SOUTHPORT, England, July 22 (Reuters) - South Africa's Branden Grace shot a blistering round of 62, the lowest ever in a men's major championship, as the players made hay in benign conditions at the British Open on Saturday.

Grace, the world number 35, picked up eight birdies in a flawless third round to move to four under par, two shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.

There have been 31 rounds of 63 in major championships and Grace's feat prompted a standing ovation at the 18th green as he saluted the packed galleries at Royal Birkdale.

"I honestly had no idea that was something historic," Grace told reporters.

"I knew I was playing well and I was just in the zone. I didn't know 62 was the lowest ever but now it makes it even more special. If my caddie knew he never said anything; good on him!"

American world number one Dustin Johnson also made a significant move up the leaderboard by collecting six birdies in his first 15 holes to get to three under.

Heavy rain and swirling crosswinds had made scoring difficult in the second round but the sun came out on Saturday morning and the world's top players took full advantage.

Local favourite Tommy Fleetwood, the world number 14, gave the home fans something to cheer about with a fine round of 66 and former world number one Jason Day of Australia shot 65 to move to level par.

Spieth, the world number three and twice major champion, will tee off in the final group out with fellow American Matt Kuchar who trails him by two shots.

England's Ian Poulter is in the penultimate group alongside American Brooke Koepka with both players on three under par. (Editing by Clare Fallon)</s>A Canadian golfer with ties to Nova Scotia is continuing his hot streak at one of golf's most prestigious tournaments, the British Open.

Austin Connelly, 20, has dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship and was 5-under par for the tournament after his round Saturday, good enough to sit in a tie for third place, as of 3:40 p.m. AT. On the day, he shot 4-under 66.

The tournament is being held at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.

Connelly finished the third round in dramatic fashion, making a birdie on the 18th hole.

Born in Texas, Connelly started playing the game at the Clare Golf and Country Club in Church Point, N.S., when he would visit grandparents during the summer.

Golfers from around the world compete in the tournament known as "the Open Championship" in Britain, the only one of the four major PGA championships held outside the United States.

American Jordan Spieth currently has the lead and sits at 11-under for the tournament. He shot a 5-under 65 today.

Unlike many golfers his age, Connelly has chosen to turn pro instead of playing college golf. This year, he's playing on European Tour events, where he's made six cuts in 12 events.

Connelly has finished in the Top 10 twice in 2017. His world ranking is now 524, up from 1,711 two years ago.</s>(AP Photo/Alastair Grant). Dustin Johnson of the United States prepares to putt on the 14th green during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, Saturday July 22, 2017.

(AP Photo/Alastair Grant). South Africa's Branden Grace celebrates his birdie on the 14th hole during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, Saturday July 22, 2017.

(AP Photo/Peter Morrison). Jordan Spieth of the United States plays out of a bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, Saturday July 22, 2017.

(AP Photo/Dave Thompson). Jordan Spieth of the United States on the 18th green after the third round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, Saturday July 22, 2017.

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) - Jordan Spieth is one round away from the third leg of the career Grand Slam, and one year removed from a reminder that it won't be easy.

On the horizon is a chance to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three different majors at age 23. In the past was his last time leading a major, when he let a five-shot lead get away from him on the back nine a year ago at Augusta National.

All that mattered to him was the present.

Spieth did his part on an extraordinary day of scoring in the British Open, capping off his 5-under 65 by seizing on a good break and making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, who did his best to keep pace with a 66.

Spieth had one of seven rounds at 65 or lower at Royal Birkdale, which was never more vulnerable with a light breeze and a clear sky until the final hour. He was warming up on the range when Branden Grace shot 62, the lowest 18-hole score over 157 years of major championships. Spieth then delivered his second bogey-free round of the week in which he never came seriously close to a bogey.

"Pretty stress-free," Spieth said. "On a Saturday with a lead in a major, that's as good as I can ask for."

He was at 11-under 199, breaking by six shots the 54-hole record at Royal Birkdale that Tom Watson set in 1983. Not only did that last birdie give him a three-shot lead, no one else was closer than six shots.

