Jon Rahm called his record breaking third round 63 at Hoylake “the best round I’ve played on a links golf course ever”

He likened the feeling to his first round at Augusta National this year when he went on the win The Masters.

It was an extraordinary display of clinical ball striking and hot putting. He started the day at +2 and after 4 pars had birdies at 5 and 9 before he took apart the back nine. 

A 14 ft birdie at 10 following by 11 and 12 where he muscled his ball out of thick rough to a 3 ft to hole for another birdie and then a lucky break at 16 before taking advantage of the par 5s at 15 and 18.

He said that everything was better today. He was holing more putts and he used the driver a lot. The weather was favourable and the difficult turn, holes 11-14 were playing downwind and therefore more accessible.

Today was one of those days where I felt invincible,” he said. “I’ve been very comfortable from the tee, so it’s easier to stay aggressive. I would highlight the (par) putt (from six feet) on eight, which was key. In those 20 minutes between the par on eight and the birdie on 10, everything changed.”

He described his 63 as “the best round I’ve played on a links golf course ever”.

After finishing before Harman and Tommy Fleetwood hit the links, he could not properly assess his final round chances, but he knew he’d put himself in position.

“We have to see how the rest of the day goes, but I did what I had to do to give myself options on Sunday,” he said.

“Yeah, it feels really good but it’s a lot of work to do tomorrow”.

If he were to win tomorrow he would be the first player to come from more than 12 shots behind after 36 holes.

When asked about his temperament he said “ I think I’m a lot more patient than most people believe. It’s just my frustration but I’m extremely positive on the golf course”.

Does he plan to do anything differently in the final round? “No. There’s nothing different between player that was there yesterday and the one today”.