The Open: The best stats from round three

All the facts and figures from Saturday at The Open, including Lowry’s record-breaking stats and a bad omen for Fleetwood & Co.

ONE
The number of birdies made on the par-3 6th, the lowest on any hole. Nearly a quarter of the field hit the green in regulation, but averaged 1.92 putts.

THREE
Sixteen of the previous 19 Open champions were at/within three of the lead through 54 holes. Bad news for everyone but Shane Lowry.

FOUR
Fleetwood will try to become the first man to win a major when trailing by four or more shots after 54 holes since Dustin Johnson at the 2016 US Open. The man DJ beat that day? Shane Lowry. 

FIVE
J.B. Holmes had led or co-led five times on Tour at the halfway stage of a tournament but has only converted one of those – the 2008 Waste Management Phoenix Open – into victories.

SIX
Over the last 50 years, only five percent of majors have been won by players trailing by six or more entering the final round.

+7
Englishman Ashton Turner props up the leaderboard, and will play his final round alongside Royal Portrush head pro Gary McNeill, who acted as a non-competing marker for Paul Waring today. 

11 
Jordan Spieth, who is still looking for his first win since the 2017 Open, is one of 11 Americans in the top 20 and ties. 

14TH
Ranked as the hardest hole on the course. The easiest was the par-5 2nd for the third time this week.

15
Koepka has now shot 15 rounds in the 60s in his last 19 played in major championships. Not only that, he also beat Justin Rose for the first time in the 10 rounds they’ve played together. Koepka shot a 67 to Rose’s 68, but still trails the Englishman by 17 strokes combined.

19
The number of birdies made by Shane Lowry through 54 holes, three more than anyone else.

22
Since 1900, this is the 26th time a player has led The Open by four or more shots with one round to go. Twenty two of them went on to win.

35.575
The average score on the front nine, rendering it the tougher of the two for the third day in a row.

42.85
The percentage of fairways hit by Graeme McDowell and Justin Thomas, the lowest of all the players who made the cut.

63
The new course record on the redesigned Dunluce Links, set by Lowry. He was one of just two players to go bogey free.

65
Danny Willett shot a career-low score in a major (a six-under, 65); though he’ll probably need to better it to overturn the nine-shot deficit to Lowry.

83.33
Percentage of greens hit by Lowry. He’s also hit 28 of 42 fairways.

388 YARDS
The total distance of Koepka’s drive on the par-4 17th which found the front edge of the green.

07:32
The start of the final round has been brought forward due to forecasted bad weather, meaning the first group will go off at 07:32am. The final tee time is at 13:47.

197
Lowry set the lowest 54-hole total in Open history, beating the previous record set by Tom Lehman in 1996.

1900
Every Open champion since 1900 except one (Paul Lawrie in 1999) were inside the top-ten entering the final round. If Fleetwood wins, he will become the first Englishman to claim his maiden major win at The Open since Sir Nick Faldo in 1987.