Reports and reaction
That’s the end of Moving Day. A third round for the ages, not least because Branden Grace finally became the first man to shoot lower than 63 in a major tournament. The relentless Jordan Spieth meanwhile is on course for his first victory at the Open Championship. He’s in pole position going into the final day. One way or another, some more history will be made tomorrow. See you here! Nighty night!
-11: Spieth
-8: Kuchar
-5: Connelly, Koepka
-4: Grace, Matsuyama
-3: D Johnson, Stenson, Kim, Cabrera-Bello
-2: Fisher, McIlroy, Ramsay, Poulter
-1: Fowler, Noren, Bland
Updated
Kuchar leaves his birdie putt out on the left! Spieth did a match-play number on him then. A par, and a marvellous 66, but he’s three adrift again. He’ll replay that missed opportunity over and over in his mind this evening. And tomorrow morning. And on the range early tomorrow afternoon. Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, is a step closer to the third leg of his career grand slam. He’s 23 years old. He is an astonishing force of nature.
Oh this is beyond special by Jordan Spieth! He lines up the right-to-left curler, and it’s always going in. He walks after it, putter raised before it drops, like Nicklaus in his prime. That’s an astonishing birdie, and it sets the seal on his second 65 of the week! He really is a remarkable talent, and now there’s a little bit of pressure on Kuchar, who has to make his putt for his own mental wellbeing tonight.
Kuchar knows he’s going to get a bit of a flyer from the wet rough, so he lands his second just in front of the green, sending it scampering towards the hole. “Be good! Be good!” And it’s nearly very good, skating just by the hole, threatening to drop. It stops eight feet past. Then Spieth, perhaps a bit spooked by the way Kuchar has refused to crumble after his double bogey on 16 - and maybe irritated or depressed by the crowd, who are unquestionably on Kuuuuuucccch’s side right now - nearly sends his wedge into the bunker to the right. It would have been a huge error, but he gets a break as the ball bounces on the lip and topples towards the green. He’ll have a putt from 20 feet for birdie, albeit with a huge break over the hump of the bunker.
Brooks Koepka drove into thick filth down the right of 18, and could only hack his ball back onto the fairway. He sends his third to ten feet, but can’t make the par saver, and that’s a final-hole bogey. A 68, though, and he’s -5, in a tie for third with young Austin Connelly. Ian Poulter scrambles his par, but today’s 71 is no real use to him: he’s -2. Back down the hole, Spieth and Kuchar both hoick big drives down the track, though the latter’s ball snags in the first cut down the left.
Spieth and Kuchar both send their second shots at 17 into the deep bunker guarding the front right of the green. Kuchar splashes to a couple of feet: birdie. Spieth has a more awkward swing, the back of the bunker an issue, and he can’t get close. Two putts for a par, and the lead is now just two. So it’s not quite over yet, huh. It’s easy to get caught up in Spieth’s relentless brilliance; this is the Open, I guess, after all.
-10: Spieth (17)
-8: Kuchar (17)
-6: Koepka (17)
-5: Connelly (F)
-4: Grace (F), Matsuyama (F)
Austin Connelly is the real deal! He finds the middle of 18 with his second, then curls in a 25-footer for birdie! A strong finish, and that’s a 66 that brings the 20-year-old Open debutant into fourth place at -5. He looks utterly unfazed and completely calm, wearing a look of Dufnerian inscrutability! And then the grandstands are treated to even more entertainment, as Richie Ramsay’s birdie putt from eight feet, after an excellent iron in, stops dead on the lip. A pantomime-style AAWWWW is followed by a huge cheer as the ball thinks about dropping and eventually takes the plunge! That’s a birdie-birdie finish for the 34-year-old Aberdonian, a 70, and he stays at -2.
Jordan Spieth crashes a huge drive down the par-five 17th. Matt Kuchar regroups and follows him down there. Up ahead on the green, the brilliant young Canadian Austin Connelly gets up and down delicately from sand for a birdie that gets him to -4. Then Brooks Koepka bumps his third to within six feet, refusing to give up the ghost quite yet, and rightly so. Birdie, and he’s -6, just four behind Spieth. And up on 18, par for Rory McIlroy, who signs for a 69, and wears the look of a condemned man. Come time, he may see this week as a turning point. Right now, it’s probably not the exact angle he’s looking at things.
Updated
Back on 16, Kuchar takes his medicine by punching out of the sand. Spieth turns the screw by lashing his second pin high. Kuchar then finds the green with his third, but he’s twice the distance outside Spieth, maybe 45 feet from the target. Advantage to the 2015 Masters and US Open champ. Especially when Kuchar leaves his long par putt ten feet short of the hole. Spieth’s birdie effort from 15 feet looks like dropping, but sails off a little to the left. Par. Kuchar leaves his bogey putt high on the left. It’s his first double-bogey all week, and all of a sudden, Spieth has a three-shot lead. That could be potentially decisive, even if we still have 20 holes to play.
-10: Spieth (16)
-7: Kuchar (16)
-5: Koepka (16)
Rory McIlroy is a study in frustration, his shoulders slumped as he trudges up 17 in the pouring rain. His third into the par-five isn’t particularly close; he knows the game is up, and there’s to be no second Open for him this year. Slightly reminiscent of the way he was traipsing around Birkdale like a scolded puppy during the first half of his round on Thursday. Two putts, a par, and he stays at -2. It’s not ideal, but then at least he’s not missed three cuts in a row, and he’ll be a bit competitively sharper for this week’s experience. Quail Hollow, one of his favourite courses, may have restorative properties come the PGA in three weeks time.
The rain has started to tip down in the British fashion. That came out of nowhere! A shimmering rainbow which plummets just behind the old art-deco clubhouse. Matt Kuchar pushes his drive at 16 into sand down the right. Jordan Spieth sends his tee shot to the other side of the hole, and shouts FORE LEFT! in a panic. Hats off to him for doing so - there are a few professionals who think raising alarm is beneath them - but there really was no need this time: his ball snags in the first cut, and should be in decent nick.
Jordan Spieth completely misreads his 50-foot putt across 15! He sets it out way to the left, but it’s never coming back towards the hole, and he’s overhit it too. He’s got a ten-footer coming back. Matt Kuchar by contrast rolls his 40-footer straight at the cup; it stops short, and that’s a simple tap-in for birdie. Kuchar joins Spieth in the lead at -9. Can Spieth pull away again? Yes he can! He might make one bad putt, but he’s not going to make two in a row. He’s -10, and this is turning into a duel. Anyone for a rerun of Troon tomorrow? Yes, me too!
