Herbert’s Open lead wiped out by spectacular Kiwi move
Ian Chadband |
Lucas Herbert will tee off his bid to lift the British Open title only as joint-leader after New Zealander Ryan Fox lit up third-round ‘moving day’ with a record-equalling 62.
Just as Herbert, the overnight leader by two shots, had equalled the lowest round ever recorded at a men’s major championship on Friday, Fox became the third man at Royal Birkdale this week to shoot a landmark eight-under round of 62 on Saturday.
With Sam Burns also on Friday having joined the elite group of seven men who’ve shot 62s, Fox’s remarkable move on Saturday rocketed him from level par to joint-leadership at eight under alongside Herbert, who was due to tee off an hour-and-a-half after the Kiwi had finished his amazing round.
There were great similarities between the brilliant efforts of 39-year-old Fox, son of the All Blacks World Cup great Grant Fox, and Herbert as they putted the lights out on the Lancashire links.
Fox made birdies at the second, third, fifth, sixth and eighth, completing an outward nine of 29, which was just one shot more than the record-breaking 28 recorded by Herbert on Friday.
The Aucklander then made another at the 10th and, despite his only bogey of the round at the 13th, responded immediately to birdie the 14th, 16th and 17th to give himself a chance of the first ever 61 if he could birdie the last.
A poor drive into a fairway put paid to that hope, but Fox played one of the shots of the week to blast out some 180 yards, even while clipping the top edge of the sand trap, to find the 18th dance floor.
From 47ft away, he putted up short to five foot but, unlike Herbert 24 hours earlier, was able to sink his par-putt.
It earned him congratulations from his playing partner Xander Schauffele, another of the men who’s shot a 62 in men’s majors.
Indeed, Schauffele is the only one to have achieved the feat twice with the others in the ’62 club’ now being Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry, Herbert, Burns and Fox.
Light winds prompted some early low-scoring on Saturday with Schauffele having moved up to four under after his 66, but Rory McIlroy was not making much headway, still on where he started at one under after 12 holes.
Meanwhile, as Bryson DeChambeau also prepared to tee off three shots behind, the two-stroke penalty imposed on him after his second round on Friday was described as a “clear-cut decision” by the R&A’s chief executive Mark Darbon.
DeChambeau had put together a stunning round of 66 and was alone in second place on the leaderboard, one shot off the lead, until R&A officials deemed he had inadvertently improved the area of his intended swing on the fifth hole.
“It was an unfortunate decision but really clear-cut from a rules perspective,” Darbon said on Saturday.
“There was some emotion but I empathise with that. Bryson has played a great round of golf, is in contention at a major championship, he wants to win the golf’s original major.
“We were focused on the ruling and making a fair assessment.”
AAP