Billy Horschel takes his first-ever 54-hole lead at a major in 42 previous starts. However, a host of top talent lurks just below the veteran, waiting to pounce and set up an incredible Sunday at the season’s final major.
Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Rose headline a group of six players one shot off the pace. Burns and Thriston Lawrence took advantage of benign weather earlier in the day to shoot 65s and fly up the leaderboard, while Russell Henley did the same with a 66. Schauffele, Rose, and first-round leader Dan Brown battled through the worst of the elements in outstanding displays of golf to remain firmly in the mix.
Place Player Total to par Round 3 score
1 Billy Horschel -4 69
T-2 Dan Brown -3 73
T-2 Sam Burns -3 65
T-2 Thriston Lawrence -3 65
T-2 Xander Schauffele -3 69
T-2 Russell Henley -3 66
T-2 Justin Rose -3 73
8 Scottie Scheffler -2 71
9 Shane Lowry -1 77
T-10 Justin Thomas Even 67
T-10 Matthew Jordan Even 71
T-10 Adam Scott Even 66
The final 12 groups of the day battled torrential rains throughout their round, with only Horschel and Schauffele posting under-par scores from the bunch. While Schauffele is no stranger to major success, Horschel’s in unchartered territory for his lengthy career. He has just one top-10 result in a major in the past decade and six missed cuts in nine starts at The Open.