Retief Goosen wasn't a happy camper when he finished off his round of 72 on Saturday. And who could blame him?

The South African had climbed into the top-five on the leaderboard at 7 under with a birdie at the par-5 14th hole. But Goosen gave it back -- and then some -- with a bogey and a double bogey in his next three holes. He'll start the final round a distant 10 strokes off the pace, as a result.

"It was a bit of a disappointing finish," the quiet South African said. "I would have liked to have get it going a little bit in the last few holes, but finished poorly unfortunately. Pretty much out of it now, so hopefully just get a good round in tomorrow and try and finish up in the top five."

There's another South African at the top of the leaderboard in Louis Oosthuizen. Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champ, is 14 years his senior but he has seen Oosthuizen play enough that he knows the 27-year-old has got all the tools.

"Louis has actually been playing some really good golf this year," Goosen said. "He's probably had a chance to win four or five European Tour events this year, and he just failed in that last round or somebody else shot a great round. He has one of the best golf swings on Tour, and he's a good wind player, grew up in an area that's very windy. ...

"The guy has got a really solid head on him. He's very focused, very nice guy, one of the nicest guys on Tour, and like I say, tomorrow, yeah, it's going to be tough, but you know, you've got to get out there and do it.  Somebody has to do it." – Helen Ross

Martin Kaymer has put together three steady rounds at the Old Course this week. He has yet to shoot above par in any round and finished 54 holes at 8 under, which places him solo third.

"Obviously I played very good golf today, like the last two days already," Kaymer said. "I gave myself a lot of good birdie chances.  Made one mistake today on No. 9, that bogey. The other bogey that kind of happened, the three-putt, but on No. 9 it was only from six, seven feet, so I had a very good birdie chance and ended up with a bogey.

"But then was fighting back with a birdie on 10 and 12.  So 68 under those conditions, I'm very happy." 

A year ago, Kaymer came to Turnberry among the favorites after winning the previous two European Tour events – and ended up in a tie for 34th. The 25-year-old German captured the season-opener this year and has four other top-10s but a missed cut at Loch Lomond last week gave him some extra time to prepare.

"Last year of course I was very tired, so last week was -- on one hand it was not so good that I missed the cut, on the other hand it was very good for me to prepare for the British Open, and I feel definitely very ready to play another good round tomorrow," Kaymer said.

"Last year coming from two big wins, of course I was more tired than now, but I can see myself playing well again tomorrow, and yeah, we will see where I'm finishing."

Kaymer tied for eighth at the U.S. Open last month, and he has another chance at major glory on Sunday. He's six shots behind the leader, Louis Oosthuizen, although he only has two players in front of him.

"I think Louis Oosthuizen and Paul Casey, they played very solid golf the last couple days, and too far away would be probably seven, eight shots," Kaymer said. "I don't really see myself shooting a 63 under those conditions, and I'm not expecting them to shoot 73 or 74 tomorrow. So that is what I would explain as a goal, which is not really realistic to do." – Helen Ross

For most of the afternoon, the leaderboard of the 139th British Open has a distinctly European feel. OK. OK. So Louis Oosthuizen is from South Africa, but he plays the European Tour and has a second home in Manchester, England. Besides, two shots behind the 27-year-old is England’s Paul Casey while Martin Kaymer of Germany and Alejandro Canizares of Spain are five back and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is six off the pace. And let’s not forget world No. 3 Lee Westwood, the hardy Englishman who is 6 under with three holes remaining. Several young Americans, though, are making their presence known. Dustin Johnson has just polished off a 69 to finish at 6 under while Nick Watney, Sean O’Hair and Ricky Barnes are another stroke behind. And Barnes has two holes remaining. Think American Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin isn’t paying attention? And Europe’s Colin Montgomerie has got to be feeling pretty good. – Helen Ross

Three three-putts. Two back-to-back at 13 and 14. A final one at  18 -- after he drove the green for the second day. So much for the new Method putter? Tiger Woods said no. He just needs to get the speed on the greens. And fast. A second 73 to go with his opening 67. A 3-under 213. A spot just far enough back of the leaders -- when he walked off the course 10 back -- that he needs major help to contend for the 150th Anniversary Open Sunday afternoon. "I  hit it good today,'' he said. " I mean, I striped it all day.  I just didn't get anything out of the round.  I couldn't build any momentum, wasn't making any putts today, and once I got it going just a little bit, I thought, I had back‑to‑back three‑putts at 13 and 14. "I made a lot of putts the first day.  Yesterday obviously with the wind, I don't think anyone made a whole lot of putts.  But today, today was ‑‑ ball is oscillating a little bit, but it was a little bit calmer than it was yesterday, and certainly should have had better speed than I did today.'' Sense the frustration? Take it a step farther. Woods owned this course at the Opens in 2000 and 2005. He made 22 birdies and three bogeys in 2000; 21 birdies and seven bogeys in '05. This week? Try 12 birdies and nine bogeys through the first three holes. "I'm playing well,'' he said. "I'm playing better than obviously my position.  I certainly have had a lot more putts on the greens than I ever have, and that's something that has basically kept me out of being in the final few groups.'' And, there have been blips like Saturday at the fifth hole when he's down the middle off the tee and bogeys a par 5. "It's just one of those things where I stripe it right down the middle and I've got this slope I've got to deal with,'' he said. "I thought I could get a 3‑wood into the ball and from there I can two‑putt from down at the base of the bowl.  I hit a 3‑wood.  Started it probably about 40 yards left of the green and ended up in the right gorse.  A little bit of wind.'' At 17, he found the wall at the Road Hole. Another bogey. And the par-5s? He's played them just 1-under in the first three days. "It's just one of those things where you just have to be patient,'' he said. "I was grinding, I was as patient as I possibly could be today, and I was just trying to plod my way along and just didn't get anything going.'' Now, he's got just 18 holes left to find the speed and, perhaps, a miracle. So much -- the weather, Paul Casey and Louis Oosthuizen to name a few things -- is out of his control. "You just don't know what the weather is going to do,'' Woods said. "As Louis had it yesterday, he played 16 out of 18 holes downwind.  You need to have things like that happen, and hopefully tomorrow things like that will happen and I can get some kind of momentum going early.'' -- Melanie Hauser