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The leading pair Spieth and Kuchar split the fairway at the par-five 15th, and cream fairway woods into the green. Neither are particularly close to the flag, but birdies are very much on their radars. Up on 18, a birdie for Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who has finished strongly: shots picked up at 13, 17 and now 18. He’s signing for his second 67 of the week, and he’s -3 overall. But a par for his partner Bubba Watson, who followed up that double at 16 with bogey at 17. A 6-6-4 finish, and a promising round ends with a bog-average 71. He’s +1 overall.
Brooks Koepka creams his second into the heart of 15. He’s left with a 40-foot left-to-right eagle putt across the green, and he strokes a beauty towards the hole. It’s surely dropping, for an eagle that would suddenly give him a real presence at the top of the leader board. But somehow the ball screeches to a halt, half an inch before dropping. That looked to be perfectly paced, too. He looks utterly perplexed, as well he might. So unlucky, though that’s a birdie that gets him to -5, four off Jordan Spieth’s lead. Ian Poulter makes birdie too, which has him at -2, clinging onto hope by the fingernails.
Spieth and Kuchar both find the green with their tee shots at 14, the latter well inside the former. A chance to close the gap at the top? Spieth pulled his shot wide left, so he’s left with a 40-foot rake across the green. Kuchar is half the distance inside, and so he’ll get a read from Spieth’s effort. Spieth sends his long left-to-right slider three feet past; a good effort from there but leaving a tester coming back. Kuchar, having gone to school on that putt, trundles his birdie putt in the hole! Spieth suddenly feels the need to seriously concentrate on his short par putt. And after a long prowl, in it goes. But the gap at the top is halved.
-9: Spieth (14)
-8: Kuchar (14)
-4: Grace (F), Matsuyama (F), Koepka (14)
Hideki Mastsuyama is a dimple’s width away from draining a long birdie effort across 18. Par, and he’ll settle for a superb 66 that puts him into a tie for third with Branden Grace and Brooks Koepka, the latter still out on manoeuvres. (He’s just parred 14 to stay at -4.) There are two-putt pars for Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar on 13. And on 15, McIlroy misses his very gettable eagle putt. A birdie, and he’s -2, but compare and contrast to Jordan Spieth yesterday, who grabbed his eagle opportunity with both hands. McIlroy walks off with his face covered by his palms, not the usual birdie-celebrating pose. What a chance spurned to keep his faint hopes alive.
Bubba Watson is famously playing with a luminous yellow ball. It’s not quite garish enough, believe it or not, because he’s managed to lose it off the tee at 17. A double bogey, and he’s back to level par for the tournament. Meanwhile back on 13, the leading duo find rough either side of the fairway, and do pretty well to arrow their second shots just over the back of the green, from where they’ll have good chances to get up and down, the pin not a million miles away. And what’s this on the par-five 15th? A last roll of the dice by Rory McIlroy? He lashes an iron greenwards from the centre of the fairway after a big bomb of a drive. His ball takes a friendly turn left off the shoulder of a bunker on the right, and he’s left with an uphill eight footer for eagle!
Brooks Koepka sends his second at the 13th short and wide left, into a tuft of nonsense. He can’t get up and down, and drops back to -4. And it’s three bogeys in a row for Ian Poulter. He’s -1, the wheels bouncing back down the fairway. This is turning into a two-horse race.
-9: Spieth (12)
-7: Kuchar (12)
-4: Grace (18), Matsuyama (17), Koepka (14)
A gorgeous tee shot by Rory McIlroy at 14, eight feet from the flag. But the putt doesn’t drop. A sense that all is lost for a player whose 2017 hasn’t gone to plan. Quail Hollow can’t come into the viewfinder soon enough. Up on 18, a fine up and down from sand by a shortsided Chan Kim: a par, a 67 to follow yesterday’s 68, and he’s -3.
Back-to-back bogeys for Ian Poulter, the latest dropped shot at 12, and he’s -2. Coming behind, Jordan Spieth knocks his tee shot pin high; he’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet. But another good chance goes begging. He could, probably should, be miles off into the distance by now. Matt Kuchar makes a two-putt par, a perfectly judged first from the best part of 100 feet having misclubbed into the green. And then a slightly preposterous birdie for the world number two Hideki Matsuyama on 17: he chunks his third, a chip over a greenside bunker, the ball only just reaching the putting surface. No worries! In flies the long putt. A birdie, and he’s -4. As the ever-excellent Butch Harmon says on Sky, “there are no pictures on a scorecard”.
Chan Kim, born in South Korea, raised in Hawaii and now based in Arizona, is making his Open debut, having won the Mizuno Open. The 27-year-old is enjoying it as well, much better than his US Open debut last month, when he missed the cut. Back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17, and he’s -3 overall. Meanwhile birdies for Bubba Watson at 13 and 15, his putter starting to work miracles from distance, and he’s -2 overall. Incidentally a 67 for Rickie Fowler, who at -1 will have to wait another year to realise his Open dream, and a final-hole bogey for Ross Fisher, who nevertheless ends with a 66; he’s -2.
No birdie for Jordan Spieth on 11, the ball always drifting off to the left. He doesn’t miss many, does he? “Wow!” he says, admonishing himself as he walks off. He stays at -9. Matt Kuchar remains at -7, parring in unremarkable fashion. Up on 13, Rory McIlroy blooters a huge drive down the middle of the track, and sends his second to 15 feet, but the putt never looks like dropping, and he’s walking after it in double-quick time. He remains at -1, and walks with the gait of a man who knows the jig is nearly up.
Ian Poulter can only hack out of the rough down the left of 11. An average third condemns him to a bogey; he’s back to -3, and I’m sorry I said anything. His partner Brooks Koepka misses a short birdie chance having sent his second pin high to eight feet. He stays at -5, four off Jordan Spieth’s lead. Back down the hole, it’s the turn of Spieth and Kuchar. Both find the green, but Spieth is pin high and left with a 12-foot uphill putt for another birdie. Here, if this goes in, I wonder if he can cook up a score that might bother Branden Grace? Or am I getting greedy now, after all we’ve already seen today?
