US Senior Open of Golf 2017: Kirk Triplett Leads Kenny Perry After 3 Rounds

With one more round to go, the 2017 U.S. Senior Open is a two-horse race between Kenny Perry and Kirk Triplett at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Triplett leads at 15 under through 54 holes, while Perry is a stroke back at 14 under. 

Five shots separate Perry from Brandt Jobe, who has sole possession of third place. Fred Couples and Tom Lehman are tied for fourth at seven under. Below is the top 10 with 18 holes remaining, and the full leaderboard is available at USGA.org:

2017 U.S. Senior Open Leaderboard (Third Round)

1. Kirk Triplett (-15)

2. Kenny Perry (-14)

3. Brandt Jobe (-9)

T4. Fred Couples (-7)

T4. Tom Lehman (-7)

T6. Steve Flesch (-6)

T6. Bernhard Langer (-6)

T8. Corey Pavin (-5)

T8. Vijay Singh (-5)

T8. Stephen Ames (-5)

T8. Paul Broadhurst (-5)

T8. Scott Verplank (-5)

T8. Doug Garwood (-5)

A bogey on the final hole of the round knocked Perry back to second place, bringing an underwhelming end to an otherwise strong round. His three-under 67 was his highest single-round score of the tournament.

Triplett, meanwhile, avoided any critical mistakes, which largely sums up his performance from the Senior Open as a whole. Through three rounds, the 55-year-old only has two bogeys to his name.

Triplett also earned a round of applause for delivering one of the best shots of the day. Standing in a bunker to the right of the green, he found the bottom of the cup on the sixth hole to earn an eagle. The USGA provided a replay of his chip from the sand:

While the gulf between Perry and Triplett and the rest of the field removes some drama from Sunday's fourth round, the Star Tribune's Brian Stensaas is enjoying their head-to-head battle:

Jobe posted the lowest score of the round, shooting an eight-under 62, which tied a tournament record—which Triplett also matched in the first round. He was particularly excellent on the back nine, collecting six birdies before heading for the clubhouse. The USGA posted a copy of Jobe's scorecard:

PGA Tour Champions shared a replay of Jobe's final birdie on No. 18:

Despite his work to climb up the leaderboard, Jobe remains a bit of a long shot to catch Triplett. A six-shot lead isn't insurmountable, especially given the low scores at Salem, but it's still a significant gap to close in the space of 18 holes.

Triplett is looking for his first major title on the PGA Tour Champions. He had three top-10 finishes in 2016 but was unable to get over the hump. His best finish came at the 2015 Senior Players Championship, when he was second behind Bernhard Langer.

Perry has three senior major titles, including a victory at the 2013 Senior U.S. Open. His track record in recent years is pretty inconsistent, though. After tying for fifth at the 2015 Regions Tradition, he was outside of the top 10 in his next seven majors, including tying for 33rd at the Senior PGA Championship in May.

Both golfers—Perry in particular—are familiar with the pressure that comes with contending for a major title on the final day. The 2017 Senior U.S. Open championship should come down to one of the two.