Jin Jeong continues to hang in there during the third round of the British Open. The 20-year-old is 1 over for the day through 12 holes, but he is currently tied for ninth at 5 under for the tournament. To put his performance in perspective consider these items:

Three amateurs have won the British Open:
    Bobby Jones (3)    1926, 1927/St. Andrews, 1930
    Harold Hilton (2)    1892, 1897
    John Ball Jr. (1)    1890

The most recent top-10 finish by an amateur at the British Open was Chris Wood in 2008 at Royal Birkdale, finishing fifth.

Lowest total by an amateur at the British Open:
    281    Iain Pyman        1993
    281    Tiger Woods        1996
    282    Justin Rose        1998
    282    Matteo Manassero    2009
    283    Guy Wolstenholme    1960 (St. Andrews)
    283    Lloyd Saltman        2005 (St. Andrews)

Sergio Garcia finally let it go Friday night. Twice. Said what he needed to say. Let his anger -- at himself -- out. Talked about his frustrations. Let his family and friends know what he was thinking and where he wanted to go. What he needed to do. With his parents Victor and Consuelo, brother Victor Jr., sister Mar, his managers and a couple of other close friends as sounding boards, Garcia let the frustrations of the last year or so out. It started at the house he's renting, then moved to his management's rental house. Bottom line? He realized what it will take to get his game out of a serious kerfuffle. "We've been talking about it for a while,'' Garcia said. " It's probably nice because it was the kind of day where I was really, really angry at myself, and I kind of let it all out, and it kind of made me feel a little better and probably helped me kind of realise things.  I'm just hoping that I can keep doing the same things.'' Call it Day One and see the smiles -- something we haven't seen from Garcia in far too long. See the scores too -- a pair of 71s and a Saturday 70 that could have been a 68 or 69. He bogeyed the 17th. But shook it off. Just like he shook off a so-so start -- par-bogey -- and a great drive at the third hole that found a divot. "You're looking forward to getting that shot back, and I was in a really tiny divot, a really bad lie, and I didn't let it bother me,'' Garcia said. " In the past unfortunately it's been the other way. I think that that probably made me do better later on in the day even with the tough conditions, so that was good to see.'' Garcia finds himself at 4-under going into the final day, which, unless the leaders come way back, will be too far to have him thinking about that first major. Then again, the catharsis followed by epiphany simply has him looking at one day, one shot at a time. "It definitely was better, yes,'' he said after the 70. "I definitely felt like my energy was better out there.  I felt like I was a bit happier out there.  There's no doubt that the people, the crowds really help here.  But I definitely can say that I was feeling calmer, and with a different kind of energy out there.'' He fed, too, off the fans who remember that playoff loss to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie in 2007 and the five other top 10s here. And all the other close calls he's had over the years. His lone top 10 this season was at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play. But even then, he rolled into the semifinals, then lost 7 and 6 to Ian Poulter and 5 and 4 to Camilo Villegas in the consolation match. The rest of the season? So-so. Frustrating for a player who was once No. 2 in the world. A T-45 at the Masters; a T-22 at the U.S. Open. Now a chance at another top 10. And a great follow up to Day One. " I think that it was an important day, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, no matter what happens,'' Garcia said.   But at least try to keep the same kind of attitude and will to obviously do well but without really letting it change myself.'' -- Melanie Hauser

Alejandro Canizares and amateur Jin Jeong are hoping to become the first player to win the British Open in his debut since Ben Curtis in 2003 and the 10th overall. Four players have performed the feat at St. Andrews:

    Willie Park, Prestwick, 1860
    Tom Kidd, St Andrews, 1873
    Mungo Park, Musselburgh, 1874
    Jock Hutchison, St Andrews, 1921
    Denny Shute, St Andrews, 1933
    Ben Hogan, Carnoustie, 1953
    Tony Lema, St Andrews, 1964
    Tom Watson, Carnoustie, 1975
    Ben Curtis, Royal St. George’s, 2003

