The 144th Open: Tough day for Greg Owen but ‘you never know’ says Mansfield man

The 43-year-old cut a frustrated figure after the third round, despite shooting a one under par 71 to sit four under for the 144th Open.

With plenty of golf yet to be played today, that leaves Owen tied for 45th.

He produced more solid, if unspectacular golf, with three birdies and two bogeys on his card.

The all important third birdie came at the 18th, but Owen wasn’t satisfied with his round.

“It was a tough day today,” he said.

“Nothing went right at all.

“As soon as I got on the first tee the rain and the wind started.

“I hit two divots again. I tried to hit a big tee shot on 10 and the only place you can’t hit it is the bunker, and it goes in the bunker.

“I had no momentum, it was really hard.”

Adding to his displeasure was being put on the clock by officials, along with playing partner David Lingmerth.

Owen insisted he was playing as quickly as he could, and felt they were being rushed around the course.

But one ray of sunshine for the Florida resident is tomorrow’s forecast.

He’s likely to be out early, when the weather is set to be calm and dry.

The leaders won’t enjoy such luxury, as the wind will pick up and the rain will fall later in the day.

Owen said: “You never know.

“It’s going to be decent in the morning and rough in the afternoon.

“Stick a 64 in there and you never know, it could do good things.”