the green but leaving a 30-foot par putt. That\u2019s a great percentage play \u2026 and he rakes in the putt, a right-to-left curler that\u2019s perfectly judged! That could be huge; top marks for course management! Fox makes his birdie, and both men walk off with a spring in their step, for differing reasons.<\/p>\n -9: Young (F) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bother for Sam Burns down 13. Having sent his tee shot into the rough down the right, he tugs his second across the fairway and into thick nonsense on the left. He\u2019s 50 yards out, with a bunker in his road, and not much green to play with, the pin tucked behind the trap. He\u2019d grab a par with both hands. It\u2019s not on offer. But birdie is a live option for Ryan Fox, who splits the fairway from the tee, then wedges to 12 feet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scottie chooses to putt around the left of the bunker, in the hope the topography will be his friend. But it\u2019s not. His ball rolls harmlessly past the hole on the left, and he can\u2019t make the six-footer coming back. A bogey to finish, a final round of 66, and a staunch defence of his title. He finishes the week at -7 \u2026 and the year without a major. Not too many people would have put cash money on that, four months ago. And so we\u2019re now guaranteed a first-time major winner today!<\/p>\n -9: Young (F) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Scottie\u2019s lie down the right of 18 is as good as he could expect. But he doesn\u2019t catch his iron properly. \u201cNo! No!\u201d he cries as the ball lands apologetically in front of the bunker guarding the front-right portion of the green. He\u2019ll need to chip in or hole a monster putt if he\u2019s to grab a share of the clubhouse lead. It looks like his race is run \u2026 unless we\u2019ve got a Costantino Rocca moment coming up. We haven\u2019t got a Costantino Rocca moment coming up, have we?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kim Si-woo takes putter from the bottom of the swale to the front of 12. He doesn\u2019t really give it enough welly. That\u2019s 15 feet short, and a second bogey in a row. Meanwhile back on 11, Ryan Fox drops a second shot in three holes, failing to get up and down from the right side of the green. He\u2019s -7 and everyone at the moment is going backwards. This story is unfolding in a similar fashion to the 2003 Open at Sandwich \u2026 although to be clear, Cameron Young is on a completely different level to Ben Curtis. Then again, Curtis has a Claret Jug on his resum\u00e9; Young doesn\u2019t. Not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Kim Si-woo can\u2019t make his long par putt on 11, and it\u2019s getting very intriguing now. Especially as his tee shot at 12 disappears into a depression to the left of the green \u2026 and Scottie Scheffler\u2019s drive at 18 finds the rough down the right. At least he\u2019s not in the bunker, and can go for the green. The lie not awful, either.<\/p>\n -9: Young (F), Kim (11) Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026 and he makes that birdie, walking in the putt and clenching his fist in quiet determination. He\u2019s now -8, and needs to make birdie on the last to join Cameron Young in the clubhouse lead. Only two players have made three there today. Godspeed, Scottie Scheffler!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n To clarify (sort of): Scheffler\u2019s first ball went into the hospitality centre, and everyone\u2019s pretty sure of that. So even though they can\u2019t find it, they can give him a free penalty drop at point of entry because it\u2019s a temporary structure. He then gets line of sight. And finally he wedges over the huts from 100 yards to ten feet! If he birdies here, then makes another, we\u2019re filing this one alongside Spieth for sure.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pressure: more of it! Kim Si-woo sends his tee shot at 11 into a fairway bunker. He can only chop out, 70 yards down the track, and his ball disappears into thick rough. He finds the green with his third, and he\u2019s pin high, but will need to rake in a 30-footer to save his par. Meanwhile more news of Scottie, whose travails on 17 are turning into a Spiethesque saga! Turns out they\u2019ve found his first ball, and now he\u2019s working out where he can drop. Only at the Open. Quite often at Birkdale!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The pressure is getting to everyone. Lucas Herbert\u2019s second into 11 finds a bunker front left. He\u2019s not got much backswing, and has a downhill lie, and he\u2019s only able to bash out to 50 feet. Two putts later, and he slips to -7. Meanwhile it looks like Scottie Scheffler\u2019s first ball is gone, nobody can find it, so he\u2019ll have to play his provisional, which ended up in front of the hospitality stands, but still way left. Not sure why he went for broke with his second shot, to be honest: had he just sent an iron back into play, he could feasibly have got up and down from 100 yards, and hoped for birdie at the last to tie Cameron Young. But here we are, the jig pretty much up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s race is totally run. He\u2019s forced to take an unplayable down the left of 11, and runs up a triple-bogey seven. He\u2019s -2, and his story this week is all about the fescue. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler looks to be unravelling as well: still running hot, he considers taking driver off the deck (!) with his ball sitting up, just in front of a bunker in the mounds down the left of 17. He opts for fairway wood instead, and yanks his ball towards the hospitality suites to the left of the green. Perhaps behind them. He takes a provisional, and does exactly the same thing. Oh my. It can happen to the best of them, and it\u2019s just happened to Bryson and Scottie in short order. Open Sunday, everyone!<\/p>\n Farewell Bryson DeChambeau, we hardly knew ye. Photograph: Jacob King\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.49 EDT<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler is normally the coolest of customers. But he loses the place completely having sent his tee shot down the left of 17, his ball kicking further left and into thick oomska. \u201cWhy? WHY? Why \u2026 how does that even happen?! \u2026 the ball slicing \u2026 one bounce \u2026 one bounce!\u201d Some proper full-throated yelling. Links golf, all y\u2019all!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bounceback birdie for Scottie Scheffler! It\u2019s not quite over yet for the defending champion! He needs two birdies to finish, or an eagle on 17 perhaps. But he\u2019s still alive and kicking.<\/p>\n -10: Kim (9) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Problems for Ryan Fox on 9. His drive stops 60 yards short of the green. He overhits his chip, which trundles down the bank at the back into Fleetwood Country \u2026 then underhits the one coming back up. The ball only just reaches the top of the bank, before u-turning and disappearing into the thick grass. He does extremely well to knock his second attempt four feet past the flag, and tides up to limit the damage to bogey. Par meanwhile for Sam Burns, who has stemmed the bleeding if nothing else. Meanwhile back-to-back birdies for Lucas Herbert, who again and again simply refuses to buckle under pressure. If he wins this, they\u2019ll be replaying that long blind iron into 17 yesterday for ever and ever.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The brilliant Cameron Young, slightly dejected but proud, speaks to Sky Sports. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have asked for a better start \u2026 I just kept it going nicely \u2026 very few opportunities to make bogey \u2026 at this point the greens aren\u2019t perfect \u2026 so I was very proud \u2026 [his drive at 18] got blown really far right \u2026 it\u2019s windy out there \u2026 then the strategy was try to make four \u2026 it didn\u2019t work out \u2026 proud of the up and down for five \u2026 I could have made six and taken myself out of it entirely \u2026 I would have loved to be ten [under] \u2026 we\u2019ll see \u2026 you\u2019d expect somebody to get a few more under par.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n While all that drama was unfolding, Bryson DeChambeau was breaking his run of pars \u2026 with bogey on 9. Out in 35, and his hopes of winning this title are almost kaput. He\u2019s -5. Tommy Fleetwood\u2019s race is also pretty much run, with a third bogey on the bounce, this time at 11. He\u2019s -5 as well. And it\u2019s looking like Scottie Scheffler\u2019s title defence is coming to an end, as he misses the green at the par-three 15th and fails to get up and down. Two bogeys in three holes, and at -6, the world number one\u2019s been just that little bit off all week. And still only a handful of shots away from glory!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Cameron Young shoots 64<\/p>\n Cameron Young can feel the Claret Jug slipping through his fingers. This is awful to watch. It only registers four out of ten on our Vandeveldeometer\u2122, though, because he nearly holes out from the sand. \u201cNo way!\u201d he sighs as he holds his club behind him, across his shoulders, as though he\u2019s trying to crucify himself. He makes the three-footer that remains, and given what happened back up the hole, he\u2019s done so well to gather himself and make that up-and-down from sand. A bogey to finish isn\u2019t ideal, but at least he didn\u2019t crumble after making those errors from the tee and fairway bunker, and he\u2019s dealt with his pressure now. And that\u2019s a closing round of 64, by the way. Over to everyone else to see how they react as it ramps up over the closing stretch!<\/p>\n -10: Kim (8) Cameron Young reacts to nearly chipping in from the bunker on the 18th. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.27 EDT<\/p>\n Cameron Young is going to take over from Casey Jarvis as clubhouse leader soon. But by how many strokes? Because having found the fairway bunker down the left, he thinks he can clear the revetted face. Wrong. He slams his ball straight into it. The ball pings out to the right, into the rough. He was nowhere near clearing that: there are eight layers of turf making up the face, and his ball exploded into the second from bottom. Then his third shot trickles into the bunker to the right of the green. Real trouble now. What typical Open drama!