Adam Scott's British Open chances slip away as Rory McIlroy leads by three shots midway through third round at Royal Liverpool.
Adam Scott's British Open hopes were left hanging at a rain-swept Royal Liverpool as Rory McIlroy kept a pack of chasers at bay midway through the third round.
While the likes of Rickie Fowler, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia were defying dour conditions to keep pressure on overnight leader McIlroy, Scott failed to make any inroads as he opened with nine straight pars.
Torrential rain drenched the course at Hoylake on Friday night with the atrocious weather prompting organisers to use a two-tee start for the first time in the tournament's history to account for expected delays.
Players also teed off in groups of three rather than the customary two for weekends, however play continued uninterrupted into the early afternoon.
McIlroy led by four shots at 12-under-par overnight but there was an immediate two-shot swing as he found a greenside bunker and dropped a shot at the first hole as second-placed playing partner Dustin Johnson opened with a birdie.
With conditions still favourable for scoring, Fowler and Garcia made moves up the leaderboard by early afternoon to trail McIlroy by three with Schwartzel, Johnson, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and American Jim Furyk also prominent in the chasing pack.
Australia's prospects looked to be fading, however, though Marc Leishman remained at his overnight score of 3-under as he countered a double bogey with two birdies.
Scott was again striking the ball solidly but unable to get his belly putter firing to convert some decent birdie opportunities.
original post found herhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-19/scott-fades-as-mcilroy-maintains-open-lead/5609622
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