American golfer Sam Burns has positioned himself atop the leaderboard at the British Open, holding a two-stroke advantage as the tournament heads into its final round at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
Burns, 29, built on his scorching second-round 62 by shooting a five-under 65 on Saturday, bringing his total to 10 under par. His fellow American Bryson DeChambeau, who faced uncertainty about whether he would even tee off Saturday after receiving a two-stroke penalty for an inadvertent rules violation late Friday, rallied to post another solid round and remains four shots behind Burns heading into Sunday.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox electrified the field with a record-tying 62 — the third such score in just 24 hours at the tournament — and sits at eight under alongside South Korea’s Kim Si-woo. American Ryan Gerard and Australian Lucas Herbert, who led the field at the halfway point, are both at seven under.
Burns’ path to the top of the leaderboard wasn’t without early turbulence. After bogeying the final three holes of his opening-round 73, it appeared the trip to England might be cut short — he had hoped to return home to his wife Caroline and their newborn daughter Belle. But he has been nearly unstoppable since that rough start.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s final round, Burns said: “I’m going to have to go out and execute. I know that I can accept the outcome, and life’s going to move on. I’ll get to go home and see my family. I hope I’m taking some hardware with me, but if I’m not, that’s fine too.”
Burns also had kind words for DeChambeau, who was cheered by the galleries despite the Friday controversy. “Props to him,” Burns said. “He came out and played a really nice round of golf today, and that takes a lot of grit to be able to come out and do that. So I was impressed.”
DeChambeau had said the Friday penalty drama would “fire him up,” and he largely delivered — until a careless bogey on the 18th hole left him four shots off the pace.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, had a rough go of it Saturday, managing just one birdie in a level-par 70. That leaves him six strokes behind Burns, and barring a remarkable final round, the Claret Jug appears destined for a first-time major winner — which would mark the 13th consecutive year that has happened.
“A little bit frustrating, but if I hole some putts tomorrow, I could shoot a really low round and move my way up the leaderboard,” Scheffler said.
English golfer Tommy Fleetwood, playing in front of enthusiastic home crowds, is tied for ninth at five under after a 69.
Fox’s 62 on Saturday was the third score of that mark recorded in just 24 hours, joining Burns and Herbert from Friday. Prior to this week’s 154th Open Championship, only five rounds of 62 had ever been recorded in the history of men’s major golf — including Branden Grace’s effort at the 2017 Open, also held at Royal Birkdale, as well as rounds by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele at the 2023 U.S. Open, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry at the 2024 PGA Championship. That total has now grown to eight.
Fox had a chance to make history with a 61 on the 18th hole but his putt didn’t fall. “Standing on the last tee, I’m going if I can get one on the fairway here, you can get a wedge or a 9-iron in and have a putt for 61,” Fox said. “If you execute, you can score around here. If you don’t, it will bite you pretty quickly.”
Herbert, meanwhile, had a difficult Saturday — nine shots worse than his Friday round, during which he narrowly missed a five-foot putt that would have given him the first-ever 61 in men’s major championship history.
Despite his own struggles, Herbert offered a candid assessment of what Sunday holds. “Sam Burns is going to be a man possessed. Given his results in majors and him not winning one, I think he’s going to be very tough to beat,” Herbert said. “I’m not thrilled about giving him a three-shot head start, but we are where we are.”
