British Open Scores 2012: Zach Johnson and Golfers Having Spectacular 3rd Round

Zach Johnson is one of the golfers having a spectacular third round at the 2012 British Open on Saturday.

A solid third round is so important because doing well can make the challenge of climbing up the leaderboard in the final round much easier since your confidence will be high.

Let's look at three players shining in the third round.

Ernie Els

Through nine holes on Saturday, South African star Ernie Els is two-under par and has climbed into a third place tie with Tiger Woods at five-under par.

Birdies on the sixth and seven holes have Els in good position to continue his journey to the top of the leaderboard.

A good performance on the back nine could give him a chance for the tournament lead heading into Sunday.

Bubba Watson

After a poor second round performance that caused him to fall down the leaderboard following an impressive first round, Bubba Watson recovered nicely on Saturday.

He finished two-under par in round three and is currently seven strokes off the lead. Watson will need another strong, mistake-free performance on Sunday to be a contender to win the tournament.

Zach Johnson

Johnson is currently three-under par through 16 holes in round three. He is one stroke behind Els and Woods in third, and five strokes behind Adam Scott, who leads the tournament at nine-under par.

Even though Johnson has five birdies thus far in the third round, he must also limit his mistakes. He has made nine bogeys or worse already in less than three full rounds at the British Open.

Leaderboard (Updated on Saturday, July 21 at 11:50 a.m. ET)

Place	Golfer	Score	Thru
1st	Adam Scott	-9	6
2nd	Brandt Snedeker	-8	6
T-3rd	Tiger Woods	-5	6
T-3rd	Ernie Els	-5	9
5th	Zach Johnson	-4	16