Cameron Smith -12, T3

A disappointing day for Smith has ensured his quest to win the Claret Jug will have to be done the hard way in chasing down Hovland and McIlroy’s four shot lead. His game is still in good order despite shooting a one-over round of 73 however, and he producing miraculous final rounds are not foreign to him – see his wins at The Sentry Tournament of Champions and The Players Championship earlier this year.

What he said: “The golfing gods weren’t with me today. I felt like I hit a lot of good putts with nothing really dropping. I stuck in there pretty good and I hit the ball pretty good. It’s probably actually the best I’ve hit it all week. Had lots of opportunities, just no putts were dropping which was quite frustrating.”

Adam Scott -9, T8

Scott shot a two-under round of 70 to keep building into the tournament. The 2013 Masters champion is playing some superb golf and is confident he can make history by producing a blistering final round to win because of the eagle opportunities on offer at the Old Course.

What he said: “I know I’m playing better than how I started, and I still have a strong desire to contend in these tournaments. I’m a better player than the way I started, and I wasn’t going to let it go and shoot 77 or something and pack my bags and go home. I wanted to be in it.”

Anthony Quayle -5, T24

Quayle is getting better with every round in his major championship debut as he shot a four-under 68 on Saturday. The Queensland PGA champion quickly became a crowd favourite partly thanks to his ‘dirty mo’ but also because he made eight birdies to give them plenty to cheer about.

What he said: “It’s my first major. It’s my first time playing with a lot of guys I’ve idolised for years on TV. I probably feel more settled than I thought I would be already.“I feel like I can compete at this level, and I want to at least finish on a strong note tomorrow and sort of show to myself more than anything that I can compete with some of the best in the world.”

Min Woo Lee -5, T24

A dropped shot for Lee with a round of 73 off the back of two bogeys on the back nine and some six-foot birdie putts that did not drop. He was frustrated by the difficult pin positions but his highlight of the day came with a lovely pitching wedge with a low draw into the 17th which brought most of the field unstuck.What he said: “It was funny because I hit the shot on the green and everyone started clapping. I said to my caddie, it must have been a while since someone’s hit on the green. It was a nice shot.”

Lucas Herbert -5, T24

Like Lee, Herbert slipped back a shot with a one-over par round but his fortunes at the 17th differed greatly as a triple bogey undid his earlier good work. He made four birdies for the day.

Brad Kennedy -4

Kennedy shot an even-par 72 for the second straight and he didn’t get the full reward for his nice shots. Throughout the back nine he seemed to be one of the few players to have their approaches take one bounce and stop rather than roll onto the firm greens.

What he said: “I think I had 300 foot of putts the last four holes. It’s just playing to the great way that links is built. If I can get some close, start to make a few putts earlier — I haven’t really made too many putts this week. I’ve been putting okay, but a couple of three-putts today didn’t help. It’s all up for me. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I’m going to go out there and really try to jump on what I can and make the most of it.”

Jason Scrivener -2

Scrivener started hot with a front nine 33 and he was four-under for the day after 13 holes. An out-of-bounds tee shot to the right on the par-5 14th brought him unstuck however, while a bogey at the 17th – which many players said played like a par-5 – slipped him a further shot back.

What he said: “That double killed my momentum. A bit frustrating. It would have been nice to have finished with a good score and jumped up at the leaderboard. A low one tomorrow will put a nice end to a good week.”