Chip Lutz

Zahringer, the defending Senior Open Amateur champion, came back after posting 78 in Friday's second round with a full 10 shot improvement today. His 68 was only beaten by six of the elite senior golfers in the field. Tom Pernice matched the Royal Porthcawl course record of 64 on Friday, while Philip Walton of Ireland did the same on Saturday.

Lutz, of Reading, PA, remains one of the top three senior golfers in the U.S. -- he won the National Senior Hall of Fame earlier this year and more recently the prestigious Brewer Cup in Philadelphia. His tournament so far has been less of an adventurous affair than that of Zahringer, having gone 73-72-72 to hold his position at 4-over.

Despite being tied, the two American amateurs will not play together in the final round. Lutz will play with American professional Jim Carter at 12:00pm local time, while Zahringer will tee off an hour later with English professional David Russell.

Fans of AmateurGolf.com -- particularly those in California -- may remember San Franciscan Randy Haag's excellent run of back-to-back low am honors at the British Senior Open in 2010 and 2011.