The wind off the nearby North Atlantic subsided, the waves settled into an abiding flatness and the golfers reclaimed the attention of viewing aficionados and scribes alike. They did so with the same clamor that Mother Nature affected onto the course the previous two days, but they did so with a relentless rain of birdies as they scrambled for position ahead of Monday’s rescheduled final round of the 144th Open Championship.

Golfers went on runs of birdies not usually seen in major championships. The softish sands of the Old Course limited run-out on drives, but they allowed the players to fire at flags normally accessed with bumped approaches. Jordan Spieth began the day in 14th place, birdied holes 10 through 12 and finished off in fourth, one back of the leading triumvirate. Marc Leishman improved from 50th to seventh by making birdie on eight of the middle 12 holes.

“My mindset as a golfer is pretty aggressive and that helped me in that situation,” Leishman said. “I don’t like to get to where it’s 5 or 6-under after nine and try to hold on.”

And Padraig Harrington, twice a winner of this event and rejuvenated at age 43, got into the act with an immaculate card of seven birdies and zero bogies. Climbing all the way to fifth from 25th, Harrington became the fifth player to reach double figures under par on the week.

“You know, I hit a really nice pitch into the first, a bump-and-run up the green,” Harrington said. “I suppose it’s when you get a nice start, you can carry on from then, and that’s kind of the way it went for the rest of the day.”

The principal story of the day was Irish amateur Paul Dunne. Until recently a student at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (fear not, he graduated in April), Dunne arrived in town hoping to catch the eye of selectors for the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup side in anticipation of this fall’s match with the U.S. at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s. Having done that, Dunne marked a spirited 66 on his scorecard, climbing from 10th spot into a tie for the lead. Should he finish off the unlikeliest of scenarios and claim the Claret Jug on Monday, Dunne would succeed the immortal Bobby Jones as the most recent amateur titleist at the world’s oldest golf championship.

The secondary tale of the day belonged to Jason Day. His courageous performance at last month’s U.S. Open won him an enormous following. Day has yet to win a major title, although he has been agonizingly close on a half-dozen occasions. On Sunday, the Aussie made five birdies against no bogeys to tie Dunne and 2010 Open champ (the last one at the Old Course) Louis Oosthuizen at 12-under.

The least-anticipated story on Sunday was the crash of Dustin Johnson. After his flame-out at Chambers Bay in June, where he handed the U.S. Open title to Jordan Spieth, many had hoped that the tall American would redeem himself at St. Andrews. Johnson may have been the weather’s greatest victim, as he was one of a few to go out on Saturday and play before high winds delayed for 10 hours the remainder of his second round. On Sunday, Johnson made absolutely nothing with his putter, his wedge or any other club in the bag. He hung on for 15 holes at even on the day, but closed with three garish bogies to fall a full five strokes off the pace.

For those who like numbers, consider that three golfers are tied at 12-under, with one more each at 11-under and 10-under. Then comes the logjam, with nine golfers at 9-under, three at 8-under and eight at 7-under. Twenty-five golfers in total are situated within five strokes of the lead. Of those 25, only nine are winners of previous major titles.

The likelihood of a first-time major winner is high. With luck, someone will find his form early and set a standard that forces all the late tee times to take notice of what can be achieved in a final round of an Open Championship at St. Andrews.