The Open Championship - Royal Birkdale - Saturday - Round 3

SAM Burns leads The Open by 2 after a 3rd round 65. He is now in position for a huge Sunday finish at:- The 154th Open after posting the lowest consecutive 36 holes in major championship history.

 

Southport's local contingent gave the home crowds plenty to cheer about during Saturday's 3rd Round. Tommy Fleetwood mounted a superb charge up the leaderboard, navigating the challenging afternoon conditions to card a:- 3 under par 67. The local favorite now sits firmly in contention at:- 7 under par heading into Sunday. Meanwhile, fellow Southport golfer Ben Schmidt also put on a resilient display of his own. The 23 year old regional qualifier dug deep through the trickiest wind changes to post a steady 71, keeping his overall score at:- 1 over.par and safely inside the cut line to the delight of the local galleries.
 

Also, making interesting play was Bryson DeChambeau who called a rules official over to his ball on 18. He appeared to make a joke that got a laugh out of the crowd around him. On the green he said that his:- "ball moved slightly," but he did not cause it to move.
 

Soon after Rory McIlroy commented on Bryson DeChambeau's 2 shot penalty at Royal Birkdale and how he handled it. McIlroy said:- "I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I'm not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it's performative. I think a lot of it's for attention."

Off the Greens the public have praised the many sicurity staff from G4S, and Merseyside Police for being very friendly and helpful. Also getting high praise where the countless volunteers, along with the staff at Merseyrail's Hillside Station, plus Arriva Busses. Another group also getting praised for helping people where the carpark staff from CSP. Even Southport St John Ambulance and the North West Ambulance Service have all been praised by visitors from the local area to as far away as New Zealand... These people set the tone of the event and not only make the event look welcoming but also the area. Many people we have spoken to are now looking at returning to the area next year for holidays, including 3 groups we spoke yo from the US, all of them singing high praise.  It also local businesses getting praised as well as the local community.  Let's hope this turns into more international and national tourism business for our area.  If you have attend or are attending please do let us know your thoughts. Yes, we haven't forgotten the many staff on site and the concession stands who are also delivering a fantastic service. If you think we missed anyone out or really want to highlight the efforts put in to making you welcome by any one or groups we have missed, please do let us know.