Oakley upholds family honour at Royal Aberdeen

American David Oakley underlined the low-scoring possibilities as relatively calm conditions at last prevailed for the third round of the British Open senior championship after two days of high winds left Craig Stadler in the lead at only one under par.

Oakley, 60-year-old older brother of Pete Oakley, the defending champion who bowed out with a 20-over-par 36-hole total, returned a six-under-par 65 – the best score of the tournament over the Balgownie links at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.

Greg Norman (67) and Craig Stadler (68) had been the first (and only) men to break 70 in the second round.

Then Tom McKnight, an American Walker Cup player in 1999, and in the first pair out this morning, lowered the mark to 66 with halves of 33, before Oakley’s 65 put him on the nine-over-par 222 mark after 54 holes.

The winner of the Scottish Seniors Open in 2001 put his low score down to a change of putting style.

He said: “I tried something new today. I went with the claw grip with the short putts. I have been having such a problem with the short putts.

“I hit it to about two-and-a-half feet on the first hole and I said to my caddie ’well, let’s give it a try.’

“And I just putted them great. I really hit the ball good too. I had a lot of eight-footers that didn’t go in. It was a delight. I was just happy making the cut yesterday.”

Oakley had seven birdies in halves of 31 (five under) and 34 (one under) - with only a bogey at the 13th marring his round.

Overnight leader Stadler maintained his two-shot lead from Greg Norman by birdieing the second to get to two under par while the Australian – playing in his first-ever over-50s event – birdied the fourth to improve to level par overall.

Tom Watson, winner of five British Opens and this event two years ago at Turnberry, displaced Irishman Des Smyth from third place with birdies at the short third and par-four fifth to get to two over par.

Smyth bogeyed the first but birdied the fourth.