British Open 2017: Real-Time Leaderboard Updates for Saturday Leaders

Jordan Spieth is leading the pack at The 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, but a few golfers caught fire on Saturday and could give Spieth a challenge on the tournament's final day.

It should make for an interesting close to an Open Championship whose characteristics have changed with the weather.

When it was cold, dreary and rainy, low scores were hard to come by. When it was clear and sunny with minimal winds, it seemed like every star golfer was posting red numbers.

Here's a look at a few Saturday storylines alongside the latest scores:

Leaderboard

Fantastic Scoring Conditions

Through 6 p.m. BT/1 p.m. ET, only 19 golfers shot (or were shooting) rounds above par for the day. The rest of the field was under par or even par.

That speaks to the relatively easy course conditions. Without heavy winds and downpours, golfers had little trouble posting low scores. The conditions were so good that Rickie Fowler almost posted an albatross on the par-four fourth hole:

Royal Birkdale has some notorious hazards, including bunkers that are always in play on every hole. That's in addition to a very difficult rough and narrow fairways, where accuracy off the tee is crucial. When the weather is poor, Royal Birkdale is one of the toughest courses in the world, like when Padraig Harrington won the 2008 Open at three over.

But that hasn't been the case this year, and golfers are taking full advantage.

Branden Grace Shoots A Major-Record 62

The 29-year-old South African pro started the day at four over, which was just one shot ahead of the cut line. However, Grace proceeded to shoot the best round in major history, making an eight-under 62 to vault himself to a tie for second place when he reached the clubhouse:

Grace has two top-five finishes at the United States Open and two top-five finishes at the PGA Championship. He hasn't finished higher than 20th at The Open Championship, but he's made the cut all six times. While Grace hasn't won a major yet, his track record at the most important tournaments is impressive.

It will be interesting to see whether Grace follows up his record round with another stellar performance. Matching that 62 will certainly prove difficult, but another excellent performance isn't out of the question.

Stars Post Excellent Rounds and Populate the Leaderboard

The top 12 players in the Official World Golf Rankings all made the cut at The Open Championship. Through two rounds, five of them were no worse than 10th place.

On Saturday, a few of them posted excellent scores, including Dustin Johnson (six-under 64) and Jason Day (five-under 65).

Jordan Spieth has led after the first and second round of this year's Open, and after the front nine on Saturday, he had a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar and a four-shot lead over Brooks Koepka, who were in second and third, respectively. He will be in contention for the Claret Jug deep into Sunday barring a collapse.

Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson, all of whom are in the top 10 of the rankings, managed to finish their Saturday rounds under par as well. Stenson is three under for the tournament, while Fowler is one under and Garcia at even par.