This will be Spieth's third time taking the lead into the final round of a major. He led by four at the Masters two years ago and won by that margin. More recent was a one-shot lead at Augusta to start the final round, a five-shot lead at the turn and a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole that cost him another green jacket.

"I think I'm in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I've gone through - the good, the bad and everything in the middle," he said. "I understand that leads can be squandered quickly. And I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one."

He described the Masters last year as a humbling experience that he thought would serve him well down the road.

"If I don't win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that," he said. "And if I win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that, either."

Kuchar never quite caught up to Spieth. He twice made birdies that momentarily tied him for the lead, only for Spieth to pour in birdie putts on top of him to stay in front. Kuchar's one slip was a drive into the pot bunker on No. 16 when the rain finally arrived, and a three-putt that led to double bogey.

He will be playing in the final group of the fourth round at a major for the first time, and the 39-year-old Kuchar sounded up for the occasion.

"It's not that I ever felt like I was playing Jordan today," Kuchar said. "We certainly had a great round of golf. I never felt like I was out there trying to beat Jordan. It's trying to go up against Royal Birkdale and put on the best show you can against the golf course."

No one put on a show quite like Grace, the 29-year-old South African who had a chance to win the U.S. Open two years ago. He went out in 29, then added two long birdie putts on the 14th and 16th holes, and a two-putt birdie on the 17th to reach 8 under. From 60 feet behind the 18th green, he lagged it to 2 feet and tapped in for a 62.

"Look at that number! That is sweet," Johnny Miller, now a golf analyst, said as NBC flashed a 62 on the screen. Miller was the first to shoot 63 in a major at the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont. It took 44 years for someone to top it.

Spieth and Kuchar lit it up, too. They combined for 12 birdies, such impressive golf that Kuchar said a couple of times they forgot who had honors on the tee box. Along the way, they created a little separation from the rest of the field.

Austin Connelly, who grew up in Dallas and shares a swing coach with Spieth, extended his remarkable run with birdies on his last two holes for a 66. The 20-year-old who plays under the Canadian flag was six shots behind at 5-under 205, tied with U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who had a 68.

Grace wound up seven shots behind even after his 62.

Missing from the mix was Rory McIlroy, who looked to be a big threat when he began with three birdies in five holes, driving the green on the shortened par-4 fifth hole. He lost it around the turn, making back-to-back bogeys, and then a double bogey at No. 10 when he blasted out of one pot bunker left of the fairway and it spun toward another, resting in the thick collar.

McIlroy had a 69, rarely a bad score in the third round of a major. This one left him nine shots behind.

"If you keep it in play, it's almost hard to make a bogey out there, you know?" McIlroy said. "I've always been good when I get off to fast starts, being able to keep it going, and I didn't today. And I needed to - that's the disappointing thing."

Ian Poulter felt even worse. Still lurking, he ran off three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 71 to fall nine back.

The tone for Sunday was set over the final three holes, when Kuchar made his double bogey. Kuchar got one back with a birdie from the pot bunker short of the green at the par-5 17th. And then Spieth stole a birdie at the end when his approach narrowly missed the bunker right of the green and had enough spin to stay on the putting surface for his final birdie. Kuchar missed his birdie attempt from 12 feet.

"I played well today," Kuchar said. "Certainly, I'm not out of it. I'm playing some good golf. I'm very excited for tomorrow."

Both took time to stop and soak in the best walk in golf, a full grandstand surrounding both sides of the 18th. Kuchar stopped and said to Spieth, "This is pretty cool to be here, walking up the last hole of a British Open."

They get to do it again Sunday, with a lot more at stake than warm applause.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>SOUTHPORT, England >> Jordan Spieth is one round away from the third leg of the career Grand Slam, and one year removed from a reminder that it won’t be easy.

On the horizon is a chance to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three different majors at age 23. In the past was his last time leading a major, when he let a five-shot lead get away from him on the back nine a year ago at Augusta National.

All that mattered to him was the present.

