Sam Burns, who became a father just days ago, carded a five-under-par 65 in the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale to take a two-shot lead into the final day. The American, who has never won a major, moved to 10 under par, two strokes ahead of New Zealand's Ryan Fox and Kim Si-woo of South Korea.
Unexpected Participation
Burns was not originally scheduled to play at Royal Birkdale after his wife Caroline's due date fell on the Tuesday of tournament week. However, their daughter Belle arrived 11 days early, allowing Burns to make the trip. "This golf tournament was, honestly, so far off of my radar and expectations of playing," Burns said. "Caroline's due date was Tuesday this week. I just didn't think there was any possible way, but little Belle had different plans for us."
He added that his wife encouraged him to compete: "She basically said 'I've got this' at home. 'Go over there and give it your best', and here we are."
The Nappy Factor
Burns admitted he was unaware of the so-called "nappy factor" in golf, a theory that fathers of newborns tend to win tournaments. "If I was aware of that, I'd have like eight kids by now, I think," he joked.
His close friend and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is five shots back, backed Burns to succeed. "Sam's a guy that's been on the last few Ryder Cups, last few Presidents Cups, and he's a guy that I see all the time," Scheffler said. "He's got a ton of talent. For me, it's just a matter of time until he gets it done in one of these."
Chasing Pack
Fox, 39, took advantage of calm morning conditions to shoot a 62, the third such score of the championship, lifting him from even par to 8 under. "I think it's just the good weather conditions," Fox said. "The course is brilliant. It's obviously very firm and fast. In the mornings the greens are a little bit softer."
Bryson DeChambeau, who was docked two shots for a rules infringement on Friday, remains in contention at 6 under after a 69, alongside Ludvig Åberg. Tommy Fleetwood, the local favourite, is at 5 under after a frustrating day where he dropped two shots late on. "It was a strange day," Fleetwood said. "I felt like I played really well but I got nothing on the closing stretch. It's a bit frustrating but you never know what could happen tomorrow."
Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele are all at 4 under, while Rory McIlroy made headlines for his comments about DeChambeau but is further back.
Home Challenge Falters
Other British hopefuls struggled: Robert MacIntyre shot level par to finish at 3 under, Tyrrell Hatton slipped to 1 over after a 74, and Matt Wallace and Alex Fitzpatrick also fell away.
Burns, who finished seventh at the Masters and second at the US Open this year, is now the favourite with bookmakers after being as high as 35-1 two weeks ago. However, with a packed leaderboard and challenging conditions at Royal Birkdale, the final round promises drama.
