Birdie blitz by Monty before fading light stops 

play in Senior Open at Sunningdale

 FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Colin Montgomerie produced a birdie blitz at the start of his third round to move into a share of the lead with Marco Dawson in The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex before fading light stopped play at Sunningdale Golf Club.
After completing his weather-affected second round by birdieing the 14th hole on Saturday morning for a second consecutive round of 67, a well-rested Montgomerie was quick out of the blocks when he began his third round nine hours later. 
Starting two shots behind pacesetter Dawson, Montgomerie immediately rattled off three birdies in a row to join the Americanat the top of the leaderboard, with Dawson also birdieing the opening hole.
The pair then both birdied the ninth hole before play was abandoned for the day at 8.56pm, meaning they will have to complete the back nine when the third round resumes at 8am, with the final round scheduled to begin at 11.30am.
Montgomerie is bidding to add the Senior Open crown to the three Senior Major Championships he has already won since turning 50 - two US Senior PGA Championships and the 2014 US Senior Open.
“I was four under for the front nine and I started off well, birdie, birdie, birdie and kept it going, so I  look forward to tomorrow,” said Montgomerie. “It was exactly what I wanted.”
Dawson claimed his first win on the US Champions Tour in March, and after playing 27 holes on Saturday, carding a second round of 67 in the morning, he was satisfied with his day’s work.
“I was just trying to stay energised,” said Dawson. “It was a long day. And now it's going to be even longer because we are going to have to go for a quick dinner and have to get up early, finish our second nine and go back out and play another 18. This is just a survival test now. It's been fun.
“It was a nice to finish on the birdie there, so that makes you feel a lot better going into the next nine holes, so the strategy may be a little bit different.”
The biggest mover of the day was Ireland’s Philip Walton, who followed a second round of 67 with seven birdies and a bogey in the 17 holes he completed in round three to move to eight under par. He is just two shots back with one hole to complete, while Fred Couples, the 2012 Senior Open Champion, is also on that mark through 11 holes following birdies on the first and ninth holes.
Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez began his third round with an eagle on the first hole, but gave one shot back with a bogey on the seventh hole, and is a three strokes behind on seven under par through 10 holes.
 He is joined in a share of fifth place by defending champion Bernhard Langer, who was level par for his round through nine holes after a birdie on the first and a bogey on the fourth hole. American Bart Bryant and Australian Peter Fowler are also seven under par for the Championship through 11 and ten holes respectively.
One player to complete all 18 holes was American Tom Watson, who made his sixth birdie of the day on the last hole to sign for a round of 66, just one shot more than his age. The three-time Senior Open Champion is just outside the top ten on five under par. 

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