Graeme McDowell has insisted his major-winning experience will be of little relevance in his quest to overhaul Adam Scott on the final day of the Open.
Scott, who is seeking his first major victory, and McDowell, who won the 2010 US Open, will play in Sunday's final pairing, with the Australian holding a four-shot advantage over the Northern Irishman. The American Brandt Snedeker, who shot a 73 to let his overnight lead slip, is tied with McDowell in second place, with Tiger Woods one stroke further back after a third-round 70.
"I'm sure myself and Adam will be experiencing slightly different emotions," McDowell said. "But it will all boil down to the same thing. It will boil down to pressure. It will boil down to being scared, probably of failing more than winning. I can't really relate to what Adam is feeling because he's a hell of a player and he's been a hell of a player for a very long time. He's got the unfortunate burden of never having won a major. But come the first tee, that burden will be irrelevant, a little bit, because we'll both be experiencing the same kind of nerves. "The course is the main challenge. I don't think we need to be worried about each other. I don't need to be worried about anybody on that leaderboard apart from myself."
Scott added a 68 to rounds of 67 and 64. "A four-shot lead doesn't seem to be very much this year on any tournament that I've watched," he said. "That doesn't mean a lot. The good part is, if I play a solid round of golf, it will be very hard for the others to beat me and that's all I'm thinking about."
Scott denied that nerves could prove the biggest hurdle he must overcome on the Lancashire links. "I don't have a problem sleeping," he said.
"I'm really excited. It's fun just to get in this position, really. It's what I've been practising for. We'll see if the practice pays off or not. I don't know what to expect. I've not really teed off in the last group of the Open before. I'm sure I'm going to be nervous but it's good nerves. I'm playing well."
Woods refused to read too much into the prospect of strong winds for the final round. "I know we can't rely on the weather forecasts around here, they've been wrong all week," said the three-times Open champion who is seeking his 15th major title and could not resist reminding the leader that he has yet to win one.
"He's been out here a long time and he's won a Players' Championship [often regarded as the unofficial fifth major], but, you know, I don't think he's really done probably as well as he'd like to in major championships," said Woods, whose last major win came at the 2008 US Open and who has never won one from behind going into the final round. "But I think that he's maturing in his game and over the last year or so he's improved his game. He is in a great spot, he's got a four-shot lead and he's playing really well."
