A run of five consecutive birdies on Saturday put Dean Burmester well on his was to a fine five-under-par 67 in the third round of the 150^th Open championship at the Old Course in St Andrews.

It was the best round by any of the five South Africans still in the field after the 36-hole cut, and it left him at five-under for the championship. That put him in a share of 24^th, 11 shots behind the lead which was shared by Rory McIlroy and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who put on an exhibition with a pair of 66s putting them four shots clear of their nearest pursuers, Cameron Smith of Australia and Cameron Young of the United States.

Burmester got things going with a superb approach to the first, where he made the three-footer for birdie. But he gave that shot back when he hit his tee shot into a bunker on the second, and had to hit out sideways. He played a superb approach after that to six feet, but missed the par putt.

Then came the birdie run: Two putts for birdie on the par-five fifth after a big drive; another big drive on six, and an 11-footer for birdie; a controlled tee-shot on seven, and a neat 66-yard chip leaving him a 15-footer which he made; a superb tee shot to six feet on the tough par-three eighth; and finally, he drove the green on the 352-yard ninth and two-putted from 50 feet away.

It was then steady pars all the way to the 16^th, where he hit his approach from the left rough to 30 feet and made the putt for another birdie.

Inevitably, the 17^th, the Road Hole, brought another bogey. He pulled his tee shot slightly left, and, from some wispy rough, he went long and left into the Swilcan Burn beyond the 18^th tee. From the penalty drop, he made a very good up and down for what as eventually a good bogey.

On 18, he two-putted from inside 20 feet, narrowly missing what would have been a very encouraging birdie on the last.

He has put himself in a good position to ensure he does better than his share of 40^th in the Open from last year, and, with the belief that an early tee-time on the final day should produce a good round, he can perhaps have a solid attempt at getting into the top 10 if he is able to go low again – perhaps even lower.