England’s Richard Mansell is four shots ahead with a career-changing win in his grasp – but he’s wary of what can happen on the Old Course.
The 27-year-old has played his way from a low category to the cusp of the Race to Dubai finale this year already. After a brilliant 67 at Carnoustie he’s away and clear in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
After his outstanding 68 through the wind and the rain on the Old Course on Friday – the only player to break par there in the second round – Mansell followed up at Carnoustie.
He had one bogey at the ninth but birdied the last to finish on a 15-under total, four ahead of Sweden’s former Ryder Cup player Alex Noren.
‘Anything can happen, it’s St Andrews’
A closing birdie to card a five-under 67 @carnoustiegolf 👏 @richardmansel14 holds a four-shot lead in the clubhouse. #DunhillLinks pic.twitter.com/kWtjeGw9Db
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2022
“Tomorrow (Sunday) there’s a lot of golf to play,” he said. “It’s links golf, anything can happen.
“It’s St Andrews. People can shoot 60.
“I’m just really focused on myself right now. I’m going to try and shoot a good score tomorrow and see where it puts me.”
Mansell’s playing rights at the start of the season weren’t too solid, but he played himself into a card with three top tens in May, and had two more in August.
“I’ve been in contention a lot this year and had chances on Sundays,” he said. “Every time you lose, you learn. That’s what I feel like I’ve done really well this year.
“I’ve missed two cuts in the last two weeks, but I;ve been playing a lot of good stuff recently and it was just in case of not worrying.
“I played really, really good today. I feel really in control of my golf game right now.”
Mansell had putts for eagle on both the 12th and 14th and settled for birdies both times, and after a two-putt par on 17 – “that hole is brutal today” – he wedged to 15 feet and rolled it in at the last.
Connor Syme’s best of the day at Kingsbarns
Scottish galleries enjoy day 3 of the #dunhilllinks at @TheHomeofGolf pic.twitter.com/Zf9cucdYVT
— Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) October 1, 2022
Scotland’s challenge for the Dunhill title faded despite a best of the day 65 by Connor Syme at Kingsbarns Links.
The Drumoig player had eight birdies with just the sole blemish on the 17th, leaping him 44 players up the leaderboard to a share of 10th.
“It was a brilliant day today,” he said. “I actually played well yesterday even though the conditions were awful.
“I kept leaving putts short and my goal today was to be more positive with my putting. The turnaround in score was all about the putting and being more positive on the greens.”
Robert MacIntyre is also eight shots behind the leader after a one-under 71 on the Old Course. A third Scot, East Lothian’s Grant Forrest, is also on seven-under with a 65 at Kingsbarns.
MacIntyre admitted that as a left-hander, he struggles on the Old Course’s back nine in the prevailing right to left wind.
“It’s the same old story for me, I can’t turn it into the wind, on 15-16-17,” he said. “I have to hope the wind is out of the east.”
There was a massive Saturday following for Rory McIlroy at St Andrews and he put together an excellent 66 to join the Scots in a share of tenth place.
That came after he spun his second shot into the Swilcan Burn on the first hole to take a bogey five, but he rebounded superbly.