The Englishman, whose last win came at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship, carded a bogey-free six under par third round on the Old Course as he moved into a commanding position at the top of the leaderboard.
After rounds of 67 and 69 at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, Willett signed for a 14 under par total after his round of 66 at St Andrews.
The 2016 Masters Tournament winner, who celebrates his 34th birthday tomorrow, is three strokes clear of two-time Alfred Dunhill Links Champion Tyrrell Hatton, who is searching for a third victory at this event within five years.
Joining Hatton in a share of second place are 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry, who made his Ryder Cup debut last week, England’s Richard Bland and Irishman John Murphy. Bland carded the lowest round of the day across all three courses, an eight under par 64.
Willett and his amateur partner Jimmy Dunne also share the lead in the Team competition on 27 under par. They are joined at the top of the Team Leaderboard by Ewen Ferguson and Brad Simpson.
Player Quotes
Danny Willett: “Early on, a decent bit of wind, downwind, you always feel like you should take so many chances. You need to drive it close, and as soon as you get on the 12th tee, you know you’ve got pretty tough conditions coming straight into the wind on the last six holes. Really had a go on the last six and gained a lot of shots coming in doing that.
“It’s nice that the fans are back this week, the format is back, we missed it last year. I think it’s great to have everyone here. We’re getting cheered on. Great to be back on British soil. Another 18 holes to go, and we’ll see how we do.”
Tyrrell Hatton: “Got off to a very nice start, and then just hit a couple of loose shots, just lost all momentum, to be honest. I think from the 8th hole, just never really got anything going our way. I think there were only a couple of times where I had a realistic birdie chance, and I hit a good putt, and it bobbled off line or whatever.
“It would be very special (to win a third title here). I actually haven’t won with my dad (his playing partner), so it’s a shame that we can’t play again tomorrow. We haven’t quite made it in the team event. That little run on the back nine seemed to hurt us, both of us. But obviously I’ll go out there tomorrow and give it my best, and that’s all you can do.”
Shane Lowry: “There’s a bit of fatigue, all right. Obviously, it’s a bit of calm now from last week (at the Ryder Cup) to this week, but it’s still a big tournament. I’m a competitive person. When I come to play, I want to do well. So, I’m out there giving it my all.
“Managed to play some nice golf over the last three days, I’m in a nice position now going into tomorrow, and I look forward to it.
“Anybody that’s involved in golf or into golf and has been here knows that this place is probably one of the most special places in the world, if not the most special place. So, to be able to lift the trophy on that green will be incredible.”
Day Three Scores
202 D WILLETT (ENG) 67 69 66,
205 J MURPHY (IRL) 69 69 67, T HATTON (ENG) 64 70 71, R BLAND (ENG) 69 72 64, S LOWRY (IRL) 71 67 67,
206 J LAGERGREN (SWE) 67 72 67, J WINTHER (DEN) 66 71 69, D GAVINS (ENG) 67 68 71,
207 E FERGUSON (SCO) 65 73 69, A ARNAUS (ESP) 64 76 67,
208 A NOREN (SWE) 70 68 70, M PAVON (FRA) 68 70 70, T FLEETWOOD (ENG) 66 71 71, D LAWSON (AUS) 70 68 70,
