<p> Jordan Spieth held a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar after 15 holes of their third round in the British Open at Royal Birkdale on Saturday.<br /><br />Overnight leader Spieth, who began his round on six-under par, picked up three birdies on the front nine before holing a putt for another birdie on the par-5 15th to move to 10-under par overall.<br /><br />His fellow American and playing partner Kuchar claimed consecutive birdies at the short 14th and the 15th to move to nine-under par as the chasing pack faded behind.<br /><br />US Open champion Brooks Koepka was two-under for his round and five-under par overall on the 16th as rain began to fall around 7pm local time (1800 GMT) after conditions had been excellent all day.<br /><br />Branden Grace made history on a low-scoring Saturday as he became the first player ever to shoot a 62 in a major.<br /><br />The South African took advantage of benign conditions on the links of Royal Birkdale that were a world away from the rain and wind that rendered shot-making almost impossible on Friday.<br /><br />The South African's eight-under-par round, featuring eight birdies and no dropped shots, saw him rocket up the leaderboard to four under par overall.<br /><br />There had been 31 rounds of 63 in the previous 441 major championships, with 10 coming in the British Open including Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson last year at Troon, but never a 62.<br /><br />And yet Grace, the 29-year-old ranked 35th in the world, later admitted he had been blissfully unaware of what he was about to achieve as he came down the 18th.<br /><br />"I was just so in the zone of playing, hole after hole. I knew I was obviously playing really well, and making the turn in five-under was pretty special," he said. "And I thought if I could make a couple more on the back nine, then it's going to be a great score.”<br /><br />The round also broke Jodie Mudd's course record of 63, set in the final round of the Open in 1991.<br /><br />Grace, whose caddie told him of the record after he holed out at the last, added: "I feel I'm playing well. And I just want to get out there again tomorrow (Sunday) and try to do something similar, just play some good golf.<br /><br />Grace, whose best showing at a major to date is a third place at the PGA Championship in 2015, is one of those hoping to extend a run of the last seven majors being won by players who had never previously won any of golf's biggest prizes.<br /><br />Lahiri, Kapur miss cut<br /><br />Anirban Lahiri came within a whisker of squeezing into the weekend, before a visit to the bunker on the very last hole, ended his hopes by one shot on Friday.<br /><br />Lahiri finished with a 73 for a total of six-over, one shot above the cut. A little earlier Shiv Kapur battled to a similar 73, the same as the first round, and missed by one shot.<br /></p>
<p> Jordan Spieth held a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar after 15 holes of their third round in the British Open at Royal Birkdale on Saturday.<br /><br />Overnight leader Spieth, who began his round on six-under par, picked up three birdies on the front nine before holing a putt for another birdie on the par-5 15th to move to 10-under par overall.<br /><br />His fellow American and playing partner Kuchar claimed consecutive birdies at the short 14th and the 15th to move to nine-under par as the chasing pack faded behind.<br /><br />US Open champion Brooks Koepka was two-under for his round and five-under par overall on the 16th as rain began to fall around 7pm local time (1800 GMT) after conditions had been excellent all day.<br /><br />Branden Grace made history on a low-scoring Saturday as he became the first player ever to shoot a 62 in a major.<br /><br />The South African took advantage of benign conditions on the links of Royal Birkdale that were a world away from the rain and wind that rendered shot-making almost impossible on Friday.<br /><br />The South African's eight-under-par round, featuring eight birdies and no dropped shots, saw him rocket up the leaderboard to four under par overall.<br /><br />There had been 31 rounds of 63 in the previous 441 major championships, with 10 coming in the British Open including Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson last year at Troon, but never a 62.<br /><br />And yet Grace, the 29-year-old ranked 35th in the world, later admitted he had been blissfully unaware of what he was about to achieve as he came down the 18th.<br /><br />"I was just so in the zone of playing, hole after hole. I knew I was obviously playing really well, and making the turn in five-under was pretty special," he said. "And I thought if I could make a couple more on the back nine, then it's going to be a great score.”<br /><br />The round also broke Jodie Mudd's course record of 63, set in the final round of the Open in 1991.<br /><br />Grace, whose caddie told him of the record after he holed out at the last, added: "I feel I'm playing well. And I just want to get out there again tomorrow (Sunday) and try to do something similar, just play some good golf.<br /><br />Grace, whose best showing at a major to date is a third place at the PGA Championship in 2015, is one of those hoping to extend a run of the last seven majors being won by players who had never previously won any of golf's biggest prizes.<br /><br />Lahiri, Kapur miss cut<br /><br />Anirban Lahiri came within a whisker of squeezing into the weekend, before a visit to the bunker on the very last hole, ended his hopes by one shot on Friday.<br /><br />Lahiri finished with a 73 for a total of six-over, one shot above the cut. A little earlier Shiv Kapur battled to a similar 73, the same as the first round, and missed by one shot.<br /></p>