For once, the rarely accurate clich was true; the belated third round of the 144th Open championship was a proper Moving Day.
Everyone moved forward, and if you didn’t, you were still moving, but out of contention. The biggest mover was the most surprising, Irish amateur Paul Dunne, who is tied for the lead going into the final 18 holes today with Australia’s Jason Day and the last Open champion at St Andrews, Louis Oosthuizen.
But they were just two on a day of so many leaders and co-leaders, it made the head spin. The answer to the trivia question you’ll be looking for in years to come is Dustin Johnson, Oosthuizen, Charl Schwarztel, Jordan Spieth, Dunne, Stephen Bowditch, Day, Danny Willett, Padraig Harrington and Eddie Pepperell.
These were the ten men who had at least a share of the lead at some point yesterday. Some were exceedingly brief Pepperell had a share for just the time it took him to hole at putt at 16 and then carve his next drive into the Old Course Hotel but all are still in the hunt for the Claret Jug, except maybe Dustin Johnson, the halfway leader but the biggest casualty of Moving Day.
But the shaft of light on a fine day at St Andrews was Dunne, one year older than Spieth, but a whole lot less experienced in the matters of major championship.
The Dubliner shot a brilliant 66 and is the first Amateur to lead the open after 54 holes since the immortal Bobby Jones in 1930 on his way to win the second leg of his Grand Slam.
The historical magnitude (a favourite phrase of our American cousins this week) facing Dunne is almost as great as that of Spieth. Like the American, however, he appears pretty sanguine about it.
“My approach is going to be just the same as the last three days, just look at the weather, then put a number in my head that I think I’ll need to shoot,” he said.
“I’m not really going to think about winning or where I’m going to finish until the last few holes, and if my strategy needs to change a little bit.
“I can’t control what other people do. Everyone could go out and shoot 63 or everyone could shoot 75. All I can control is committing to my shots.”
The number Paul had in his head yesterday was 69, but he had to refocus his goals after going out in four-under 32.
“I was nervous on the first shot, just to get the round going,” he said. “I just picked conservative targets (off the tee) and attacked with my irons.
“I felt like I had so much support from the crowd today, I kind of felt like I was at home. Every shot I hit was getting cheered from start to finish, they kept me lifted the whole way through.
“And it was great to play with Louis (Oosthuizen) today. He’s obviously a great role model for me, great player, someone I look up to.”
Yesterday was notable for so many players appearing from nowhere, so bunched was the leaderboard that anyone could make a move with a charge through the loop in barely-there winds that starkly contrasted with Saturday.
Dunne’s three birdies at the 7th, 9th and 10th catapulted him into the lead, and to his credit he maintained a levelness down the back nine not really match by his playing partner.
Louis had a share of the lead on three different occasions, and admitted his partnership with Dunne helped him bounce back more than once.
“I think the two of us pulled each other along the whole way,” he said. “Paul’s played unbelievable.”
Oosthuizen, of course, is the only man left in the mix who knows what it takes to win an Open at St Andrews, and he’s intent on using that experience to the full.
“It’s always so much fun to be playing The Open, it’s the biggest tournament that I can play in,” he said. “Playing it around St. Andrews makes it obviously a lot more special. Every time I come here, even if it’s for the Dunhill, I love playing the Old Course.
“Knowing I’ve done it before at this golf course, I will take a lot from that. But there’s a lot of golf that needs to be played. Jordan is obviously looking at making history, so you can expect him to fire on early and to really be up there. Jason is playing unbelievable.
“There’s so many players that can still win this. I think it’s going to be one of the tightest Opens.”
Day was his usual steady self on his way to his 67, and is in the mix at yet another major championship. Inevitably, the question has to be what he’s learned from the several previous close things.
“Just beat everyone else,” he said, laughing. “No, the biggest thing for me is to understand that tomorrow is going to be a tough round.
“There’s going to be a lot of wind, there’s going to be a lot of rain, there’s going to be a lot of guys that are going to shoot low scores.
“There’s a lot of good players that are behind us trying to chase that lead. Trying not to get so absorbed and attached to the leaderboard, and pretty much what I did today, just to really stay patient and let the birdies come to me.”
The names chasing are enough to make anyone want to ignore the leaderboards and take their own aim.
Spieth is there, threatening in fourth on his own, ready to throw everything at the chance to make history. Padraig Harrington is alone in fifth, his 65 yesterday marking him as still the master links strategist, a third Claret Jug an achievable goal.
Behind him anyone one nine under can win, especially if the steadier, trickier winds promised for this afternoon materialise.
That number includes Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Retief Goosen, Adam Scott and Zach Johnson, another amateur in young American Jordan Niebrugge, and the persistent Robert Streb.
It does not include Dustin Johnson, who on a day when it seemed the Old Course was at the mercy of his formidable power, simply imploded to a three-over 75 and three bogeys in the last three holes. He agreed that he was “kind of stunned”
“Yeah, a little bit. I felt like I was playing pretty good. Obviously today is the easier of the three days that we’ve played golf by quite a few shots, but I played the worst round, and I don’t feel like I played that bad.
“It’s definitely frustrating. I’m going to have to put together a special round tomorrow to have a chance. Get off to a really good start maybe, you never know what happens.
“Anything can happen,” he concluded. That’s always true of the Open, and especially yesterday.