Spieth did his part on an extraordinary day of scoring in the British Open, capping off his 5-under 65 by seizing on a good break and making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, who did his best to keep pace with a 66.

Spieth had one of seven rounds at 65 or lower at Royal Birkdale, which was never more vulnerable with a light breeze and a clear sky until the final hour. He was warming up on the range when Branden Grace shot 62, the lowest 18-hole score over 157 years of major championships. Spieth then delivered his second bogey-free round of the week in which he never came seriously close to a bogey.

“Pretty stress-free,” Spieth said. “On a Saturday with a lead in a major, that’s as good as I can ask for.”

He was at 11-under 199, breaking by six shots the 54-hole record at Royal Birkdale that Tom Watson set in 1983. Not only did that last birdie give him a three-shot lead, no one else was closer than six shots.

This will be Spieth’s third time taking the lead into the final round of a major. He led by four at the Masters two years ago and won by that margin. More recent was a one-shot lead at Augusta to start the final round, a five-shot lead at the turn and a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole that cost him another green jacket.

“I think I’m in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I’ve gone through — the good, the bad and everything in the middle,” he said. “I understand that leads can be squandered quickly. And I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one.”

He described the Masters last year as a humbling experience that he thought would serve him well down the road.

“If I don’t win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that,” he said. “And if I win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that, either.”

Kuchar never quite caught up to Spieth. He twice made birdies that momentarily tied him for the lead, only for Spieth to pour in birdie putts on top of him to stay in front. Kuchar’s one slip was a drive into the pot bunker on No. 16 when the rain finally arrived, and a three-putt that led to double bogey.

He will be playing in the final group of the fourth round at a major for the first time, and the 39-year-old Kuchar sounded up for the occasion.

“It’s not that I ever felt like I was playing Jordan today,” Kuchar said. “We certainly had a great round of golf. I never felt like I was out there trying to beat Jordan. It’s trying to go up against Royal Birkdale and put on the best show you can against the golf course.”

No one put on a show quite like Grace, the 29-year-old South African who had a chance to win the U.S. Open two years ago. He went out in 29, then added two long birdie putts on the 14th and 16th holes, and a two-putt birdie on the 17th to reach 8 under. From 60 feet behind the 18th green, he lagged it to 2 feet and tapped in for a 62.

“Look at that number! That is sweet,” Johnny Miller, now a golf analyst, said as NBC flashed a 62 on the screen. Miller was the first to shoot 63 in a major at the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont. It took 44 years for someone to top it.

Spieth and Kuchar lit it up, too. They combined for 12 birdies, such impressive golf that Kuchar said a couple of times they forgot who had honors on the tee box. Along the way, they created a little separation from the rest of the field.

Austin Connelly, who grew up in Dallas and shares a swing coach with Spieth, extended his remarkable run with birdies on his last two holes for a 66. The 20-year-old who plays under the Canadian flag was six shots behind at 5-under 205, tied with U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who had a 68.

Grace wound up seven shots behind even after his 62.

Missing from the mix was Rory McIlroy, who looked to be a big threat when he began with three birdies in five holes, driving the green on the shortened par-4 fifth hole. He lost it around the turn, making back-to-back bogeys, and then a double bogey at No. 10 when he blasted out of one pot bunker left of the fairway and it spun toward another, resting in the thick collar.

McIlroy had a 69, rarely a bad score in the third round of a major. This one left him nine shots behind.

“If you keep it in play, it’s almost hard to make a bogey out there, you know?” McIlroy said. “I’ve always been good when I get off to fast starts, being able to keep it going, and I didn’t today. And I needed to — that’s the disappointing thing.”

Ian Poulter felt even worse. Still lurking, he ran off three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 71 to fall nine back.

The tone for Sunday was set over the final three holes, when Kuchar made his double bogey. Kuchar got one back with a birdie from the pot bunker short of the green at the par-5 17th. And then Spieth stole a birdie at the end when his approach narrowly missed the bunker right of the green and had enough spin to stay on the putting surface for his final birdie. Kuchar missed his birdie attempt from 12 feet.

