Westwood Leads Going Into Final Round At The Open

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Lee Westwood carded a 1-under 70 Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over Tiger Woods and Hunter Mahan with just 18 holes remaining at the Open Championship.

Westwood is making his 19th appearance at the Open Championship, which would equal Darren Clarke (2011) for most appearances by a champion before his first victory.

Dating to a T23 at the 2009 U.S. Open, Westwood has finished inside the top 25 in 13 of his last 16 Majors, including nine top 10s (most recent was T8 at 2013 Masters).

The 40-year-old Westwood is seeking to become the fourth-consecutive player in his 40s to win the Open Championship, following 42-year olds Darren Clarke (2011) and Ernie Els (2012).

Westwood is hoping to become the 15th player from England to win the Open Championship, with Nick Faldo performing the feat most recently in 1992. His win would be the 29th by that group.

Hunter Mahan moved to T2 with a third-round 3-under 68, earning him a

spot in the final group Sunday with Lee Westwood. Last month, he entered the final round of the U.S. Open at T2 (also in the last group), trailing Phil Mickelson by one stroke, before a final-round 75 led to a T4 finish.

FedExCup leader Tiger Woods (T2), a three-time winner of the Open Championship (2000, 2005-06), posted a 1- over 72 Saturday and will enter the final round T2, two strokes behind Lee Westwood.

Woods has never come-from-behind to win a major. He is 14 of 15 in majors when holding at least a share of the lead going into the final round, with Y.E. Yang’s come-from-behind win at the 2009 PGA Championship his only blemish.

Making his 14th Open Championship start, Masters champion Adam Scott (71-72-70—213) enters the final round in solo-fourth place and three strokes behind Lee Westwood. A T8 in 2006 and second-place finish in 2013 represent his two top-10 finishes at the Open.

Scott will be paired in the final round with Tiger Woods.

First-round leader Zach Johnson (T5) posted a 2-over 73 Saturday and trails Lee Westwood by four strokes. Johnson, who recently lost in a playoff at the John Deere Classic to Jordan Spieth, is making his 10th start at the Open Championship. After missing his first three cuts at the Open (2004-06), he has since reeled off eight consecutive made cuts, with a T9 last year his best outing.

John Deere Classic champion Jordan Spieth carded a 5-over 76 Saturday and will enter the final round of his first Open Championship T25. His only other Major Championship starts came at the U.S. Open, finishing T21 in 2012 and missing the cut in 2013. Since 1934, only 10 players on the PGA TOUR have won the week before winning a major, with Lee Trevino the only player performing the feat at the British Open.

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