The Open 2015: Tiger Woods' record score of -19 under threat as early birdies give Paul Dunne and Jordan Spieth hope of making history

One of the leading contenders at St Andrews could re-write history

Jordan Spieth watches his tee shot on the 17th during Sunday’s third round of the Open (AP)

Amateur golfer Paul Dunne has 18 holes between him and re-writing history after he finished the third round at The Open with a share of the lead.

The 22-year-old shares the lead with Australian Jason Day and South African Louis Oosthuizen, and with the scores already tumbling at St Andrews the all-time record may just be in danger of being beaten this year.

The man who will be keeping a watchful eye on proceedings on the final day didn’t even make the cut, and he’ll be fearful that his 15-year record might just be under threat.

In 2000, Tiger Woods stormed to an unrivalled -19 around the Old Course to win The Open by an incredible eight shots. The record has simply proven unbeatable. Here’s why:

● The most shots under par at St Andrews

● The most shots under par at The Open

● The most shots under par of any major

Tiger Woods with the Claret Jug in 2000 (Getty Images)

But that could all change today. With Dunne, Day and Oosthuizen on -12, they need a round of 64 to beat Woods’ incredible achievement and set a new record. The omens are good, given that it was raining birdies on Sunday and the trend has continued into the early action on Monday.

Amateur Oliver Schneiderjans raced out to -6 for the day thru 10 while Branden Grace and Scott Arnold also made rapid progress to the same score. Should any of the leaders – or for that matter the -11 Jordan Spieth – have the round of their live, they may have more to celebrate than just the Claret Jug.

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