“I played well today,” Kuchar said. “Certainly, I’m not out of it. I’m playing some good golf. I’m very excited for tomorrow.”

Both took time to stop and soak in the best walk in golf, a full grandstand surrounding both sides of the 18th. Kuchar stopped and said to Spieth, “This is pretty cool to be here, walking up the last hole of a British Open.”

They get to do it again Sunday, with a lot more at stake than warm applause.</s>(AP Photo/Peter Morrison). South Africa's Shaun Norris, left, and England's Richard Blande prepare to putt on the 7th hole during the second round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, Friday July 21, 2017.

(AP Photo/Peter Morrison). Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the 6th hole during the second round of the British Open Golf Championship, at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, Friday July 21, 2017.

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) - The Latest from the British Open (all times local):

Jordan Spieth has the lead as he tees off in the British Open, despite some very low scores on the day.

Spieth teed off with a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, his playing partner, and Branden Grace. Spieth was 6 under through two rounds after an opening 65 followed by a 69.

He began play just after Grace finished a record round of 8-under-62 that got him to 4 under for the Open. Grace became the first player to shoot a 62 in major championship history, and also broke the Royal Birkdale course record by a stroke.

Spieth's first shot, a 3-wood, found the left rough, while Kuchar hit his down the middle of the fairway.

Branden Grace didn't realize he was making major championship history with an 8-under-62 in the British Open.

But he did, sinking a 2-footer on the final hole to break the former mark of 63 held by several players.

Grace said he was trying to finish the round without a bogey and wanted to make one final birdie on the last hole. He said sometimes it helps not to know records.

Grace said it was just a special day at Royal Birkdale, where the winds were calm and the scoring conditions perfect.

His score also set a course record, on a day when there were already three 65s and three 66s among the early starters.

The South African shot an 8-under-62 Saturday, the lowest score ever in a major championship. He broke the previous mark of 63 by making eight birdies against no bogeys, finishing with a par from just off the back of the green on the 18th hole.

Grace put it to within 2 feet for his final putt.

The 62 also broke the course record at Royal Birkdale, set by Jamie Mudd in the fourth round of the British Open in 1991.

Grace's record round moved him near the top of the leaderboard, just two shots behind Jordan Spieth. Grace, who began the day one stroke inside the cut line, was at 4 under.

Players are going low - real low - at Royal Birkdale, and the leaders haven't even teed off yet.

With the first 20 players in - about a quarter of the weekend field - there were three 65s and three 66s posted. Only three players were over par for the day, and the worst of those was a 73 by Danny Willett.

Branden Grace was the lowest of all, making a run at the major championship record of 63. Grace shot 29 on the front side and was 6 under after lipping out a birdie putt on the par-5 15th hole.

Dustin Johnson was also having a good round, shooting 30 on the front side with four birdies and no bogeys.

Jordan Spieth, the leader midway through the Open, is scheduled to tee off at 3:55 p.m.

On an average Saturday morning, Gregg Pettersen would be working a busy shift in the pro shop at Royal Birkdale.

This time, he was playing in front of thousands at the British Open.

Pettersen, a club professional of 15 years at Birkdale, got a call at around 9.50 p.m. local time on Friday that he'd be the marker in the first group of the third round, alongside Shaun Norris of South Africa.

He was nervous on the first tee, not quite believing how many spectators were watching him. But he quickly settled down. Pettersen and Norris shook hands and put their arms around each other's shoulders as they walked the 18th fairway, and the 38-year-old Pettersen tapped in for bogey for what he thought was a round of 5 over.

He had his best friend, Paul, on his bag and said the experience was "a bit surreal."

After a round of media interviews, he was back working in the shop.

The first weekend score is in the books at the British Open - and it's a good one.

Shaun Norris, playing with a marker after making the cut on the number, shot a 5-under-65 on Royal Birkdale, setting the pace for what could be a day of low scoring.

In near perfect conditions, the South African journeyman made five birdies against no bogeys to move to even par in the tournament.