Spieth’s second into 10 isn’t all that, landed on the edge of the green and spinning back off the false front. Kuchar can only blast out from the filth. Both end up short of the green, having taken very different routes. Both get up and down without much fuss. I wonder if this will turn into a Stenson versus Mickelson tribute act? Time will tell. That was a particularly good save by Kuchar. Meanwhile up on 11, what a save by the super-cool 20-year-old debutant Austin Connelly. His drive ended up in fairway sand, and he was forced to chip out sideways. Medicine taken, he then clipped a gorgeous wedge to a couple of feet, and in goes the par putt. He stays at -3. And what was that I was saying about Ian Poulter? Please ignore memo. Back down the hole, he’s just sent a big hook into thick oomska down the left.
Jordan Spieth’s tee shot down 10 flies over the bunkers on the left and lands in prime position on the fairway. Matt Kuchar tries to follow him, but flays his drive into seriously thick nonsense down the left. That was wild. Meanwhile up on the green, Ian Poulter make it back-to-back birdies after sending his approach pin high to eight feet. He’s -4, and if he can put together an exciting back nine, may be the only man capable of stopping either Spieth, Kuchar or Brooks Koepka joining Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson and Mark O’Meara on a long US roll of honour at Birkdale.
A shaft of light for the rest of the field? Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar both miss the 9th green in regulation, the former too long, the latter too short. But no! Kuchar chips up to six feet, and knocks in the par saver. He reaches the turn in 31. Spieth bumps his up towards the hole and three feet past. There’s a tricky left-to-right kink in his putt, but he reads it perfectly, tickling it in for his par. He’s turning in 31 too. He leads at -9, with Kuchar two behind, and Brooks Koepka a couple further back. By the looks of it, this is either going to turn into a three-horse race, a two-horse race, or a procession. Having said that, there’s many a slip between Auld Claret Jug and lip, and we are only midway through the third round. But still.
Rory McIlroy can only hack out from the filth to the left of the 10th green, his chip ending 15 feet from the cup. He can’t make the bogey putt, and that’s his first double of the week. He drops down to -1; it’s where he started, and that fast start seems an awfully long time ago now. A similarly up-and-down ride for Ian Poulter, who follows up bogey on 8 with birdie at 9; he reaches the turn in 34 strokes, and at -3 is where he began the day. Meanwhile Hideki Matsuyama won’t have given up quite yet. Birdie on 14, and he rises to -3.
But there’s a sense of futility in the chase right now. Whenever the chasing pack take a step closer, Jordan Spieth gently turns the throttle. It’s like Purple Rain-era Prince aboard his chopper, teasing Apollonia on the banks of Lake Minnetonka. He bumps his approach to 8 off the bank to the right, a clever play that sets up a straight ten-footer for another birdie. He’s -9. Matt Kuchar birdies too, to stay on his tail. By contrast, Rory McIlroy finds sand down the left of 10 with his tee shot. His splash out only just escapes, and nearly u-turns into another bunker just ahead. It stays out, but his third, a desperate lash towards the green, dunks into thick rough to the left of the green. A bogey will be a good escape here.
-9: Spieth (8)
-7: Kuchar (8)
-5: Koepka (8)
-4: Grace (F)
Brooks Koepka makes a positive move too. He smashes a monster drive down 8, and though his second into the green is slightly average, he slides a left-to-right 20-footer into the hole for birdie. He’s -5. Up ahead on 9, Austin Connelly curls his second to 18 inches, and he’ll tap in for a birdie that brings him back up to -3. And it’s back-to-back birdies for Ross Fisher, who was out in 31 and has now picked up strokes at 15 and 16. He’s five under for his round, and -3 overall.
Rory McIlroy has to put his foot on the gas soon, else Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar may well zip off over the horizon. So what a response to those back-to-back bogeys: an approach to 9 nestling six feet from the flag, and a birdie putt that ensures he reaches the turn in 32 strokes. He’s -3.
Matt Kuchar’s tee shot at the par-three 7th finds the heart of the green. He’s faced with a ridge running across his line, but he reads the left-to-right kink perfectly ... only he’s one turn short of making it. Par, and it’s a costly misjudgement, because the relentless Jordan Spieth has fired his tee shot straight at the flag, and in goes the eight-footer he leaves himself! Never missing! And that’s his two-shot lead restored. Meanwhile bogey for Austin Connelly on 8, and he’s back down to -2. There’s a bit of separation developing at the top of the leader board; the rest of the field will be starting to fret.
-8: Spieth (7)
-6: Kuchar (7)
-4: Grace (F), Koepka (7)
-3: D Johnson (F), Stenson (F), Poulter (7)
Updated
Pars for Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar at 6, in differing styles. Spieth knocked his second over the flag to 12 feet, but left the putt up on the left. Kuchar’s approach didn’t reach the green, but he lagged a stunning long putt up to a couple of feet to save the day. Trouble for Rory McIlroy at 8 after he comes up short with his second out of rough. His chip is clumped well past the hole, and that’s a second bogey in a row; he’s back to -2. Bogey for Brooks Koepka at 7, a failure to get up and down from sand: he’s -4. And up on 18, the defending champion Henrik Stenson follows pars on 16 and 17 with a third in a row, and he’s signing for a 65. He’s -3, in reasonable nick for tomorrow unless Spieth and Kuchar go on the rampage.
A par that will feel like a birdie for Brooks Koepka on 6. His second dies on the false front of the green, and topples back down the fairway, Augusta National style. His chip up only just stays on the top tier. But he rolls the 20-footer in to scramble his par. He stays at -5 and looks pretty happy with that. Meanwhile since Rickie Fowler’s near-albatross on 4, he’s parred his way round. Until now: birdie at 14, and he’s -1. Some other admin from a little bit down the leader board: back-to-back birdies from Chan Kim at 10 and 11 (he’s -2) while Jamie Lovemark makes birdies at 7 and 8 to move to -2 as well. Lovemark’s birdie at 8 was an oddity: putting from just off the surface from 12 feet, his ball looked to have lipped round the left and stopped at the back of the cup. But after just enough time for disappointment to register with both player and gallery, it toppled back in!
