Sam Burns turned the third round of the 2026 British Open into his stage at Royal Birkdale. A five-under 65 pushed him to 10-under for the tournament and gave him a two-shot cushion heading into Sunday, with Ryan Fox joining him in the final group after a record-tying 62. Burns has now backed up a second-round 62 with another clean, sharp round, and the turnaround from his opening 73 has put him in position to chase his first major.
That run looks even better when you remember the week around it. Burns and his wife welcomed their second child a few weeks ago, and he nearly didn’t make the trip overseas after the birth of his daughter.
A month after coming up just short of forcing a playoff at the U.S. Open, he now has the lead alone at the Open.
Fox made the biggest leap of the day. The 39-year-old from New Zealand began Saturday at even par, then tore through Royal Birkdale with a 62 to move to eight-under and into a tie for second. That score earned him a spot alongside Burns in Sunday’s last group.
Si Woo Kim is right there too. He posted a three-under 67 to reach eight-under, giving him a share of second with Fox. A fourth round in the 60s would give him a real chance at the Claret Jug.
Rory McIlroy’s scorecard was solid enough - a one-under 69 left him at two-under - but his most notable work came after the round. Asked about Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty, McIlroy didn’t soften his view.
“I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I'm not particularly fond of him.
I think a lot of it's performative,” McIlroy said. “I think a lot of it's for attention.
To hold the tournament hostage like that, and to have all of us players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn't feel like it was a great look."
He added, “I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing,” McIlroy said. “And again, whether it was careless or whether it was intentional, I don’t think it matters. Hopefully it was careless, but I think the two-shot penalty was justified for sure.”
DeChambeau also shot 69 and sits four shots behind Burns. On the 18th, he even had a little self-aware moment after his tee shot landed in the rough, making sure he didn’t do anything that could improve his lie. Earlier, he rolled in a long birdie putt on the sixth hole during one of NBC’s “Playing Through” commercial breaks.
The broadcast had a rough stretch of its own. Kevin Kisner drew attention with a take on the penalty that focused more on the walking official than on DeChambeau’s actions in the rough. Brad Faxon later suggested that Scottie Scheffler’s pairing with DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton was almost a penalty in itself.
Scheffler’s day was quiet in the worst possible way: one birdie, one bogey, and a pile of pars. He remains at four-under, far behind Burns, and his putter never got going. A short miss on the par-5 17th brought out a sarcastic fist pump.
Jon Rahm opened with a double bogey after blasting his first tee shot out of bounds to the right, then steadied himself enough to finish with an even-par 70. It wasn’t the kind of Moving Day charge he needed, and he now has plenty of ground to make up on Sunday.
Young, who won the Players Championship last March, went the other direction with a three-over 73 and fell to seven shots back of Burns. Tyrrell Hatton, after opening with rounds of 69 and 68, slid to a four-over 74 and dropped into a tie for 60th.
In Other News...
Rory McIlroy Turns Up His Feud With Bryson At The British Open
Rory McIlroys frustration at the British Open has spilled beyond his own scorecard, with the four-time major champion openly questioning the way the week has unfolded around Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy said the rules officials made an obvious and justified call on DeChambeau, and he also bristled at the uncertainty that followed when DeChambeau spent time weighing whether to continue in the tournament, a delay that rippled into tee times and left other players and volunteers waiting.
The backdrop makes the tension hard to ignore, even with the leaderboard still in motion. McIlroy is tied for 30th, while DeChambeau remains in the mix near the top at tied for eighth, which only adds another layer to a rivalry that has become as much about attitude and perception as it is about shot-making. [Read more 🡒]