Norris finished several hours before Jordan Spieth and others on the leaderboard tee off. After a blustery day on Friday, the early players found the course to their liking, with lots of birdies on the board.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>SOUTHPORT, England (Reuters) - South Africa's Branden Grace shot a blistering round of 62, the lowest ever in a men's major championship, as the players made hay in benign conditions at the British Open on Saturday.

Grace, the world number 35, picked up eight birdies in a flawless third round to move to four under par, two shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.

There have been 31 rounds of 63 in major championships and Grace's feat prompted a standing ovation at the 18th green as he saluted the packed galleries at Royal Birkdale.

"I honestly had no idea that was something historic," Grace told reporters.

"I knew I was playing well and I was just in the zone. I didn't know 62 was the lowest ever but now it makes it even more special. If my caddie knew he never said anything; good on him!"

American world number one Dustin Johnson also made a significant move up the leaderboard by collecting six birdies in his first 15 holes to get to three under.

Heavy rain and swirling crosswinds had made scoring difficult in the second round but the sun came out on Saturday morning and the world's top players took full advantage.

Local favourite Tommy Fleetwood, the world number 14, gave the home fans something to cheer about with a fine round of 66 and former world number one Jason Day of Australia shot 65 to move to level par.

Spieth, the world number three and twice major champion, will tee off in the final group out with fellow American Matt Kuchar who trails him by two shots.

England's Ian Poulter is in the penultimate group alongside American Brooke Koepka with both players on three under par.</s>Golf - The 146th Open Championship - Royal Birkdale - Southport, Britain - July 22, 2017 China’s Haotong Li hits his tee shot on the second hole during the third round

SOUTHPORT, England (Reuters) - China's Li Haotong soared up the British Open leaderboard with a superb last-round 63 on Sunday and at one stage looked to have a chance of becoming the second Asian man to win a major title.

When leader Jordan Spieth dropped three shots early in his round, Li was only two behind but the American fought back to win the title and the 21-year-old world number 107 ended up third, three strokes behind runner-up Matt Kuchar.

A day after South African Branden Grace fired the first 62 in a men's major championship, Li picked up seven birdies, including one at each of the last four holes, in a flawless round at Royal Birkdale.

"It's kind of a dream come true. For some reason since hole No. 8 I just start holing everything," Li told reporters. "It is unbelievable actually."

Li played the final round with South African Ernie Els and the twice British Open champion was impressed.

"He was playing good and making putts. He had a nice attitude and I could see he wasn't backing off," Els told reporters.

"You see some guys get a little bit scared but he kept going. So it was really special to see."

Li has one European Tour victory, at the 2016 China Open, and qualified for Birkdale by finishing in the top 30 in last year's Race to Dubai rankings.

He played in last month's U.S. Open but did not enjoy the experience, shooting 82 and 84 in the last two rounds to finish bottom of the field by seven strokes, on 22 over par.

Li's mood did not improve at the French Open when he tossed his broken putter into a lake during the first round and his mother had to wade into the water to retrieve it.

"My mum didn't know I broke my putter in the lake and she just tried to help me," Li said. "But I was really sorry for her."

South Korean Yang Yong-eun is the only Asian-born man to win a major, the 2009 U.S. PGA Championship.</s>Jul 23, 2017; Southport, ENG; Jordan Spieth (right) shakes hands with Matt Kuchar on the 18th green after winning The 146th Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Ian Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

SOUTHPORT, England (Reuters) - American Matt Kuchar said he was "crushed" after he lost out by three strokes to compatriot Jordan Spieth in a classic head-to-head battle at the British Open on Sunday.

The 39-year-old, who has never won a major, had played solid and consistent golf throughout the week and took the lead after Spieth's bogey on the 13th hole of Royal Birkdale.

Although the Floridian did almost everything right -- with birdies on the 15th and 17th -- he entered the final hole two strokes behind after a sensational run down the stretch by Spieth.

The 23-year-old shot birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, after his slip-up and left Kuchar trailing in his wake.

Kuchar's bogey on the final hole, after an unlucky plug lay in the greenside bunker, counted for nothing more than a little salt in his wounds.