Matt Kuchar’s left-to-right swinging eagle putt on 5 somehow stays up on the left lip. How did that not drop? It’s a birdie, though, and he moves to -6. And he’s only one off the lead, because Jordan Spieth’s decision to lay up off the tee doesn’t pay off. He sends his second over the flag to 12 feet, but the putt coming back is always staying high on the right. A par, which feels like giving up a shot to the field. He walks off with an aw-shucks expression on his face, an overall sense of regret at his timidity. He is, however, still leading the Open Championship, so he shouldn’t beat himself up too much.
Rory McIlroy pulls his tee shot at the par-three 7th. He’ll have a tricky up and down from a tight lie up a bank. And he duffs his chip, which doesn’t reach the green, resting in a swale, albeit not miles from the hole. He’s left with a 12-foot putt that always stays out on the right. He’s back to -3. Meanwhile back on the 5th tee, Jordan Spieth bucks today’s trend by opting to lay up with an iron, rather than going for the green with his driver. Matt Kuchar unsheathes the big beast, and is rewarded when his ball sails onto the putting surface and stops ten feet from the flag.
A small mistake from McIlroy, who lets his drive at the testing par-four 6th bleed into the rough down the right. But he can power his second into the middle of the green, and once again will be ruing his failure to hit his putt. He’d have probably taken par when watching his tee shot veer off line, mind you. Meanwhile back on 5, Ian Poulter and Brooks Koepka both drive the green; two putts later they’re both celebrating birdies. That’s Poulter back to -3, while it’s three birdies in a row for Koepka.
-7: Spieth (4)
-5: Koepka (5), Kuchar (4)
-4: Grace (F), McIlroy (6)
Spieth arrows his tee shot at 4 straight at the flag, but uncharacteristically moves all over the place when he takes his putting stroke, and misses the birdie chance on the right. An underwhelming par. Meanwhile a poor three-putt bogey for his partner Matt Kuchar, who slips to -5, two behind Spieth’s overall lead.
Big Dustin can only par the final hole. That’s a stunning blemish-free round of 64, which on pretty much any other day would be the big news. But not today. Still, he’s launched himself up the leader board, and at -3. is one behind Branden Grace’s clubhouse lead.
How rude of me: I should, of course, have waited for Matt Kuchar to putt out. His second into 3 looked positively average compared to Jordan Spieth’s. But only compared to Spieth’s. It was five feet away! In goes the birdie putt, and he stays on the leader’s tail at -6. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for Brooks Koepka, the latest at 4: the US Open champion is -4. Ian Poulter, for the record, can’t get anything going: a run of three pars since that opening bogey.
From the centre of the 3rd fairway, Jordan Spieth lands his ball six inches short of the flag. No real risk to give him that birdie. What an astonishing day’s play this is. The leader board is quite fluid, shall we say. One of those days where watching it on Ceefax, in the Lineker-Wimbledon style, would be almost as entertaining as the real thing.
-7: Spieth (3)
-5: Kuchar (2)
-4: Grace (F), McIlroy (5)
-3: D Johnson (17), Stenson (15), Connelly (4), Ramsay (4), Koepka (3)
Matt Kuchar’s second into 2 stops 12 feet short of the hole, but the birdie putt disappears without fuss. He’s -5. Jordan Spieth can only par, so his lead is now just one stroke. Henrik Stenson follows up his birdie at 12 with back-to-back birds at 14 and 15: the defending champ is right in the mix now at -3. Richie Ramsay birdies 4 to move to -3. Brooks Koepka reclaims the shot he dropped at the opening hole with a huge rake up 3: he’s -3. Rory fails to hit his eagle putt at 5, which was dead on line; birdie, though, and he’s -4. And up on 17, Dustin takes more ball than sand, sending his third 25 feet past the hole. He nearly knocks in the return, but that’s only a par, and unless Dustin does a Chris Wood coming down 18, and holes out from the fairway, Branden Grace’s sole ownership of a major-championship 62 is safe.
“Oh no!” Dustin’s second into 17 is pulled into a pot bunker to the left of the green. An up and down from sand, and a par on 18, and that’s a 63. But 63 doesn’t have much currency any more, does it. Meanwhile on the short par-four 5th, McIlroy creams a drive straight at the green, straight at the flag. It’s not quite up there with Rickie Fowler’s effort earlier - one more rotation without sliding right and that would have been a hole-in-one and an even rarer albatross - but it’s good enough all right. It lands 15 feet short of the flag, setting up an opportunity for eagle.
This is sensational from Rory McIlroy! He hits his tee shot at the par-three 4th fat. It’s 30 yards short of the green. So he bumps a chip up onto the putting surface, kinking over the shoulder of a bunker to the left, and sends his ball rolling towards the cup. Never missing! It’s in, and from a position many players would bogey, he’s picking up his second shot of the day! He’s -3, and this is a significant early move. Meanwhile back on 3, Austin Connelly drops a shot after missing the green left, then sending his third over the other side: he’s back to -3 after a birdie-eagle-bogey start.
Updated
Jordan Spieth knocks his chip from the back to four feet, and tidies up to save his par. The tournament leader remains at -6. Par for Matt Kuchar, who stays at -4. Par for Rory McIlroy on 3, a fine result after sending his second down a depression to the left of the green. And it’s just par for Dustin Johnson on 16, who seriously undercooks his straight birdie effort. He looks livid: unlike Grace before him, it would appear he really does know what could be at stake with a strong finish.
A few more words on Branden Grace. While we can, just in case Dustin finishes birdie-eagle-birdie.
Dustin hits a wild tee shot at 16, down the right, but he’s landed on the punters’ path, and his lie is decent. He takes advantage by arrowing over the flag. He’s got a ten-footer coming back. If that goes in, things are going to get very real, very quickly. Meanwhile it’s three birdies in a row for Hideki Matsuyama, who is partial to a romp up the leaderboard when his flat stick gets hot. He’s -2, a fine response to dropping a stroke at 4.
A sorry start to the round by the penultimate pairing of Brooks Koepka and Ian Poulter. Koepka drops a shot after sending his second into deep filth to the left of the hole. Poulter makes a miserable, and uncharacteristic, three-putt bogey. Both are now -2. Back down the hole, Jordan Spieth, from a tight lie atop a mound to the left, can only send his second through the back of the green. It’s not in the thick stuff, but neither is it ideal. His partner Matt Kuchar hits safely into the centre of the green.
