Maximilian! Royal County Down's 1939 Course Record Falls

Yes, Royal County Down's finishing stretch has been beefed up a bit this century and the course is a couple hundred yards longer, but I'm pretty sure Jimmy Bruen didn't have a driver the size of a cantaloupe when he posted his 66 in 1939.

Throw in the cold, nasty squalls and wind, and a tip of the cap goes to Royal County Down for aging gracefully and to the two men who tied and then broke the course record. On Friday Tyrell Hatton tied Bruen's mark and Saturday at Royal County Down Maximilian Kieffer moved into Dubai Duty Free Irish Open contention with a new record 65.

The best word to describe the brutal conditions for Kieffer's mark? Raw, as Graeme McDowell called it in telling Brian Keogh that Royal County Down was giving the European Tour's finest a tough examination.

“We don’t get to experience these conditions very much and this is raw, this is what it’s all about. This is proper Open Championship golf.

“You could put the grandstands up and play The Open here, but if you get it wrong, it can eat you alive.

“Between showers and gusts, it’s playable but as the fronts roll through it’s very difficult, anything around par is very good score.

“It’s about not blowing yourself out of the tournament.”

Soren Kjeldsen holds a two stroke lead, reports Kevin Garside (video from Golf Channel) over Kieffer and Rafael Cabrera-Bello heading into the final round.

Rickie Fowler eagled the par-4 16th Saturday, then finished 8-8 leaving him T36. (Video highlights, or lowlights?)