Max Homa, Collin Morikawa Both Top-30 Entering Final Round at The Open

Max Homa shot the lowest score of his five trips to The Open Championship on Saturday, carding a 3-under 67 to move up 32 spots to a share of 20th place.

The 35-year-old Cal grad, playing The Open for the fifth time, made birdies on the 12th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes over the par-70 course at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. He sits at 3 under through 54 holes and part of a nine-way share of 20th.

Homa, who needed a birdie and an eagle over his final four holes Friday just to make the cut, will begin Sunday’s final round seven strokes back of leader Sam Burns, who posted third-round 65 on the heels of a record-tying 62 in Friday.

Homa started Saturday with a birdie on No. 2 before consecutive bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7. Homa’s sparkling back-nine performance gave him his lowest score over 17 career rounds at The Open, dating back to his debut in the event in 2021.

Ranked No. 74 in the world, Homa shot a lower round against par at the 2023 Open, where he finished in a tie for 10th place. Homa opened that event with a 4-under 68 in the first round over the par-72 layout at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

Fellow Golden Bear alum Collin Morikawa went the opposite direction for much of Saturday before a strong finish bailed him out.

The world’s seventh-ranked player, Morikawa began the day in a tie for 25th place at 2 under and recorded his second straight even-par 70 to enter Sunday in a tie for 29th place, along with world No. 2 Rory McIlroy.

Bogeys on Nos. 1, 6, 10 and 13 — with only a birdie at No. 5 — had the 29-year-old sitting at plus-3 for the day. He then birdied No. 14 before logging an eagle on the par-5 17th hole. Morikawa closed the afternoon with a par on 18, a whole he bogeyed the two previous days.

Burns, who has 14 birdies and just one bogey over the past two rounds, was runner-up at the U.S. Open last month and finished in a tie for seventh at the Masters. He tied for 45th place at The Open a year ago.

Burns has a two-stroke lead over Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim, both at 8 under. Fox, tied for 52nd at even par through 36 holes, moved up 50 spots after carding nine birdie and one bogey.

Bryson DeChambeau is tied for sixth at 6 under and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler managed just one birdie against one bogey to shoot a 70, which has him tied for 11th place at 4 under.

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