The final match of the third round is out on the course. Matt Kuchar - his front-nine 29 on Thursday seems an awfully long time ago now - clacks an iron down the track. And then the remarkable Jordan Spieth, who sends his drive into what looks like a deep clump of gorse down the left. It’ll be interesting to see what lie he has there. But never mind that! Up on 2, Austin Connelly hits his second straight at the flag. A 9-iron, one bounce, and straight into the cup! That’s a birdie-eagle start from the 20-year-old debutant! The young genius doesn’t even bother cracking a smile: just a fist clenched and raised in recognition of this astonishing act! A Dufneresque reaction. What a talent he appears to be! His partner Richie Ramsay birdies to move back to -2, but news is news, and look at this leader board!
-6: Spieth
-4: Grace (F), Connelly (2), Kuchar
-3: D Johnson (16)
Watch out Branden Grace! Dustin Johnson is on the move: he’s birdied the first of the par-fives, the 15th. He’s -3 for the tournament, but perhaps more pertinently is six under for his round. A couple of birdies in the last three holes, and he’ll be the second man to shoot 62 in a major. The 17th, of course, is one of the great eagle opportunities, especially for a monster hitter like Dustin. God speed, big man!
McIlroy is so close to draining his birdie effort on 2. It looks like sliding in from the left, but at the very last turn opts to stay out on the high side. He stays at -2. McIlroy blows out hard; he thought that was in. His partner Gary Woodland sent his second into the punters high on the bank down the left, but chipped to six feet. However his tentative par putt slips wide right. He’s back to level par. Back on 1, Austin Connelly, the 20-year-old from Dallas but representing Canada, clips his second to eight feet, straight at the flag. In goes the putt, and he’s -2. But a bogey for his partner Richie Ramsay, who slips to -1 after sending his second through the back.
McIlroy’s tee shot at 2 drifts a little bit to the left, but he gets a good lie in the rough and is able to clip his second straight at the flag. It’s a good 25 feet short, though. Birdie for Henrik Stenson at 12; he’s up to -1. And Ross Fisher is going well: birdies at 1, 3, 5 and 7, offset by a single bogey at 4, and he’s -1, one of 14 players currently under par.
Branden Grace, though, eh? A 62! A 62!!!
Dustin Johnson is five-under par for his round, and standing on the tee at the 15th, the first of the two par fives. If he gets a wriggle on, he’s got a chance of bothering Branden Grace’s new major-championship record of 62, which is a ludicrous state of affairs when you think about it, seeing we’ve waited 44 years for someone to best the mark of 63 set by Johnny Miller at the 1973 US Open at Oakmont. He bombs a big one down the left side of the fairway. Meanwhile back on the opening hole, Rory McIlroy is out and about, and he’s sent his second shot to four feet, then knocked in the putt. A birdie that brings him up to -2 in quick order.
This is almost an aside, but Grace is now tied for second! Here’s the latest leader board:
-6: Spieth
-4: Grace (F), Kuchar
-3: Poulter, Koepka
-2: D Johnson (14), Ramsay
-1: Henley (5), Connelly, McIlroy, Woodland
E: Life’s too short
The record-breaking Branden Grace speaks to Sky ... and turns out he didn’t know what was at stake after all! “It feels great. It was a special round from the start. I played really good, really solid from tee to green. I missed a couple of shorter ones, but I made up for them with a couple of nice ones. It was a great day, all in all! I was honestly not aware of the 63 record. My caddy Zach said ‘congrats’ and I was like ‘Cool, I played a good round!’ He said: ‘That’s in the history books.’ And I said: ‘What are you talking about?’ I had no idea. But it makes it more special now, especially to be in the history books at a place like this.”
For the record, Branden Grace birdied 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 14, 16 and 17. His eight-under card isn’t the lowest in a major to par: several of those 63s were rounds of nine-under on par-72 courses. Take a bow Gary Player, Nick Price, Paul Broadhurst, Greg Norman, Jose Maria Olazabal, Rory McIlroy, Hiroshi Iwata and Justin Thomas. Birkdale is a mere par 70. But such is the beauty and complexity of golf. Whichever way you slice it, Grace has just played one of the greatest and most memorable rounds in the history of the sport. Whichever way you slice it, he’s the first man to shoot a major-championship 62!
It had to happen some day. Jason Dufner, the man who went round with Branden Grace today, had a putt for a 62 in the PGA four years ago. But it’s Grace who breaks new ground, and Birkdale erupts in celebration! He’s warmly congratulated by Dufner. He takes off his cap and smiles modestly. In truth, he looks stunned. You’d almost say he doesn’t realise what he’s just done. But he knows exactly what he’s just done. He’s written himself into golfing history with one of the greatest rounds in Open Championship history! He scribbles at his card, almost in disbelief. For goodness sake, check those numbers are correct!
IT’S IN!!! Branden Grace shoots 62, breaking a 44-year-old men’s major-championship record!!! Step aside Johnny Miller, Bruce Crampton, Mark Hayes, Tom Weiskopf, Jack Nicklaus, Isao Aoki, Raymond Floyd, Gary Player, Nick Price, Greg Norman, Paul Broadhurst, Jodie Mudd, Nick Faldo, Payne Stewart, Vijay Singh, Michael Bradley, Brad Faxon, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mark O’Meara, Thomas Bjorn, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker, Jason Dufner, Hiroshi Iwata, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb and Justin Thomas! Yesterday’s men, one and all. One of the longest-standing records in sport has finally been broken!
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Grace takes back his putter, then sends his ball clattering through the swale. The ball’s always going to miss on the right, but holing this isn’t really the point: it’s all about pace, and getting close for a tap-in for his 62. It’s brilliantly judged, too. The ball stops three feet to the right of the cup, maybe a foot or so past. He’ll have that for the 62. And...
Grace is in a swale back-left of the 18th. He’s the best part of 50 feet away from the hole, with a big left-to-right swing. This isn’t an easy two putts. If he’s to make it, and make history, he’ll really have earned it. He prowls the green like a tiger. All the way round. A topographic sweep.
Uh-oh. Shades of Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009: Branden Grace’s iron into the last is straight as a die, but adrenaline equates to an extra half-club, and the ball bumps through the green and over the back. He’ll have work to do to get up and down for his par, and that elusive 62. Either way, he fully deserves the huge ovation he receives as he makes his way to the green. And you thought we’d have to wait until early Sunday evening for scenes like this.
