Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and the rest of the pack chasing J.B. Holmes and Shane Lowry will have been licking their lips at the conditions for round three of The Open.

Royal Portrush was treated to clear skies and sunshine with only the slightest breeze for the early starters looking to climb the leaderboard on moving day, with the forecast suggesting the weather would stay the same throughout the day.

Lowry and Holmes are at eight under par after the opening two rounds and were scheduled to tee off at 3.50pm local time on the Dunluce Links.

Fleetwood and Lee Westwood (both -7) were set for the penultimate group, with Cameron Smith and Justin Harding – who were two shots back – the third-from-last pairing.

Rose and Koepka, who were two and three back respectively, were set to head to the first for a 3.20pm tee-off time.

Rory McIlroy may not have made the weekend, but another local hero Graeme McDowell drew plenty of local support and showed how it could be done by shooting a three-under-par 68.

Lucas Glover and Park Sang-hyun were three under through four and five holes of their respective third rounds, while Tom Lewis was at the same score having played 14.