AS THE OPEN Championship approaches its climax, below are five pointers to bear in mind during the third round of the British Open currently underway Saturday at Royal Liverpool Golf Club:

• In Open history, the second round leader has held on to win 45 times with the most recent being Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland going on to achieve the feat in 2011 at Royal St. Georges.
• Rory McIlroy’s four shot lead going into the third round is well short of the all-time 36 hole lead of nine strokes set by Henry Cotton in 1934. The last time the Open was held at Royal Liverpool, Tiger Woods was on 12-under and leading by a stroke going into day three.
• The lowest score after two rounds at the Open was 130, set by Brandt Snedeker at Royal Lytham in 2012 and Englishman Nick Faldo at Muirfield in 1992. Rory McIlroy’s 36 hole score was 132 after a pair of 66′s.
• The second round score of 77 by Tiger Woods was the second worst score of his career at the Open since he ballooned to a 81 in 2002 at Muirfield.
• American Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, who won five British Opens, posted back-to-back 73′s to make the cut for the 26th time at the age 64, beating his own age record.

McIlroy leaves zombie golf in the past as he finds ‘inner peace’ at Hoylake>

Thank birdies it’s Friday as Rory McIlroy leads The Open way>