Easy to forget that Dustin Johnson is making a few waves of his own. He’s currently five under for his round through 11, though his tee shot at the par-three 12th isn’t all that, falling off the back left, with the pin tucked away on the right. No matter, he nearly drains the long putt across the green. It stops a couple of turns short. I wonder what price Grace shooting 62, then someone else carding a 61 later on? London buses, and all that.
Thanks Niall. Everyone nervous much? Any fingernails left? Branden Grace is four shots away from major-championship history. Actually, three now, as he’s just pearled his drive at the elevated 18th tee down the track. It’s sneaked into the first cut of rough down the left, the camber of the fairway not Grace’s friend. But that should be OK. A straight line into the green.
Grace taking his sweet time on the 17th green, and who can blame him? There have been 31 scores of 63, but never a 62. He needs a birdie, and rolls his eagle putt gently to within a few inches. Grace gets his birdie, and just needs to make par on the 18th to make history. And with that, I’ll hand you back to Mr. Scott Murray...
Grace gets under way on the par-five 17th, which has coughed up plenty of birdies so far today. He settles his nerves with a fine tee shot. After a pep talk from his caddie, his second shot plops 20 feet from the hole. He might actually do this, you know...
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At the 10th, Dustin Johnson steers in a right-to-left birdie putt with zero fuss, and he’s level in fourth place. Here’s the leaderboard:
-6: Spieth [3.55pm start]
-4: Kuchar [3.55pm start]
-3: Grace [16], Poulter, Koepka [both 3.45pm start]
-2: D Johnson [10], Ramsay [3.35pm start]
Grace looks all too aware of what’s at stake here, two nervous shots leaving a birdie chance a long, long way from the cup. But his putter is still smoking, and he nails it from what looked like 30 feet away! He’s seven under for the day, joint-third overall, and one birdie away from history...
So nearly a hole-in-one for Rickie Fowler! He drives with venom from the fifth tee, and rattles the ball to within six inches. Woof! Elsewhere, Fisher picks up his second shot in the first three holes, while Zach Johnson cleans up a birdie chance on the second, to throaty chants of “USA! USA!”. Both men up to even par, and look good to join Grace and Johnson in credit out on the course.
Hideki Matsuyama, the world No2, is beginning his third round on level par. Can he follow up his joint-second place at the US Open with another tilt at a major? And what of Jordan Spieth, facing a different kind of challenge with the skies clear and birdies dropping in all over the shop?
Elsewhere, Johnson falls just short with a long-range curling effort for birdie. He still completes his back nine in 30, which is not to be sniffed at. Amateur Alfie Plant has a chance at an eagle putt – and it rolls up to the cup, but refuses to drop in.
Grace is on course for 64, but needs two birdies to card 62 – which would be the lowest score ever in a major. A whole host of players have made 64 – most recently Justin Thomas, at this year’s US Open. Can the South African go one better? He has a chance at birdie on the 15th, but his approach shot drifts, leaving a ten-footer... it looks in all the way, but misses by a whisker!
An eagle for Sheffield’s Matthew Fitzpatrick at the fourth! He moves up to +1. Back at the third, Sergio plays a bold tee shot to line up a perfect approach shot, but wafts it just beyond the back of the green. He’ll have to settle for a third par on the bounce.
Johnson’s strong start hits a sticky spot as he lands in the rough on the eighth, but retrieves the situation, finding the back of the green smartly and rolling up to avoid dropping shots. Elsewhere, Grace has snaffled his sixth birdie of the day, and is now just four shots behind Spieth – and has a shot at setting the lowest ever round at a major. Fasten your seatbelts!
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Look who’s making a move – it’s only world No1 Dustin Johnson, who drills his tee shot to within a couple of feet on the par-three seventh. DJ rolls in the putt, and he’s -1 with four birdies already. Elsewhere, Ross Fisher has teed off with a birdie of his own – can he find the consistency that was lacking yesterday?
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Jason Day finishes his round with a par to complete a bogey-free 65. Were it not for his final three holes yesterday, where he dropped five shots, the Australian would be right in the mix. As it is, he’s level for the tournament. Branden Grace’s birdie run has stalled somewhat – he’s level through four holes on his back nine.
Thanks, Scott. Let’s pick things up on the eighth, where Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee curls in a birdie putt. That’s his second today, and he’s one-over for the tournament. Also putting handsomely is Adam Scott. Facing a tricky two-putt for bogey, he drains his par effort on the fifth. Back at the first tee, two heavyweights are getting started – Rickie Fowler and Sergio García, both two-over-par.
All this low scoring further accentuates the struggles of last year’s Masters champion Danny Willett. The 29-year-old Sheffield star will always have Augusta, of course, but it’d be lovely to see him kick on again. Perhaps making the cut this week is the acorn from which a renaissance will eventually grow, small baby steps, all that. But a birdie-free round of 73 today proves that confidence isn’t quite restored just yet. He’s +8, in 77th place out of 77. Meanwhile Lee Westwood nearly holes out from sand at 18 with the most delicate of splashes, but a par and a 69 is all he takes away: out in 31, but only that double at 12 breaking up a run of pars on the back nine. He’s +4.
And with that, I’ll hand you over to Niall McVeigh. See you again in an hour’s time!
Scott Hend is very close indeed to draining a 35-footer across 18. That would have been a sixth consecutive birdie, and a round of 64. He holds his head in his hands, quite the juggling act as he’s still waving his putter around. Shame. But that equals the day’s best, the 65 of Shaun Norris. The chances of that remaining the lowest round of the day by the time play’s finished? Not high.
The defending champion Henrik Stenson has started 3-3. A couple of birdies that take him back to level par. David Drysdale, the 42-year-old Scot whose only previous appearance at the Open was a tie for 60th at Turnberry in 2009, has birdied 13 and 15 to go four under for his round, and +1 for the tournament. And 2015 runner-up Marc Leishman finished exceptionally strongly: birdies at 14 and 16, followed by eagle at 17, for a fine 66. He’s +1. This is marvellous low-scoring entertainment, the perfect follow-up to yesterday’s fascinating grind. All facets of links golf on display this week; you couldn’t have planned it better.
