Paul Dunne at 2015 British Open: Sunday Leaderboard Score and Twitter Reaction

Everyone loves an underdog. But Paul Dunne might not even fit that description after staking himself into a three-way tie with Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen atop the leaderboard at the 2015 British Open. 

Here's a look at the current leaderboard:    

At least Oosthuizen made a sporting gesture with these kind words regarding Dunne's performance:

That's quite a gesture considering Oosthuizen is chasing his own moment of history, according to Golf Channel researcher Justin Ray:

But like most of the crowd at St. Andrews, Oosthuizen simply found himself wowed by the plucky 22-year-old Irish amateur who sauntered through the third round with little fear.

Dunne shot a six-under-par par during Round 3. He ended the day's play 12 under at the top of the board. His scorecard included six birdies over the 18 holes.

Dunne stayed steady amid his illustrious surroundings and marquee opposition. He struck par 12 times across the course.

In the end, he'd bested the target he had set himself entering the round, per the European Tour Twitter account:

Dunne felt right at home in front of a passionate crowd only too happy to cheer on the plucky upstart:

That support helped him reach a piece of history for an amateur at this tournament, according to The Open's official Twitter account:

History is something Dunne is chasing. In fact, he's bidding to become the first amateur to win at St. Andrews for nearly nine decades:

Attempting to put this in context, Ray offered this tweet for the baseball lovers out there:

For those living in the present, many other players at The Open were quick to offer their plaudits for Dunne's efforts. Among them was Englishman Eddie Pepperell:

"

Great to see Paul Dunne doing so well. We were 4somes partners years ago in the Jacques Leglise Trophy! Very nice lad.

— Eddie Pepperell (@EddiePepGolf) July 19, 2015"

That message of congratulations was quite a magnanimous gesture from Pepperell. His place in the standings is not nearly as lofty, despite moving day at St. Andrews being kinder to the 24-year-old than the opening two rounds.

Pepperell also shot a 66 after hitting eight birdies and reaching par nine times. A bogey late on the back nine at the 17th was the one disappointing note of his day. Pepperell remains locked in a three-way tie at 15th.

The kind words obviously touched Dunne, and he offered his own encouragement to Pepperell:

But Pepperell wasn't the only fellow competitor to offer words of encouragement to Dunne. Veteran Paul Lawrie also got in on the act.

The 46-year-old called on Dunne to repeat his great day during the upcoming and rare Monday session:

Yet with as many as 14 players within three shots of one another, a terrific and tight last day awaits them. The odds therefore are stacked against a repeat of Dunne's surprise heroics.

Nonetheless, Dunne remains upbeat about his chances:

A win for Dunne would be a good thing for the sport, naturally encouraging greater participation at the amateur level. Yet despite the best wishes he received on Sunday, his rivals won't be in such a charitable mood when everything's at stake.

All scorecard information courtesy of TheOpen.com.