LONG Ashton's amateur golf sensation Chris Wood took a four-shot advantage in the race to claim the Silver Medal going into the final round at the 137th Open Championship and then declared - “I can win this tournament.”

The 20-year-old from Bristol, who has been using StrokeAverage.com to analyse his golf stats and monitor his golf performance as a member of the English Golf Union's Elite golf squad, fired a superb third round 73 as many of the leading golfers in the world struggled to break 80.

That left last year's Welsh Open Amateur Strokeplay Champion on eight-over - six shots behind the Great White Shark Greg Norman, whose last Open Championship victory came at Royal St George's Golf Club in 2003.

Chris Wood said: “I might need to shoot a 66 or 67 to give me a chance but I believe I can win it.

“This is fantastic. I opened up with two bogeys today but settled down and managed to say in my own world despite all the attention from the big crowds.

“Actually I love playing in front of so many people. And seeing myself on The Open highlights show on BBC 2 gives me such a buzz.“

Chris Wood - who took five less shots than world number two Phil Mickelson on Saturday, made birdies at the short fifth as well as the par five 17th - the hole where he famously chipped in a la Justin Rose back in 1998.

And with such confidence, he clearly has his sights set on emulating the former Hampshire amateur golfer who announced his arrival on the world stage by tying for fourth when Mark O‘Meara lifted the Claret Jug at Birkdale Golf Club 10 years ago.

Chris Woods' rival for the Silver Medal carded a 76. The Georgia State University student, who played in the English Boys Finals for Kent at St Anne's Old Links just up the Lancashire coast six years ago, said: “It was brutal.... 76 isn‘t a bad score in these conditions.”

Golf article end.