On Royal Portrush’s par-5 second, the Spaniard sent his tee shot soaring to the left. The swing was barely completed when the former Masters champ recoiled, slamming his club into the turf. However, as soon as the driver made impact with the ground, the shaft broke in two.

With six birdies coming home, Westwood rocketed back up the leaderboard with an Open record-tying back-nine 29.

Finau fired a 1-over-par 72 in the third round to go with his rounds of 70-68 and that effort left him watching the contenders pull away. Most of the movers and shakers fired rounds of four to five under par as Scottie Scheffler rocketed to a huge lead heading into Sunday.

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Scottie Scheffler was quick to point out the British Open was only at the halfway point at Royal Portrush. Considering the world's No. 1 player was in the lead , it felt like a sprint Saturday for so many players to catch up.

Lowry didn’t want to make excuses, but Saturday was brutal as he shot 74 while battling a virus at the Open Championship.

The Portrush Sons of Ulster were reported to have turned down £20,000 to postpone Saturday’s parade, with unionist politicians praising it as a success.

Mike Gibson remembers seeing Rory McIlroy play as a 15-year-old kid and knew he had something special Rory McIlroy plays from the rough at the fifth yesterday. Photo: Ramsey Cardy / Sportsfile The draw for Thursday’s opening round had just been announced ...

With Scottie Scheffler holding a four-shot lead at the start of the final round of the British Open, brushing up on how the R&A conducts a playoff in the event of a tie after 72 holes might not seem necessary.