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South Korea’s Si Woo Kim made a hole-in-one in the third round of the 152nd Open as Thriston Lawrence threatened to make more history at Royal Troon.
Kim was two over par after 16 holes but walked off the 17th back to level for the day after his tee shot pitched just short of the green and rolled inexorably into the cup on the 238-yard par three.
It is the first time a hole-in-one has been recorded on the 17th in 10 Open Championships at the South Ayrshire venue.
Before the forecast rain duly arrived, conditions had been perfect for scoring and Lawrence was taking full advantage, the South African making birdies on the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth to surge through the field.
Lawrence frustratingly left a birdie attempt short from 12 feet on the ninth, but still reached the turn in 30 and picked up another shot on the 11th.
At seven under par for the day, Lawrence needed to play his remaining seven holes in two under par for a 62 to equal the lowest score ever recorded in a men’s major.
The course record of 63 was set by Phil Mickelson in the first round of the 2016 Open and equalled in the final round by champion Henrik Stenson.
A roller coaster week for Justin Thomas continued as he covered the front nine in 31, a remarkable 14-shot improvement on Friday.
Thomas, who had been third after an opening 68, limped to the turn in 45 in round two with a triple bogey, double bogey and four bogeys on his card, but came home in 33 to make the cut with two shots to spare.
Thomas picked up his sixth birdie of the day on the 12th, but dropped shots at the 13th and the 15th as the weather worsened.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry took a two-shot lead over England’s Justin Rose and Dan Brown into the third round, with the final pair of Lowry and Brown not teeing off until 3.45pm.
