Weir slides into 27th after third-round score of 4-over-par

Thanks to a stiff wind coming off the Irish Sea, the scores climbed higher as the day got longer, allowing Draper's Mike Weir to stay within shouting distance of the leaders going into the final round of the British Open at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

Teeing off in the morning, Weir posted a 74 with three birdies to go with five bogeys and a double bogey. That put him at 11-over-par 221 in a tie for 27th place, up from the tie for 38th place where he started the day. However, he crept closer to the pack as the leading groups had to contend with stronger winds coming from the northwest.

Weir got off to a shaky start with a double bogey at the first hole, driving into the right rough and taking an unplayable lie penalty. He birdied the third and fifth holes but lost ground with bogeys at 4, 6 and 7. He got on a par streak before making another bogey at 13. He birdied 16 with a chip-in but bogeyed the final hole when he hit into a greenside bunker.

With a strong final round today, Weir could collect his third top 10 British Open finish. His best British Open finish came last year at Carnoustie when he tied for eighth place, four shots behind winner Padraig Harrington. He also had a top-10 finish in 2004 at Royal Troon when he tied for ninth.

So far this year Weir has won more than $1.2 million on the PGA Tour and ranks 42nd on the money list with a best of a tie for second at the Memorial.

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