Phil Mickelson's frustrations at the British Open are well-documented. Prior to this week, the man who has three Masters and one PGA on his resume -- not to mention, five seconds at the U.S. Open -- had played in 16 British Opens and only once finished in the top-10. That came in 2004 when he finished one stroke out of the playoff between Todd Hamilton, the eventual champ, and Ernie Els. On this blustery Saturday, though, Mickelson looked to finally be getting himself back into the thick of things as he played his first 15 holes in 4 under, which also marked where he stood for the tournament. Then the world No. 2 shot himself in the figurative foot – again -- with a double bogey at No. 16 and a bogey at the Road Hole. Not even a birdie at the 18th could ease the pain. "I'm disappointed in myself because I let a good round slide," Mickelson said. "I let a good opportunity to get back into the tournament somewhat to where a good round tomorrow could maybe get it done, and I let it go and I'm disappointed in myself. ... "I'm frustrated with myself, not only today's round, the first couple. I love this tournament, and just am disappointed in myself for the way I've performed this week." Mickelson said he missed a couple of putts he should have made early in the round. His putter got hot on the inward nine, though, but two bad swings with a 5-iron, the first of which sailed out of bounds at the 16th hole, proved extremely costly. "I was trying to hit a low hook, and I hit it a little too quick," Mickelson said. "I'm frustrated, but today to me was just a great day on St. Andrews, because the wind was challenging but fair. The pins were challenging but fair. And there was some good scoring out there.  There were some birdies out there, and also there's some bogeys. "I thought that this was a fun day to play this championship under these conditions." Mickelson was hardly ready to concede defeat, though. He knows that a low round could be out there -- just ask Rory McIlroy, who tied the major championship mark with a first-round 63 -- so getting off to a good start at the Old Course on Sunday will be key. "You never know what's going to happen out here," Mickelson said. "You never know what the weather is going to do. I'm going to get off quite a bit before the leaders, and you go out and shoot 7 , 8 , 9 under par, do what Rory did, you just never know. “You never want to count yourself out because you don't know what the conditions will be."  -- Helen Ross

One more thing to like about Henrik Stenson's chances? He's got Fanny Sunesson on the bag. Fanny was on the bag for Nick Faldo's British Open wins in 1990 (St. Andrews) and 1992 (Muirfield) and his last two Masters (90, 96) wins. Andy Prodger caddied for him when he won his first Open in 1987 at Muirfield. -- Melanie Hauser

He knows there's a good chance he'll look back tomorrow night and try to find five shots. He'll turn that second-round 80 over in his head and think what could have -- what might have -- been. But for the moment, Rory McIlroy just wants to build on his confidence and shoot a good closing round at St. Andrews. That he's still not shot in the 70s? That's a good thing. Saturday at least. His third-round 69 could have been a 67, maybe a 66. But there's no use going down that -- er, road. He did that at the 17th hole. The Road Hole. Hit a 7-iron 210 yards -- thanks to the wind -- and it landed along the wall. No real shot to the green. Instead, he had to play toward 18, chip up and  . . . well, it was his second double of the week. "Yeah, I feel as if I could have been a couple closer to the lead,'' he said. "Obviously, I was playing pretty good up until 17.  I hit a good shot on 17, just got a gust of wind that completely switched.  I hit a 7‑iron 210 yards or whatever it was, and I just hit a 6‑iron on the last hole 175. "Yeah, I just got a complete gust there, so it was pretty unfortunate.  But that's links golf, and you've just got to deal with it.'' Just like he dealt with his opening 63. And the where-did-that-come-from-how-much-else-can-go-wrong 80 the second day. " I just really tried to get yesterday's round out of my head and just focus completely on today and tried to shoot a good score,'' he said. " As I said, I'm not going to let one round of golf really get me down.  It's only one bad round, and I'm sure I'll shoot plenty more bad ones but hopefully just a few more better ones.'' What did he do to clear his head? Room service and Shooting Stars on BBC2. Then bed. "I think it would have been very easy to let yesterday's round sort of linger, and I just completely got it out of my head and just went and tried to shoot a good score today,'' he said. "So I think just the response to what happened yesterday was probably the most pleasing thing.'' McIlroy turned 2-under for the day and got to 4-under after birdies at 12 and 15. Then came 17, which he followed with a good birdie at 18 to end the day. "I really struggled yesterday, but I think playing in such a strong wind yesterday made today feel not as bad, even though the wind was still quite strong,'' McIlroy said. "You know, I definitely hit a few shots out there that I wasn't able to play yesterday.  I think it might have just been because I had 80 shots yesterday, so I had a little bit of practice.'' Yes, he was kidding. Just not about possibly wondering "what if" Sunday night. Then again, maybe . . . . "If the lead tomorrow is 8‑, 9‑, 10‑under par going into tomorrow, I feel I've got a really good chance because I know what I'm capable of around this golf course and I know what I'm capable of in final rounds,'' he said. "We'll see how far off the lead I am and hopefully I get off to a fast start.'' And, just maybe, shoot his 11th -- of his 12 -- round at St. Andrews in the 60s. -- Melanie Hauser