The wounds were still fresh when he was asked to look back on his day.

"It's hard to explain. It's crushing. It hurts. And it's an excitement and a thrill to have played well, put up a battle, put up a fight.

"You work so hard to get to this position. And to have a chance to make history and win a championship. You don't get that many opportunities. And to be this close, to taste it with five holes to go, it's a hard one to sit back and take," he said.

Predictably, thoughts turned to whether Kuchar would be able to use the experience to push himself further towards a maiden major win and although he answered in the affirmative, as any professional would, his sigh before responding said more than his words.

Equally inevitably, Kuchar was given words of encouragement from his family and his caddy John Wood as he contemplated his loss but they did not quite succeed in getting him to brush off the defeat.

"I think everybody's doing their best to put a positive spin on it. I played well. I had four good rounds of golf. I was close. And so I think everybody around me is doing the best to put the most positive spin on this week as possible," he said.

Spieth himself said he witnessed the emotional impact the outcome had on a player he has frequently stated his admiration for.

"I noticed it when I walked up and saw his family hugging him and I think Cameron is his oldest that was in tears. At that moment I'm so happy. And at the same time I see that and I thought to myself, man, put this in perspective, he's a dad.

"Matt didn't lose the tournament at all today. He played well down the stretch. I mean, I just had my long putts go in, his didn't. That was simply it," he said.

"I could tell he was emotional once he had sat down in the scorer's tent.

"I believe Matt Kuchar will win a major championship. And I believe that he'll do it sometime soon. He's a great champion and he's such a great person. And he's a great individual to look up to.

"He's one of these guys, when I talk about having great role models on the PGA Tour, and I'm fortunate in that, he's at the top of the class. And you're able to see it with how he handles that kind of situation right after just a crazy day."</s>SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Jordan Spieth is one round away from the third leg of the career Grand Slam, and one year removed from a reminder that it won’t be easy.

On the horizon is a chance to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three different majors at age 23. In the past was his last time leading a major, when he let a five-shot lead get away from him on the back nine a year ago at Augusta National.

All that mattered to him was the present.

Spieth did his part on an extraordinary day of scoring in the British Open, capping off his 5-under 65 by seizing on a good break and making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, who did his best to keep pace with a 66.

Spieth had one of seven rounds at 65 or lower at Royal Birkdale, which was never more vulnerable with a light breeze and a clear sky until the final hour. He was warming up on the range when Branden Grace shot 62, the lowest 18-hole score over 157 years of major championships. Spieth then delivered his second bogey-free round of the week in which he never came seriously close to a bogey.

“Pretty stress-free,” Spieth said. “On a Saturday with a lead in a major, that’s as good as I can ask for.”

He was at 11-under 199, breaking by six shots the 54-hole record at Royal Birkdale that Tom Watson set in 1983. Not only did that last birdie give him a three-shot lead, no one else was closer than six shots.

This will be Spieth’s third time taking the lead into the final round of a major. He led by four at the Masters two years ago and won by that margin. More recent was a one-shot lead at Augusta to start the final round, a five-shot lead at the turn and a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole that cost him another green jacket.

“I think I’m in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I’ve gone through — the good, the bad and everything in the middle,” he said. “I understand that leads can be squandered quickly. And I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one.”

He described the Masters last year as a humbling experience that he thought would serve him well down the road.

“If I don’t win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that,” he said. “And if I win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that, either.”

Kuchar never quite caught up to Spieth. He twice made birdies that momentarily tied him for the lead, only for Spieth to pour in birdie putts on top of him to stay in front. Kuchar’s one slip was a drive into the pot bunker on No. 16 when the rain finally arrived, and a three-putt that led to double bogey.

He will be playing in the final group of the fourth round at a major for the first time, and the 39-year-old Kuchar sounded up for the occasion.

“It’s not that I ever felt like I was playing Jordan today,” Kuchar said. “We certainly had a great round of golf. I never felt like I was out there trying to beat Jordan. It’s trying to go up against Royal Birkdale and put on the best show you can against the golf course.”

