The Open 2014: third round live | Scott Murray

The latest from Hoylake on a rainy, tradition-busting day
The official Open leader board
A lovely story set up the road in Formby
Email scott.murray@theguardian.com

8.57am BST

A little bit of pre-third-round admin, and a selection of names to have missed the cut. Lee Westwood. The 1997 champion Justin Leonard. Ian Poulter. KJ Choi. Miguel Angel Jimenez. Boo Weekley, who followed up a 69 with a 79. The Masters champion Bubba Watson. The 1995 champ John Daly. The US Open runner up Erik Compton. Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton, the Nadir Twins of the Open. Ernie Els, who took three putts from eight inches on Thursday. The 2001 winner David Duval. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, who really should have stopped tinkering with that swing. Paul Lawrie, the last Scottish player to win the Open. Webb Simpson. The legendary Nick Faldo, in his penultimate Open. The legendary Sandy Lyle. Bryden Macpherson, who shot 90 on Thursday, the worst round since Ian Baker Finch's career-ending 92 at Troon in 1997, yet came out to tackle Hoylake again. And poor old Ashley Chesters, this year's low amateur, who won't be getting a Silver Medal for his troubles after missing the cut by a single stroke, despite carding two birdies in the last four holes. His was still a superlative performance. Such a shame.

8.48am BST

The weather hasn't exactly been biblical at Hoylake yet. A still morning, a little bit of drizzle coming in from the briny. Still. Maybe too still? They're certainly expecting many a thunderclap overhead later. Let's hope the golf gets finished one way or another today, because there's plenty to look forward to.

All eyes on Rory, of course. His pair of 66s were majestic, though he got the best of the conditions. There is a worry that he might not take kindly to being buffeted about today, with memories of St Andrews 2010 at the forefront: he shot an Open record 63 in the first round on the Old Course that year, only to capitulate to an 80 in a rain-lashed second. He had a real old struggle in a storm at Sandwich in 2011, too, if memory serves. He's not a huge fan. But he is making a concerted effort to get on with links golf this year - his appearance in Aberdeen last week is testament to that - so if he's got his gameface on, and enjoys a little luck with the conditions, he could be very hard to beat.

8.00am BST

Good morning, good morning, it's rained the whole night through, good morning, good morning to you! Nothing could be finer than to be out on the Wirral in the morning, in the morning ...

So we don't usually start these reports with the tee times. I usually waffle on for a bit first about golfers from the 1940s, ostensibly to set the scene and give the day's play some historical context, but mainly so I can put up a few photos of champagne-soaked dandies with pencil moustaches strolling down a fairway with a fag on.

Bad weather will be arriving very early in the morning, possibly as early as 2am. It is forecast potentially to last through much of the morning with a four-hour window of much improved conditions in early afternoon, with the possibility of further thunderstorm activity coming in late tomorrow evening.

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