DeChambeau, Herbert firmly in mix entering final round of The Open Championship

Lucas Herbert put himself in the mix for a major championship, even if Saturday didn't end with him retaining the outright lead.

The Ripper GC star battled to a 1-over 71 on Moving Day at Royal Birkdale, a golf course that played considerably firmer and more difficult as the day progressed. It wasn't enough to hold off a red-hot Sam Burns, who fired a 5-under 65 to surge to 10 under and the outright 54-hole lead, with Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim two back at 8 under.

Herbert sits tied for fourth at 7 under, three shots off the pace, still very much alive heading into the final round but no longer in control of his own destiny the way he was 24 hours ago.

"I had somewhat of a shaky start and then consolidated really nicely through the middle," Herbert said, pointing to a costly stretch late where a good look at birdie on 14 got away and a well-struck approach on 16 came up just 5 yards long, turning a short birdie putt into a bogey.

He credited a gutsy up-and-down effort on 17 — highlighted by what he called a top-10 shot of his career, a 3-iron from a tricky lie he'd spent several minutes debating with a rules official — for swinging momentum back in his favor late, along with a scrambling par on 18 after another rules discussion at the grandstand.

It's been a remarkable week for Herbert regardless of how Sunday goes, and the Australian now has a real chance to complete one of the more memorable LIV Golf stories at a major. Herbert was clear-eyed about what stands in his way.

"I think Sam Burns is going to be a man possessed," he said. "I'm not thrilled about giving him a three-shot head start, but we are where we are. I'd love to play my second-best round of the week tomorrow, shoot under par, get myself in with a look ... Give me another 62 and I'll take it right now."

Right behind him is Bryson DeChambeau, who continues to set the pace for the best Open Championship week of his career. The Crushers GC captain is four shots back and certainly within striking distance entering Sunday. DeChambeau shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday to get in the clubhouse at 6 under, tied for sixth. It's been a complete reversal of form for a player who entered the week off three straight missed cuts, and Saturday's round was steady, without the fireworks or the controversy that defined Friday.

Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, who played alongside Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday, offered a window into what that atmosphere is like from the inside.

"It was so intense that, without meaning any disrespect to England, I'm glad England didn't win that game because I would have been having a heck of a three days with the fans if they played Spain in the final," Rahm said of the crowd's support for his playing partner. "No matter how late in the round, how bad things get, everybody is almost cheering for everybody in the group."

He also had a simple, admiring line on how DeChambeau has responded to the noise around him this week: "He seems to be doing just fine. Last I checked, he was at 6 under."

Rahm's own third round was up-and-down and he finished with an even-par 70 and sits at 4 under and in a tie for 11th, still within shouting distance of the lead.

The story of the day from a LIV Golf perspective, though, might have belonged to Josele Ballester. The Spaniard, playing in his first career major championship weekend, carded a 4-under 66 — the low round of the entire day among the LIV Golf contingent — to vault 47 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 20th at 3 under. It capped a whirlwind 48 hours for the 22-year-old, who barely made the cut Friday on the number after a chaotic finish. He carried that momentum forward with a clear head.

"I felt free since the beginning, honestly, although I made a bogey before I made any birdies," Ballester said. "Definitely one of my good qualities as a player is that, when everything is like against the wall and I need to bring my best game, many times I do, and that's what I did yesterday."

A hot start on the back nine turned the round around entirely.

"Hit a really good shot on 8, second shot felt extremely good. After that everything started falling into place," he said.

The rest of the LIV group still playing this weekend had a mixed Saturday. Cleeks Golf Club’s Victor Perez and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry both came back to even par for the tournament after a difficult 73 and 74, respectively, on a day the course bit back hard late in the day. Legion XIII star Tyrrell Hatton also had a difficult round, posting a 4-over 74 dropping him to 1 over, while RangeGoats Golf Club’s Peter Uihlein posted a 2-over 72 to sit at 3 over.

Majesticks Golf Club’s Laurie Canter's week continued to be a grind — a 4-over 74 left him at 4 over overall, after a round in which he admitted he simply couldn't find his ball-striking.

"It was just going to be the most straightforward morning that you could play links golf, and I couldn't really hit my hat, to be honest," Canter said. "There was obviously such a low score out there if you could hit the ball well this morning. Unfortunately, I couldn't."

Sunday now shapes up as a wide-open final round, with Burns out front but Herbert, DeChambeau within striking distance and Rahm as a dangerous chaser.