On the par-three 4th, the world number one Dustin Johnson very nearly aces, but makes do with a kick-in birdie. It’s his second of the day already, having made one at the 1st, and he’s +1. Then he unsheathes the driver at the short dogleg right par-four 5th, clatters it into the grandstand to the left of the hole, and gets the mother of all breaks as the ball balloons back onto the green. He’s pin high, with a 30-foot chance for eagle! Marvellous. Providing nobody’s taken one flush in the coupon, of course. Our best wishes to all paying punters.
Tommy Fleetwood has parred his way home, and he’s signing for an excellent 66. Lovely to see the local hero bounce back after crumbling a little under the pressures of being the home hope on Thursday. Having very nearly missed the cut, he’s now +1 for the tournament, and while he won’t be winning it, is nicely placed to finish very respectably indeed. Meanwhile Jason Day birdies 15 to move to level par, alongside his veteran compatriot Scott Hend, who has just carded his fifth birdie in a row at 17! That’s his seventh of the day: shame about those bogeys at 1 and 2, but nobody’s perfect.
Branden Grace sends his second at 9 straight at the flag, 12 feet short. He curls the left-to-right putt straight into the cup, and he’s out in 29, just like Matt Kuchar before him on day one. That’s one off the all-time Open record set by Denis Durnian here in 1983. It matches a total set by several players, from Tom Haliburton at Lytham in 1963 to David Lingmerth at St Andrews in 2015 and Kuchar a couple of days ago. Ian Baker-Finch shot 29 over the front nine here for his fourth round in 1991, and of course went on to lift the Claret Jug.
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Andrew Johnston is perhaps the nearest we’ve got to a modern-day John Daly: a jump-the-fence everyman turned comic-book super-hero. The crowds can’t get enough of the big man, not least because he can’t get enough of the crowds. In case you missed it, here’s what he told our man at Birkdale, Kevin Mitchell, upon being asked whether he’d be better off ignoring the punters and concentrating solely on his golf.
I can’t do it. Honestly, if I stay that focused for five hours, I’ll have a headache after nine holes, seriously. And I just like to go out and hit my shot, you know. Go out and switch on, hit my shot and once we have time, we have four or five minutes, and walk down to the ball and stuff like that. So I just like to relax. And if people shout, I’m going to wave at them and have a good time along the way.
Well, he’s just stroked in a 20-footer on the opening hole for a birdie that moves him to +2. Beeeeeeef! If Birkdale had a roof, it’d be helicoptering over Royal Lytham right now. Lining up alongside Daly and Dufner, there’s another man it’s impossible not to love.
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Branden Grace trundles another long putt into the cup, this time at 8, and he continues to lay waste to Birkdale’s front nine. He’s four under for his round already, up to level par for the tournament. Jason Dufner is going very well, too. The Somnambulist, mooching around in his trademark insouciant, inscrutable style, and looking good again now he’s back at his proper fighting weight, has birdied 2, 5 and 8. Dufner is one of the 29 players to shoot 63 in a major, something he achieved at Oak Hill on his way to the 2013 PGA. Only two men have done it twice: Greg Norman (of course) and Vijay Singh. Just sayin’.
Shaun Norris goes very close with a 40-foot rake across 18, but no birdie, and that’s just a 65. Just a 65. He’s tied for tenth spot right now at level par, though he’ll drop back down a bit as the day goes on. One thing’s for sure, though: he’ll not be going out first on his own again tomorrow. And on that subject - well, Norris went round with Birkdale’s assistant pro, but y’know - here’s a wonderful anecdote from Rob Moline: “As denizens of the most isolated city in the world, Perth (the real one, not the one where Gleneagles was built), we’re a bit starved for tournament golf. Back in the 90s and 00s there used to be the Heineken Classic, who’d pay big-name superstars millions of dollars to make the trek to the middle of nowhere in the middle of their only holiday from the tour grind. John Daly was there one year - survived the cut, but into the last round he was last in an odd-numbered field, playing alone. We went out to watch him. We arrived at 8.30am about 90 min after he teed off, and went out to look for him. He’d gone - raced through his final round in that time of 90 minutes, running his caddy off his feet and nearly killing him (Perth in February is 40 degrees), and was apparently heading back to the casino where two hours earlier, after an uninterrupted night’s gambling, he’d put down his drink, said ‘Mind this’, and gone out to fulfil his contractual obligations for the $1,000,000 appearance fee. He shot 77, five over par. On the tournament course. I’ve never shot less than 80 from the much easier members’ tees.” A gentleman, and an example to us all. It’s impossible not to love the man.
Shaun Norris has just birdied 17. He’s level par for the championship now, and five under today. If he can pick up another shot on the last, he’ll equal the best-ever third-round score in an Open at Birkdale: that was a 64 shot by eventual winner Ian Baker-Finch in 1991. A day later that year, Jodie Mudd joined the major-championship 63 club. Anyone else fancy a piece of that action today?
So much for Lee Westwood’s chance of a low round: he’s just doubled the delightful par-three 12th. Birkdale might be there for the taking, but get out of position at your peril. Much better news from the home front courtesy of local hero Tommy Fleetwood, who only just avoided the cut late last night, and looks determined to enjoy the weekend on a course that’s very familiar to him. He bookended the front nine with bogeys, but otherwise he’s been sensational: birdies at 2, 5, 8 and 14, and now an eagle at 15. He’s four under for his round, and has risen up the leader board to +1.
Branden Grace is off like a train. There was a suggestion that he might have been happier if the winds were up, conditions he thrives in more than most with his low ball flight. He seems content enough right now, though. An opening-hole birdie was followed by another on 4, the reward for the draining of a monster putt. Now he’s driven the short par-four 5th and very nearly made a 25-footer for eagle. A third birdie of the round, and the South African is +1. Of course, this is a good example of what Butch Harmon on Sky identified as the early starters “freewheeling”; it’s less likely that the leaders, with a little more to lose, will go straight for the green on 5, instead playing the percentages for birdie. So some of this early low scoring may be slightly misleading. But only slightly. That 62 remains very much one of our hopes today. We’re allowed to dream, right?
