SOUTHPORT, England (AP) -- On another blustery day alongside the Irish Sea, Greg Norman tried to clinch a win for the ages.
The 53-year-old Aussie took a two-stroke lead into the final round Sunday of the British Open, seeking to become the oldest major champion in golf history.
The Shark, who married tennis great Chris Evert last month, was at 2-over 212 and going off in the final group of the day with defending champion Padraig Harrington. Now a part-time player, Norman hasn't taken a lead into the last round of a major since the 1996 Masters, where his epic collapse cleared the way for Nick Faldo to claim the green jacket.
No one broke par in the third round, but some early scores indicated conditions might not be quite as challenging Sunday. David Howell fired a 3-under 67, tied for the second-best score of the week, and Thomas Aiken shot 68. David Duval bounced back from an ugly 83, which bounced him from contention, with a 71.
Norman often contended for the majors during his prime, but rarely finished the job. He won two British Open titles, but another six times, he took leads to the final rounds of the Masters, U.S. Open or PGA Championship - and didn't win any of them.
After winning his Open titles at Turnberry in 1986 and Royal St. George's in '93, he's going for a third, which would push him past the late Julius Boros as the oldest major winner ever. Boros was 48 when he captured the PGA Championship in 1968.
But Norman has plenty of competition.
Harrington, in position to become the first repeat winner from Europe in more than a century, was joined at 214 by 36-hole leader K.J. Choi.
Unheralded Englishman Simon Wakefield also was in the mix at 215, while the group five strokes off the lead included 2003 Open champion Ben Curtis and American phenom Anthony Kim, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour and, at 23, trying to become the youngest major champion since Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters.
It was another sunny day at Royal Birkdale, but the strong wind off the Irish Sea should be a major factor as always. Forecasters called for gusts up to 45 mph by afternoon, about the time the leaders are likely to be right in the middle of their rounds.
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