Rory McIlroy gives his wedge the treatment on two. Barely any wind here so that ball is launched into the clouds and comes down near a bunker... near a bunker... in the bunker. The slopes by these sand traps at Royal Birkdale technically makes them maybe 10ft wider than they are. He'll have to get up and down for par. He opens the club face and bumps it out, taking a lot of sand... underhit... eight feet left for par. He could pay here for missing the green. Our entry at 13:42 BST told you how he's made a habit of being poor from the fairway all week.

There have been a few stellar rounds already on Sunday, with Australia's Aaron Baddeley enjoying the best of the morning weather with a six-under 64 taking him to one over par for the weekend.

Xander Schauffele's five under par final round saw him card six birdies and an eagle on the 15th, while Korea's Sung-hoon Kang also finished on a high with a four-under 66.

How about this for a pairing? The defending champion and the world number one are on the first tee...

14:00 Henrik Stenson (Swe), Dustin Johnson (US)

14:10 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Branden Grace (SA)

14:20 Brooks Koepka (US), Austin Connelly (Can)

14:30 Matt Kuchar (US), Jordan Spieth (US)

This is either pure genius or pure luck by Richie Ramsay. I'm going the latter.

The Scot clunks out of a greenside bunker, the ball flying over flag and green, crashing into the bank and then rolling back to within 20 foot of the pin.

He can't make the most of this fortune though, missing his par putt and wiping out that opening birdie.

It's sunnypublished at 13:56 British Summer Time 23 July 2017

13:56 BST 23 July 2017

Diane Knox
BBC Radio 5 live reporter

Image source, BBC Sport

The odd umbrella is out again today but more to provide protection from the sun.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello is out alongside America's Kim Chan today, who was one of the only players to shoot under par on Friday and backed it up with a three-under 67 yesterday.

He finds the fairway off the tee, but Cabrera-Bello sends his a little wayward... a nervous look down course to see where that's landed.

We did say he's gone for a bright top.

Rory McIlroy starts with par on one, caressing home a six footer with barely any break in it. Once again, he's got that sulky look about him though. Ross Fisher is sulking too as his par putt lips out. Fisher can't escape the jaws of the rough he found off the tee. You will be punished sir.

Image source, Getty Images

This is incredible. American Zach Johnson holes a monster putt from off the green to birdie on the par-four eighth.

Zach Johnson reminds me of a young Fabio Capello. Wonder if he creates a "prison camp" environment when he is playing a major tournament?

The 2015 champion produced a get out of jail card with a second-round 66, but an opening 75 has left him lagging behind.

The American is three under today after nailing this monster putt earlier...

A timely press release from the R&A tells us that a "record-breaking crowd of 235,000 attended The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale".

It is a record "for a Championship staged outside of St Andrews".

The statement adds: "This year’s attendance surpassed the 230,000 mark set at Royal Liverpool in 2006 and reflects a 17% increase since The Open last visited Royal Birkdale in 2008."

Top 5 Open attendances:

2000 St Andrews, Scotland: 239,000

2015 St Andrews, Scotland: 237,000

2017 Royal Birkdale, England: 235,000

2006 Royal Liverpool, England: 230,000

2005 St Andrews, Scotland: 223,000

Image source, PA

Vassos Alexander
BBC Radio 5 live commentator

Rafa Cabrera-Bello has that monkey off his back, he hadn't won in five years before winning the Scottish Open last week.

He's been pretty consistent. He has broken into the world top 20 for the first time and is playing the golf of his life.

But he hasn't got a great record at The Open.

Image source, Getty Images

Rafa Cabrera-Bello will be bubbling with confidence when he steps up to the first tee after signing off Saturday's round with successive birdies.

The Spaniard carded a three-under-par 71 to keep himself inside the top 10, after getting caught up in the tricky conditions on Friday.

The 33-year-old warmed up for Royal Birkdale by winning the Scottish Open last week and looks set for his best major finish to date, but he'll need to summon all that recent links experience and a little bit of Las Palmas luck to be in with a shot at the Claret Jug.

The conversation between Ross Fisher and his caddie is hardly one where one dictates to the other. They both seem to suggest things as they stand in the rough.

"It's a more a nine iron, half a swing," says the caddie. "Just hold onto the club tight though yeah."

And with that Fisher takes his apparatus and swings through, nudging the ball up the fairway. Rory McIlroy is in a great position but pumps his second to the back of the green.

Each player practices with their specific brand of ball on the range. There's no magic way of sorting them once they've been collected from the field so it's left to these two...

Image source, BBC Sport

13:50 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), Chan Kim (US)

14:00 Henrik Stenson (Swe), Dustin Johnson (US)

14:10 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Branden Grace (SA)

14:20 Brooks Koepka (US), Austin Connelly (Can)

14:30 Matt Kuchar (US), Jordan Spieth (US)

Ian Poulter is out in the group ahead of Rory McIlroy, playing alongside Scotland's Richie Ramsay. Both men did not make the move they wanted yesterday, instead dropping further adrift of leader Jordan Spieth.

Poulter races his birdie putt towards the can, only for the ball to cling onto the lip. Ramsay has no such concern, moving up above the Englishman with an opening birdie.

Des Smyth
Former Ryder Cup vice captain on BBC Radio 5 live

I think there is a low one in Rory McIlroy, he seemed to fall asleep in his round yesterday, that mistake at the 10th was extraordinary.

Rory McIlroy and Ross Fisher tee it up on one. You need sunglasses to look at their chosen shirts. McIlroy in a yellow/peach number, Fisher in pink. They look the part and Rory drives the part, slamming down the left side of the fairway. Fisher a tad nervy and pushes right into some heavy grass.

John Inverdale
BBC Sport commentator

On the final day of the Tour de France, Rory McIlroy is in the yellow jersey? Except he's not the Chris Froome of the links.

Image source, Getty Images

How has it gone wrong for Rory McIlroy this week. Obviously being five over after six holes of the championship was hardly ideal but if we dig deeper, his accuracy from the fairway leaves much to be desired. Rors has hit the green around 60% of the time, that's 56th in the field this morning. Jordan Spieth by contrast has hit the dancefloor around 69% of the time - eighth in the field. This game is fine margins, both McIlroy and Spieth average 27 putts per round. So it's not as if McIlroy needs to overhaul his entire game to get back in there.

Well, so the stats say.