FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, July 17th, 2021

NOTES AND QUOTES – THE 149TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ON NBC (THIRD ROUND)

“If that was unexpected, (the miss on 18) was shocking. He has to regroup and realize that he didn’t take himself out of the tournament.” – Justin Leonard on Jordan Spieth’s back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18

“The spotlight is on ‘King Louis.’” – Azinger on Louis Oosthuizen

He’s a lot like Johnny Miller in his prime. He hits every shot right at the flag when he’s playing well.” – Paul Azinger on Collin Morikawa

“He makes the game look so simple, but he makes winning look so hard. This is about the best I’ve seen him swing.” – Brandel Chamblee on Oosthuizen

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 17, 2021 – NBC Sports presented exclusive third round coverage of the 149th Open Championship from Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England on NBC, capped by Live From The Open post-round coverage on GOLF Channel.

Final round coverage begins tomorrow at 4 a.m. ET on GOLF Channel and continues at 7 a.m. ET on NBC. Peacock Premium simulstreams all coverage on GOLF Channel and NBC.

149th Open Championship – Third Round Leaderboard

Player Total
Louis Oosthuizen -12
Collin Morikawa -11
Jordan Spieth -9
Corey Conners -8
Scottie Scheffler -8

 

On the third round

Paul Azinger: “The real pressure today is knowing you have to put it in the fairway and get it on the greens, because the scores have been incredibly low. We are setting records this week because of the lack of wind. The urgency for these guys is to get off to a good start.”

On Louis Oosthuizen (-12, Leader)

Brandel Chamblee: “He’s a tough player to get your arms around because he does make the game look so simple, but he makes winning look so hard. Part of it is because he has been beaten by some great play, but part of it is because he has been beaten by himself with lackluster play…this is about the best I’ve seen him swing.”

Justin Leonard: “He’s been under the microscope for the last two, now three major championships. It’s hard to quantify what that does to a player, but it’s there, it’s real…he has a remarkable ability to adapt his game to different styles of golf. The energy that is required to pick himself after a couple of disappointing Sundays, of having to continue to answer the question, ‘Why have you not won?’…and yet here he is.”

Azinger: “Right now the spotlight is on ‘King Louis.’”

Koch on Oosthuizen’s putting: “You think about the first nine holes – it was really the putting. Great par saves at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 allowed him to get into the rhythm of the round.”

On Collin Morikawa (-11, 2nd place)

Morikawa to Todd Lewis on his approach to the final round: “We create these routines that we get accustomed to. Just because it’s a major, it’s going to be a final round and we’re in contention, doesn’t mean that you have to change. I’ve built this routine and hope that it’s bulletproof. “

Azinger: “He’s a lot like Johnny Miller in his prime. He hits every shot right at the flag when he’s playing well…there was just no panic in Collin Morikawa.”

Dan Hicks: “He was the most solid guy down the stretch today.”

On Jordan Spieth (-9, 3rd place)

Justin Leonard: “He got off to a great start…I saw him running off the 18th green because he wanted to get off the golf course as fast as possible. He was three-over on his last eight holes…this is the second day in a row that this has happened, just kind of fell asleep a little bit. He has to regroup and realize that he didn’t take himself out of the tournament…the good news is he only has to pass two players.”

Azinger on Spieth’s bogey on 18 after short par putt miss: “Oh my goodness…he almost missed a one-footer here yesterday. I wonder if that was in the back of his head…it just takes all the wind out of your sails. A totally deflated Jordan Spieth after that finish. He played a terrific round. That’s a shock to your system…you feel it in your gut.”

Dan Hicks: “You saw him hustle out of the stadium there at 18. He went right to the putting green.”

Azinger: “I would too after that…no real surprise.”

Gary Koch on bogey on 17th hole: “It’s a case of driving the ball too far off of the tee. You put yourself in a handcuff yardage…what a bad bogey.”

Chamblee on bogey on 17th hole: “On the list of things you didn’t expect to see today…almost an inexplicable bogey.”

Leonard on Spieth’s bogeys on 17 and 18: “If that was unexpected, this was shocking…two sloppy bogeys on the final two holes.”

Notah Begay III on Spieth’s demeanor at The Open: “He just plays with such a natural flow out here. These odds situations that a lot of players find themselves in in links golf don’t really seem to get him rattled that much. He plays creative shots…finds a piece of his game that you wish you could see more of back in the U.S.”

–NBC SPORTS–