No one put on a show quite like Grace, the 29-year-old South African who had a chance to win the U.S. Open two years ago. He went out in 29, then added two long birdie putts on the 14th and 16th holes, and a two-putt birdie on the 17th to reach 8 under. From 60 feet behind the 18th green, he lagged it to 2 feet and tapped in for a 62.

“Look at that number! That is sweet,” Johnny Miller, now a golf analyst, said as NBC flashed a 62 on the screen. Miller was the first to shoot 63 in a major at the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont. It took 44 years for someone to top it.

Spieth and Kuchar lit it up, too. They combined for 12 birdies, such impressive golf that Kuchar said a couple of times they forgot who had honors on the tee box. Along the way, they created a little separation from the rest of the field.

Austin Connelly, who grew up in Dallas and shares a swing coach with Spieth, extended his remarkable run with birdies on his last two holes for a 66. The 20-year-old who plays under the Canadian flag was six shots behind at 5-under 205, tied with U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who had a 68.

Grace wound up seven shots behind even after his 62.

Missing from the mix was Rory McIlroy, who looked to be a big threat when he began with three birdies in five holes, driving the green on the shortened par-4 fifth hole. He lost it around the turn, making back-to-back bogeys, and then a double bogey at No. 10 when he blasted out of one pot bunker left of the fairway and it spun toward another, resting in the thick collar.

McIlroy had a 69, rarely a bad score in the third round of a major. This one left him nine shots behind.

“If you keep it in play, it’s almost hard to make a bogey out there, you know?” McIlroy said. “I’ve always been good when I get off to fast starts, being able to keep it going, and I didn’t today. And I needed to — that’s the disappointing thing.”

Ian Poulter felt even worse. Still lurking, he ran off three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 71 to fall nine back.

The tone for Sunday was set over the final three holes, when Kuchar made his double bogey. Kuchar got one back with a birdie from the pot bunker short of the green at the par-5 17th. And then Spieth stole a birdie at the end when his approach narrowly missed the bunker right of the green and had enough spin to stay on the putting surface for his final birdie. Kuchar missed his birdie attempt from 12 feet.

“I played well today,” Kuchar said. “Certainly, I’m not out of it. I’m playing some good golf. I’m very excited for tomorrow.”

Both took time to stop and soak in the best walk in golf, a full grandstand surrounding both sides of the 18th. Kuchar stopped and said to Spieth, “This is pretty cool to be here, walking up the last hole of a British Open.”

They get to do it again Sunday, with a lot more at stake than warm applause.</s>SOUTHPORT, England, July 22 (Reuters) - South Africa's Branden Grace shot a blistering round of 62, the lowest ever in a men's major championship, as the players made hay in benign conditions at the British Open on Saturday.

Grace, the world number 35, picked up eight birdies in a flawless third round to move to four under par, two shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.

There have been 31 rounds of 63 in major championships and Grace's feat prompted a standing ovation at the 18th green as he saluted the packed galleries at Royal Birkdale.

"I honestly had no idea that was something historic," Grace told reporters.

"I knew I was playing well and I was just in the zone. I didn't know 62 was the lowest ever but now it makes it even more special. If my caddie knew he never said anything; good on him!"

American world number one Dustin Johnson also made a significant move up the leaderboard by collecting six birdies in his first 15 holes to get to three under.

Heavy rain and swirling crosswinds had made scoring difficult in the second round but the sun came out on Saturday morning and the world's top players took full advantage.

Local favourite Tommy Fleetwood, the world number 14, gave the home fans something to cheer about with a fine round of 66 and former world number one Jason Day of Australia shot 65 to move to level par.

Spieth, the world number three and twice major champion, will tee off in the final group out with fellow American Matt Kuchar who trails him by two shots.

England's Ian Poulter is in the penultimate group alongside American Brooke Koepka with both players on three under par. (Editing by Clare Fallon)
In golf, South African Branden Grace shoots 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale, becoming the first golfer ever to do so at a men's major championship.