Jason Day hasn’t had a 2017 to remember so far. An emotional withdrawal from the World Match Play, his mother ailing, has been followed by more prosaic tumult: a tiddler missed to hand the Byron Nelson to Billy Horschel; missed cuts at the US Open and the Travelers. An opening round of 69 here hinted at a return to form; yesterday’s 76 suggested otherwise. But he’s on the march again today, looking very much his old self: four birdies so far, at 2, 5, 9 and now 10. He’s +1, and he may be regaining form in time for the PGA, a championship he’s finished in first and second position in the last two years.
Lee Westwood won’t be breaking his major duck this week. Yesterday’s mid-round slump - five bogeys in six holes between the 8th and 13th - has put paid to a fairytale for Worksop’s finest. But he’s proving this morning that he’s still got the game to compete on the big stage. He’s out in 31, after birdies at 5, 6 and 9. That run brings him up to +2 for the tournament. Hopefully his window of opportunity in the majors has yet to firmly slam shut, but at 44 he’s running out of time. Quail Hollow, maybe?
The hottest player out on the course this morning was Shaun Norris of South Africa. He was first out, on his own as the 77th out of 77 to survive the cull from an initial field of 156. And he’s enjoying his own company. He’s birdied 1, 3, 5 and 10, and has yet to drop a shot today through 15 holes. That brings him up to +1 for the championship, a tie for 20th place right now. Not bad for a man making his major-championship debut at the age of 35.
Here we go, then. Moving Day! And the famous old links of Royal Birkdale is the prettiest of pictures. The sun is out, the wind is down. A few clouds may threaten to spoil the view later on, and there could be a few light showers as the final groups make their way out. But we’ll not see the manic conditions of the second round. Far from it. The course, having had a good drink yesterday, looks to be pretty receptive. The players are back in control, and that means the possibility of low scoring. Perhaps some very low scoring if someone gets into their groove. Here’s a thought: the par round here is only 70. Will we witness the first-ever 62 in a major? It’s not beyond the realms of possibility, as some of the early scoring demonstrates...
Late yesterday afternoon, as the rain started coming down in sheets, Jordan Spieth sent a flyer through 9. He couldn’t get up and down from the back of the green, and bogeyed. He’d reached the turn one-over par, heading the wrong way down the leader board. He then drove into a bunker at 10, was forced to play out sideways, and was very fortunate that his third didn’t fly into thick rough behind the green.
At which point he seized the day. He chipped in to save his par, then made brilliant birdies at 11 and 12. What followed wasn’t perfect: slightly careless bogeys at 14 and 16, and his eagle at 15 owed a little bit to fortune as he didn’t connect properly with the fairway wood that set up his putt. But that’s not really the point. Spieth ground it out when it was required; took advantage of any breaks when they were offered; and the rest of the time the young Texan was a model of simple brilliance. And despite dreadful conditions, he played his golf with a smile. The Jack Nicklaus de nos jours? He’s the nearest we’ve got right now.
So this is what the rest of the field have to deal with this weekend. God speed, everyone. Gamefaces on!
Of course nothing’s ever done and dusted at the halfway mark of the Open. Here’s the chasing pack, some big stars with hope in their hearts:
-6: Spieth
-4: Kuchar
-3: Poulter, Koepka
-2: Ramsay
-1: Connelly, McIlroy, Woodland, Bland
E: Lovemark, Luiten, Hoffman, Cabrera-Bello, Watson, Bulle, Noren, Henley, Matsuyama, Kim
Here are a few of the names who missed the cut: the reigning Players champion Si Woo Kim; Justin Thomas, the latest man to shoot 63 in a major; Patrick Reed, another of the USA’s new wave; five-time major winner Phil Mickelson; last year’s US Open runner up Shane Lowry; the 2011 FedEx Cup winner Bill Haas; the 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen; last week’s John Deere Classic winner Bryson DeChambeau; Adam Hadwin, who recently tied the US Open record for consecutive birdies; Ryan Moore, who won the Ryder Cup last year for the USA; Callum Shinkwin, who nearly won the Scottish Open last weekend; and assorted former Open champions in Tom Lehman, Darren Clarke, Paul Lawrie, Stewart Cink, Mark O’Meara, David Duval, John Daly, Sandy Lyle, Todd Hamilton and Padraig Harrington, who won the thing the last time it was played here.
And here are today’s tee times (all BST):
9.20 am: Shaun Norris
9.30 am: Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose
9.40 am: Webb Simpson, Mike Lorenzo-Vera
9.50 am: Younghan Song, Danny Willett
10 am: Scott Hend, Marc Leishman
10.10 am: Lee Westwood, Sean O’Hair
10.20 am: Brandon Stone, David Drysdale
10.30 am: Andy Sullivan, Jason Day
10.40 am: Aaron Baddeley, Toby Tree
10.50 am: Joe Dean, James Hahn
11.05 am: Thomas Pieters, Alfie Plant (a)
11.15 am: Peter Uihlein, K.T. Kim
11.25 am: Branden Grace, Jason Dufner
11.35 am: Andrew Dodt, Xander Schauffele
11.45 am: Charl Schwartzel, Daniel Berger
11.55 am: Jimmy Walker, Martin Kaymer
12.05 pm: Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Southgate
12.15 pm: Tony Finau, J.B. Holmes
12.25 pm: Thongchai Jaidee, Chris Wood
12.35 pm: Kevin Na, Jon Rahm
12.50 pm: Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey
1 pm: Adam Scott, Andrew Johnston
1.10 pm: Yikeun Chang, Henrik Stenson
1.20 pm: Steve Stricker, Matthew Fitzpatrick
1.30 pm: Soren Kjeldsen, Laurie Canter
1.40 pm: Li Haotong, Thorbjorn Olesen
1.50 pm: Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia
2 pm: Ross Fisher, Sung-hoon Kang
2.10 pm: Kevin Kisner, Zach Johnson
2.20 pm: Ernie Els, Chan Kim
2.35 pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley
2.45 pm: Alex Noren, Kent Bulle
2.55 pm: Bubba Watson, Rafael Cabrera-Bello
3.05 pm: Charley Hoffman, Joost Luiten
3.15 pm: Jamie Lovemark, Richard Bland
3.25 pm: Gary Woodland, Rory McIlroy
3.35 pm: Austin Connelly, Richie Ramsay
3.45 pm: Brooks Koepka, Ian Poulter
3.55 pm: Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth
Hey! Dr Golf! Over here! Bring cold towels and poultices! Fever’s running high!
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