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve been talking all week about Jackson Suber, Open debutant supreme. But he\u2019s currently two over for his round, and -4 overall. Meanwhile the 22-year-old South African Casey Jarvis, also on debut, has just walked in a birdie, and timed his run to perfection! A blemish-free 66, and a player almost nobody has paid attention to all week is the new clubhouse leader at -6!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The last thing Cameron Young wants to do is send his driver into the bunker down the right of the 18th fairway \u2026 but that\u2019s exactly what he does. Can he get over the face of the bunker to make the green? The truth will eventually out. Meanwhile a second consecutive bogey for Tommy Fleetwood, punishment for carving his tee shot miles right on 10. He\u2019s back to -6 and the mood around Birkdale right now is best described as pensive.<\/p>\n Cameron Young reacts after missing par from a bunker on the 18th. Photograph: Peter Byrne\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.09 EDT<\/p>\n Burns is two off Kim\u2019s pace \u2026 and now two off Cameron Young as well. He bumps up at 17 to three feet, and tidies up for birdie. Meanwhile par for Kim on 7. This is going to be good.<\/p>\n -10: Young (17), Kim (7) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Sam Burns has to take a penalty drop from the hazard down the left of 6. His iron into the green isn\u2019t all that, short and left, and he\u2019s staring a double in the face. So given what\u2019s recently happened to him, he gathers himself impressively to wedge from the top of a bank to kick-in distance, limiting the damage. But that\u2019s still three bogeys in a row. He\u2019s -8, two off Kim\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy ends his week with bogey and a 71. He\u2019s -1, and doesn\u2019t hide his disappointment at a non-event of a week. Back on 17, Cameron Young sends his second just shy of the green: an up and down from the swale front-left will give him a share of the lead. And some bad luck for Bryson on 8, as he lands his approach on the green only for the spin, and then the contours of the putting surface, to take his ball back into a bunker. He makes a sandy save, but that\u2019s now eight pars on the bounce. Faldoesque! More of that sweet, sweet irony. He\u2019s -6.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026 Kim Si-woo\u2019s second at 6 rolls into a swale to the left of the green. He takes putter \u2026 and whistles the down-and-up-and-across 20-footer in for birdie! As Sam Burns slips out of the lead, Kim goes the other way to snatch it for himself! Meanwhile Tommy Fleetwood can\u2019t get up and down from the back of 9, and he slips back to -7. Scottie Scheffler ends up with bogey as well, that wild drive on 13 so costly.<\/p>\n -10: Kim (6) Share<\/a><\/p>\n Trouble for Scottie Scheffler on 13. His sends his driver miles right of the fairway, and his ball plugs in a sandy dune. He can only see the top half of his Titleist! He needs two big whacks to get his ball back onto the fairway. Meanwhile Tommy Fleetwood hits a hot one through the 9th green and down a bank at the back. And Sam Burns chips through the green on 5, then from the bottom of the swale at the back, overhits a putt up, 20 feet past. He can\u2019t make the long par putt. Exceptionally careless \u2026 and now he\u2019s pulled his tee shot at 6 into a ditch! Burns unravelling \u2026 just as Jordan Spieth did at this point in 2017. So there\u2019s that. Leaderboard update coming in a sec, because \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kim Si-woo could be the danger man here, you know. Sky Sports have just flashed up a graphic that shows the back-nine scoring this week of the leading contenders. Consider this! It\u2019s something to consider as we reach the business end of this Open. And remember that old saw: major championships only begin on the back nine on Sunday.<\/p>\n -7: Kim
-9: Young (F)
-8: Burns (F)<\/p>\n
-8: Burns (17)<\/p>\n
-8: Burns (16)
-7: Scheffler (F), Fleetwood (F), Kim (16)<\/p>\n
-8: Kim (15), Fox (15), Burns (15)
-7: Scheffler (F), Herbert (16)<\/p>\n
-8: Kim (15), Burns (14)
-7: Scheffler (F), Herbert (15)<\/p>\n
-8: Kim (13), Fox (13), Burns (13)
-7: Scheffler (F), Herbert (13)<\/p>\n
-8: Kim (12), Burns (12)
-7: Scheffler (F), Herbert (13), Fox (12)<\/p>\n
-8: Scheffler (17), Fox (10), Burns (10)
-7: Herbert (12)<\/p>\n
-9: Young (F)
-8: Herbert (10), Fox (9), Burns (9)
-7: Scheffler (16)
-6: Jarvis (F), Gerard (9)<\/p>\n
-9: Young (F), Fox (8)
-8: Burns (8)
-7: Scheffler (14), Herbert (9)
-6: Jarvis (F), Gerard (8)<\/p>\n
-9: Fox (6)
-8: Burns (6)
-7: Scheffler (13), Fleetwood (9)
-6: Dechambeau (8), Herbert (7), Gerard (7)<\/p>\n
-9: Young (16), Fox (5), Burns (5)
-7: Scheffler (13), Fleetwood (9)
-6: DeChambeau (7), Herbert (6), Gerard (6)<\/p>\n
-5: Burns
-2: Fox
-1: Fleetwood
E: Scheffler<\/p>\n