TROON, Scotland - Just when you think there's nothing more the British Open can serve up, that's when you experience all four seasons on the same day, watch Todd Hamilton supplant Skip Kendall as the unlikely leader, witness Thomas Levet suffer through a couple of goofs that would have Thomas Bjorn nodding his head and see Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods move into position to win another major.
Maybe today's final round will be a little more predictable than it was yesterday, when the place looked more like Looney Troon than Royal Troon.
If it wasn't rainy and cold, it was sunny and warm and then pelting rain once again, while the top players in the world tried to make sense of a punishing course in less-than-ideal conditions.
The day ended with Els trailing Hamilton by one shot, Mickelson and Goosen two shots back, and Woods four back after a 68 and close enough to get everybody's attention.
In the previous British Open at Royal Troon in 1997, Justin Leonard trailed by five shots going into the last day and won, so Woods knows he has a shot.
"I've still got a fighting chance," Woods said.
Lace up the gloves. It's still anybody's major to win, and with the game's big punchers bunched together at the top, this British Open shapes up as nothing less than a heavyweight title fight.
Everyone has a favorite, and it's easy to see the appeal for all of them.
Hamilton, an American who shot his second straight 67, is the virtual unknown underdog, a guy who went to PGA Tour qualifying school eight times, who has played the Japan Tour since 1992, and who won the Honda Classic in the sixth tournament he played this year.
So what if Hamilton has missed six cuts and had only one finish better than 33rd since the Honda? He's still leading the British Open after 54 holes at 8-under 205, and there's no rule that says he has to apologize for that.
"I actually don't know what to feel," Hamilton said. "I've played so bad for so long, it's very strange."
Playing with eerie consistency is Els. He shot a 68 and birdied three of the last six holes. He's the only player with three rounds in the 60s, and this is a major he won two years ago, so it would be wise to keep an eye on him.
"To be honest with you, a lead right now doesn't mean much and especially if it's a one-shot lead," he said. "I think anybody within four has really got a legitimate chance of winning."
