Round Three:
8.40pm: That's it from us for now. It should be a thrilling final day with a host of different scripts waiting to be played out. But DJ and I are in complete agreement as to who will be lifting the Claret Jug - Phil Mickelson! All will be revealed.
8.05pm: Here is DJ's report: Todd Hamilton reveals that he is good friends with Brian Watts – the man just touched off by Mark O'Meara in the 1998 Open at Royal Birkdale. Watts told him that he was remarkably calm going into the final round six years ago when in contention and Hamilton is hoping that he can be the same – he has felt relaxed all through the week so far. The American admits that he plays `ugly golf' – it is not unusual for him to miss six or eight greens in a round and rely on his short game for scoring. If Sunday does turn into survival of the fittest then don't be surprised if Hamilton is able to hang around until the prizes are handed out. This is my second visit to the Thomas Levet press conference and he is not quite as buoyant as Friday. He seems to have taken dropping from nine-under to six-under over the final nine holes quite well, blaming a lack of concentration on the 11th for his double bogey and just bad luck for a dropped shot on 16 when the wind eased as he hit his approach. He does admit to feeling tired though after last week's excitement at Loch Lomond so he will have to dig deep in the pressure cooker environment of a Major championship Sunday.
8.00pm: Well, all our outright tips are just about the drain unless Davis Love shoots a 63 tomorrow. Sorry about that. Hopefully you took more notice of the advice we got from our two local contacts - Keyser and Linksman. Keyser's spread bet of the week was a sell of Nick Price's finishing position at 34 and the Zimbabwean is now tied 12th. And Linksman said the two players that took his eye in practice were Ernie Els and Retief Goosen who sit second and third. Excellent advice chaps.
7.45pm: DJ has just been to the Todd Hamilton and Thomas Levet press conferences so he'll report on those in a few minutes.
7.30pm: Mickelson finally comes into interview after stopping to sign autographs and doing some TV stuff outside. He's in very relaxed mood, joking with a US journalist before the official questions are asked. Despite his woeful Open record, Mickelson doesn't seem at all surprised to be just two shots off the lead and shows his media awareness by saying "it will make for some great television". He's whisked in and out pretty swiftly and in comes Ernie Els to speak about his round of 68. Els says he hit some good iron shots from the 12th inwards and reckons that, depending on the weather, anyone within four shots has a legitimate chance of winning. He reveals he knows shock leader Todd Hamilton from their days playing in Japan in the early 90s and says the American is suited to links golf due to his low ball flight. As honest as always, Els says he "played crap" in the final round of the US Open at Shinnecock when shooting 80 and says he is confident going into tomorrow's final round. He also adds that he "lives and breathes" for the Majors.
6.30pm: We're just about to head off to the Phil Mickelson press conference. Retief Goosen was also asked to come in to the press tent but headed straight to the practice ground
5.45pm: Scrub that last entry! Levet takes a double bogey at 11 and falls back to -7.
5.40pm: Appleby won't be winning here after carding a 73 but he redeems himself to some extent by beating Toms in his two-ball to give us another even money payout. Our final two-ball was Levet to beat Kendall and the Frenchman is four clear after 10 holes so we have to be confident about that one too. I still think Levet is the man to beat now while Phil Mickelson - three off the lead at six under - may emerge as his biggest threat.
4.50pm: Everything seemed to be perfect a few hours ago. I was strolling along the side of the ocean watching Davis Love and Stuart Appleby making birdies and the sun was shining. But I've just walked back into the press tent after a thorough drenching and to find that Appleby and Love have slipped out of contention. Oh well, thems the breaks. The rain really thundered down when I was stood at the top of a mound watching Tiger play the seventh and Love and Gary Evans tee off at the Postage Stamp. Luckily I had a waterproof jacket tied around my waist but without an umbrella I suffered a good soaking. The eighth is not a great place to get caught as it's almost as far from the comfort of the press tent that you can get. The skies clear pretty quickly as I make the dash to dryness but metaphorical clouds gather overhead when the radio informs me that Justin Leonard is falling to pieces just as he has his two-ball against Kenny Ferrie in the bag. I now walk back along the beach as this is a time for reflection. Fortunately, when I get back to the tent, Leonard birdies the last to win by two. The even money was a bit of a steal after all. DJ and I also decided that Thomas Levet could easily go on and win this so we had backed him at 14/1. Three early birdies and it's looking good for the Frenchman as his price drops to 9/2 on Betfair.
