Spieth set for tilt at "Triple Crown"
Only the second Monday finish in Open history sees Jordan Spieth poised to become just the second man to win the year's first three majors, while an Irish amateur seeks to pull off one of the greatest upsets ever.
The 21-year-old Texan Spieth has taken the golfing world by storm this year, winning the Masters in April and the US Open last month, and he is now on the cusp of making it three straight majors.
Only Ben Hogan, 62 years ago, has managed to pull off the "Triple Crown" and even Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods came up short when both were in their prime.
It is a massive challenge and it is one that Spieth underlined on Sunday, his third round of 66 in the British Open leaving him just one shot behind the leading trio at St Andrews.
Spieth said that he is fully aware of what is at stake and he will settle for nothing less than winning.
"At this point it's free rolling. I'm going to play to win, and I'm not playing for a place. I don't want to place third tomorrow. I want to win," he said.
"And so I'm going to play my game, obviously with patience, to stay in the mix, if it's not all there at the beginning, and if it is, I'm going to continue to play that way to try and get out in front. I'm going to have to play aggressive golf."
The only players in front of him are Louis Oosthuizen, the 32-year-old South African who won at St Andrews the last time the Open was held there in 2010, Australian shot-maker Jason Day, still seeking his first win in a major, and the surprise package, Irish amateur Paul Dunne.
The 22-year-old from the coastal town of Greystones, south of Dublin, had been expected to fall away from the leaderboard as many non-pros have done before him over the years.
But instead he held firm, leading on his own at one stage before settling in for a joint share of the lead alongside Oosthuizen and Day.
Admitting to some sense of disbelief at being in such an elevated position, Dunne was nonetheless disarmingly candid about his achievement.
"It's surreal I'm leading The Open, but I can easily believe that I shot the three scores that I shot," he said.
"If we were playing an amateur event here, I wouldn't be too surprised by the scores I shot.
"It's just lucky that it happens to be in the biggest event in the world. Hopefully I can do it again tomorrow, but whether I do or not, you know, I'll survive either way."
The last amateur to win the Open title was the legendary Bobby Jones in 1930 when amateur players were common. These days the target is usually just to make the cut.
A shot further back from Spieth is two-time former winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland, who had Sunday's second best round of 65.
Nine players were grouped on nine-under, just three shots off the lead, including Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Retief Goosen and Adam Scott.
The last and only previous time The Open finished on a Monday in 1988 produced a thriller with Seve Ballesteros edging Nick Price and Nick Faldo.
This year looks likely to produce a climax that is every bit as compelling.