Ugly finish halts Spieth charge

Jordan Spieth is well positioned for an Open Championship title challenge but the American might live to rue an ugly finish to his third round at Royal St George's on Saturday.

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The 27-year-old spent all day in an absorbing three-way tussle for the lead with South African Louis Oosthuizen and compatriot Collin Morikawa but successive bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes undid much of his earlier great work.

After splitting the fairway with a perfect drive on the par-four 17 his approach span back off the green and he could not salvage his par while worse was to follow at the last.

Faced with a 15-foot putt for birdie, Spieth sent his ball past the hole and then a brainstorm saw him almost unbelievably miss the short return putt.

His 69 left him on nine under par going into Sunday's finale, three adrift of Oosthuizen and two behind Morikawa.

It was a kick in the teeth for Spieth who had opened his round in superb fashion with four birdies in his opening seven holes. He also birdied the 10th, and standing on the 17th tee he was in a three-way tie for the lead.

Things then unravelled, although a first major title since his triumph at Royal Birkdale in 2017, and his fourth in total, still looks well within his reach.

The Texan has managed more birdies (16) than any other player during the Championship, but will need to cut out the kind of errors that sabotaged his round on Saturday.