Saturday 21 July 2018 16:01, UK
Chris Wood was left to rue one bad mistake which cost him the chance of a record score on the third day of The Open at Carnoustie.
Wood got off to a superb start playing alongside Paul Casey in ideal early conditions on Saturday morning, making five birdies over the first seven holes as he raced to the turn in 31 - the best outward nine of the tournament.
The former BMW PGA champion rolled in further birdie putts at the 10th and 13th to reach seven under for the round as he headed to the par-five 14th - which has rated as the easiest hole on the course over the first three rounds.
But an errant second shot nestled in a deep greenside bunker close to the face, and he needed two attempts to escape the trap before two-putting for a disappointing bogey-six.
Wood also bogeyed 17 and looked likely to finish on a sour note when he pulled his second to the last, but his ball finished inches from the out-of-bounds fence and left him with barely any backswing for his third shot.
He managed to stab his ball towards the green but couldn't quite make the putting surface, but he holed out for a welcome par and a round of 66 which lifted him to three under for The Open.
As he reflected on his misfortune in the bunker at 14, Wood said "it's a tough shot, obviously. It's about a foot from the face, and I got down there and thought I might have a shot to get to the pin. But the bank faces are so steep, and it was really high.
"I had to jump to see the flag there, but I was seeing myself flighting it up, getting it to within 10 feet. That was probably an unrealistic shot, and it didn't go out, obviously, and I took a bit of medicine with the second go.
"That sort of killed the round a little bit. To have been eight under through 14 is looking strong there," added Wood, who was relieved to escape with a par at the closing hole.
"I obviously got a break after the second shot, just finishing in-bounds," he added. "It was either a penalty drop or have a go with a sneaker shot on the other side of the fence, but I felt like I could get the ball maybe five yards in front of me, and the fairways and fringes are so good and so quick, it's just like putting on the green anyway.
"So once I got within a yard or two of the green, I did fancy it. It was a pretty easy read, double break, right to left, left to right, but lovely to see it go in the middle."
