World number four Rory McIlroy concedes his Open Championship chances are over after a day of missed opportunity at Royal Birkdale.
On a Saturday when South African Branden Grace shot the first 62 in men's major history the 2014 champion at nearby Hoylake was three under through five holes - which included a missed eagle putt - but eventually signed for a one-under-par 69.
That left him two-under for the tournament and nine shots behind leader Jordan Spieth, making a final-day charge for the Claret Jug virtually impossible.
"It's hard to think 'big picture' now, I'm just off the golf course and I'm a little disappointed," he said.
"I definitely feel like today was an opportunity lost to get right in the mix going into tomorrow.
After 54 holes:
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 22, 2017
🇺🇸 -11 Spieth
🇺🇸 -8 Kuchar
🇨🇦 -5 Connelly
🇺🇸 -5 Koepka
🇿🇦 -4 Grace
🇯🇵 -4 Matsuyamahttps://t.co/Yv3hRWCLvb pic.twitter.com/wtBIZtqI6f
"It (his game) is getting there. It's not quite where I need it to be to win the biggest golf tournaments in the world but it's getting there.
"I need to pick myself up, play a good round tomorrow, hope for some bad weather, hope for some guys to struggle and we'll see what happens."
Grace took advantage of ideal conditions and a par-70 layout reduced to 7,027 yards to card eight birdies and surge through the field in the 146th Open Championship.
The 29-year-old's brilliant effort took him from four over par to four under, although that was still seven shots behind two-time major winner Spieth, who carded a second bogey-free 65 of the week.
At 11 under par, Spieth enjoyed a three-shot lead over playing partner Matt Kuchar, with 20-year-old Canadian debutant Austin Connelly - a good friend of Spieth - three shots further back alongside US Open champion Brooks Koepka.
Grace shared fifth place with world number two Hideki Matsuyama, with defending champion Henrik Stenson, world number one Dustin Johnson, Rafael Cabrera Bello and Chan Kim on three under.
A victory on Sunday would make Spieth only the second player after Jack Nicklaus to have won three of the game's four majors before the age of 24.
"That would be incredible," Spieth said. "I've had a five-shot lead in a major and squandered it before. I've had the high and the humbling so I will keep my head down and not get ahead of myself."
But if he does get his hands on the Claret Jug, the 23-year-old could then surpass the record of Tiger Woods as the youngest player to complete a career grand slam in the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in August.
The bad news for the chasing pack is that Spieth has converted five of his last 36-hole leads into victories. The good news could be that the exception is last year's Masters, where he blew that five-shot lead with just nine holes to play.