3.40pm I nip out to the first tee to watch Levet and Kendall get under way. Levet's mood is far cheerier than the extremely ominous black clouds that are gathering out to sea and heading in our direction. Kendall is a bit more pensive but looks focused. I scurry back to the press tent and reach cover as the mother of all squalls soaks Troon.
3.15pm Dave T is out on the course monitoring the progress of our tips first hand (should be delighted) while I stay in the press centre to watch the overall situation. Tiger Woods has made a dream start and is three under for his round and four under for the championship while Phil Mickelson opens birdie-birdie to reach five under. Ernie Els also gets in on the action with a three at the first and he is also five under. Leaders Thomas Levet and Skip Kendall will be watching all this unfold as they warm up and nobody would blame them for looking nervously over their respective shoulders.
1.30pm: Our two remaining outright tips - Stuart Appleby (1.35pm) and Davis Love (1.45pm) - are both out soon so I'm going to watch them on the outward nine. Both stand at one-under-par - six shots off the lead.
1.20pm: Bob Estes, in the third group out this morning, comes in with a 69. I bet Skip Kendall would buy that score off him if he could.
12.40pm: We've just wandered down to the official merchandise tent to have a look at the excellent book stall owned by a collector called Rhod McEwan. There's some great second-hand stuff there - 'Allis Through The Looking Glass', 'Come Swing With Me' by Doug Sanders and Bob Hope's 'Confessions Of A Hooker' all take the eye but they don't come cheap. We pass several groups as we head back to the press tent. There's a big Scottish roar as Sandy Lyle holes a putt and there's a sizeable Japanese contingent both sides of the ropes following Shigeki Maruyama. As we pass the clubhouse we see Justin Leonard and Kenny Ferrie on the putting green. We were staggered that 1997 Troon champion Leonard was even money to win their two-ball so we've lumped on the American. Leonard looks the part in his sunglasses and immaculate dark black clothing while happy-go-lucky Ferrie resembles a 70s wrestler. It's easy to envisage him in a blue leotard going gut to gut with Mick McManus or perhaps forming a tag team with Andrew Oldcorn to take on McManus and Catweasel.
11.10pm: Conditions are definitely brightening up outside, which is where we're heading now.
11.00pm: Bob Estes just misses another birdie putt but is still three under for the day.
10.40am: Another fine full English (or perhaps we should be saying full Scottish) in the press canteen but we don't get beans this time. Perhaps the disappointment is too great for Sky Sports presenter David Livingstone, who settles for a sausage in a bap.
10.15am: Time for some breakfast.
10.10am: We've just spent five minutes tossing grass into the air to try and work out the wind direction. It seems to have switched and is into the player's faces as they tee off at the first. It is fairly light though. It's still raining although drizzle would probably be a fair term. So how are this morning's starters coping? The nine players out there are an accumulative four over par. James Kingston just took a double bogey at the first but, by contrast, Bob Estes is two under for the day after three. Then again the American is a fine links player and has reeled off six top 25s in his 10 previous Opens.
9.30am: DJ and I are just working out our two-ball bets for the day. Meanwhile, Sean Whiffin has made par at the opening hole.
8.50am: The first pair go out at 9.10am and, due to the odd number of players making the cut, a marker is likely to accompany England's Sean Whiffin. The final group of Skip Kendall and Thomas Levet tee-off at 3.30pm with the glamour two-ball of Tiger Woods and Adam Scott heading out at 1.55pm.
8.30am: It's pouring down as we leave our digs in Ayr although it's less heavy when we arrive in Troon. Still, umbrellas are up everywhere and a Japanse lady is clearly berating her husband for allowing her to turn up in pure white cut-off trousers and high heels. There are plenty of grey clouds overhead still with just a hint of better skies out over the sea. As we saw yesterday they will drift inland later so hopefully we can expect an improvement in the weather.
THE OPEN NEWS
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