TROON, Scotland (AP) — Royal Troon weather rarely cooperates, so when it’s good don’t waste it.
Thriston Lawrence didn’t. Neither did Sam Burns. They cashed in on tranquil conditions early Saturday afternoon at the British Open — before the rain came — to become serious contenders for the claret jug.
They both shot 6-under 65 to move from 10 shots off the lead to just one stroke behind leader Billy Horschel heading into Sunday.
“Obviously, I had the perfect conditions on the front nine, and just took full advantage of it,” Lawrence said of a six-birdie spree through eight holes in the third round.
In the steady rain, the South African managed to pick up another shot on No. 11 before his lone bogey two holes later.
As he dried off after his par putt on the 18th, Lawrence added: “I’m making a lot of birdies in the clubhouse standing right here.”
Lawrence and Burns are at 3 under overall, as is Russell Henley (66), who started the day nine shots behind halfway leader Shane Lowry. All three are looking for their first major championship.
Lawrence will be in the final group Sunday with Horschel. Also one shot off the lead are Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose and Daniel Brown.
Royal Troon is said to be a tale of two nines — score on the front and survive on the back. So eyes get big at the No. 1 tee when the Ayrshire coast is calm.
Burns, a LSU alum who was on the losing Ryder Cup team last year, shook off a bogey at the first hole — he got out of the rough but couldn’t save par on a 7-foot putt — and made five birdies before the turn. He gave one back on the 10th and made three more birdies.
“Any time you shoot under par on this golf course, it’s always good,” Burns said. “Even more so in these conditions. I knew going out the front nine was going to be somewhat gettable. … Then, kind of once you make the turn, just strap in and buckle the chinstrap because you know it’s going to be difficult.”
This isn’t the first time players were able to make up a lot of ground in severe conditions. In the third round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, Tony Finau and Daniel Berger played early in the third round and each shot 66. They made up 11 shots on Dustin Johnson and finished the day tied for the lead.
Burns this week has clawed his way back from an opening-round 76 that included being 6 over through the first eight holes. He added that he was 5 over through eight at the U.S. Open and finished tied for ninth.
Henley, who started a bit later in the afternoon, squeezed in four birdies on the front nine. He added two more, along with a bogey.
“Links golf has really humbled me as this is my 10th Open and never really feel like I’ve known what I was doing exactly,” the American said. “So today was a great round for me, and I’m just really excited about it.”
Lawrence, who has four wins on the European tour, said his gameplan hasn’t changed since he arrived in Scotland.
“We teed it up on Thursday trying to win,” he said. “I’m going to just try to do the same thing (Sunday), be aggressive and try to win a golf tournament.”
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