209 M SCHMID (GER) 71 68 70, R RAMSAY (SCO) 67 72 70, N H?JGAARD (DEN) 70 68 71, W NIENABER (RSA) 71 70 68, 210 E PEPPERELL (ENG) 68 71 71, D BURMESTER (RSA) 70 69 71, C SHINKWIN (ENG) 72 72 66, B HORSCHEL (USA) 69 73 68, A OTAEGUI (ESP) 67 73 70, H LI (CHN) 64 72 74, N COLSAERTS (BEL) 64 75 71,
211 G MIGLIOZZI (ITA) 68 72 71, B GRACE (RSA) 70 74 67, A QUIROS (ESP) 68 74 69, S SODERBERG (SWE) 68 74 69, M HOEY (NIR) 65 75 71, K BROBERG (SWE) 71 71 69,
212 T AIKEN (RSA) 69 72 71, J CAMPILLO (ESP) 70 73 69, L DONALD (ENG) 72 72 68, C HILL (SCO) 73 69 70, L BJERREGAARD (DEN) 70 70 72, Y CHANG (KOR) 67 73 72,
213 D DRYSDALE (SCO) 71 72 70, T PIETERS (BEL) 72 70 71, G FORREST (SCO) 73 73 67, R ENOCH (WAL) 72 69 72, M SIEM (GER) 71 71 71, B JONES (ENG) 70 72 71, M DAFFUE (RSA) 70 74 69, A BJ?RK (SWE) 74 69 70, J SURI (USA) 69 73 71, T LEWIS (ENG) 68 75 70,
214 D HORSEY (ENG) 73 69 72, R FOX (NZL) 75 71 68, S GALLACHER (SCO) 71 68 75, M ARMITAGE (ENG) 69 75 70, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 73 72 69, O FISHER (ENG) 68 70 76, J CATLIN (USA) 68 72 74, T MERRITT (USA) 67 73 74, M KAYMER (GER) 69 72 73, J HARDING (RSA) 69 75 70, M LEE (AUS) 71 73 70, B RANKIN (AUS) 71 72 71, B HEBERT (FRA) 74 72 68,
215 R FISHER (ENG) 74 71 70, S BROWN (ENG) 69 76 70, R LANGASQUE (FRA) 65 76 74, J LONG (ENG) 74 69 72, Z LOMBARD (RSA) 70 76 69, O WILSON (ENG) 69 74 72, L CANTER (ENG) 67 73 75, R MCEVOY (ENG) 72 72 71, G COETZEE (RSA) 71 74 70, M JORDAN (ENG) 72 75 68, M LORENZO-VERA (FRA) 71 75 69,
216 V PEREZ (FRA) 71 73 72, P DUNNE (IRL) 67 75 74, B MACPHERSON (AUS) 73 71 72, J SENIOR (ENG) 68 75 73, B STONE (RSA) 69 74 73, S SHARMA (IND) 70 78 68, L GAGLI (ITA) 70 73 73, J GUERRIER (FRA) 70 74 72, K SAMOOJA (FIN) 75 69 72, T OLESEN (DEN) 72 74 70, M MEISSNER (USA) 72 71 73, A LEVY (FRA) 67 76 73, C SYME (SCO) 71 75 70, R MACINTYRE (SCO) 69 77 70,
217 J SMITH (ENG) 70 73 74, S HORSFIELD (ENG) 69 75 73, S KJELDSEN (DEN) 71 74 72, J STALTER (FRA) 70 73 74, R JACQUELIN (FRA) 71 74 72, M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 70 73 74, R PARATORE (ITA) 70 68 79, J VEERMAN (USA) 69 76 72,
218 N SCHIETEKAT (RSA) 73 76 69, M KAWAMURA (JPN) 70 75 73, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 68 78 72, J WALTERS (RSA) 71 72 75, J JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 66 83 69, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 71 75 72, R CABRERA BELLO (ESP) 68 73 77, A ROZNER (FRA) 72 72 74,
219 R MCGOWAN (ENG) 71 71 77, A MERONK (POL) 74 74 71, C PAISLEY (ENG) 70 73 76, W BESSELING (NED) 68 78 73, P HARRINGTON (IRL) 75 75 69, N ELVIRA (ESP) 73 72 74, S V?LIM?KI (FIN) 71 73 75, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 73 73 73, M WARREN (SCO) 73 71 75, N BERTASIO (ITA) 67 74 78,
220 T LEE (KOR) 73 75 72, J HANSEN (DEN) 72 72 76, M LAMB (ENG) 71 73 76, D LAW (SCO) 68 76 76, T DETRY (BEL) 72 74 74, E MOLINARI (ITA) 72 75 73, T PULKKANEN (FIN) 75 75 70, M KIEFFER (GER) 72 75 73, H PORTEOUS (RSA) 69 77 74, C WOOD (ENG) 74 73 73, L DE JAGER (RSA) 70 76 74,
221 R ROUSSEL (FRA) 77 71 73, P HANSON (SWE) 78 69 74, J GEARY (NZL) 70 78 73, B SCHMIDT (ENG) 72 73 76, T SMYTH (AUS) 72 75 74, S HEND (AUS) 69 72 80, J LUITEN (NED) 68 82 71, S TARRIO (ESP) 73 74 74, J AHLERS (RSA) 72 76 73,
222 A FLANAGAN (ENG) 70 77 75, D FICHARDT (RSA) 71 75 76, R ROCK (ENG) 71 79 72, J SCRIVENER (AUS) 74 73 75, P WARING (ENG) 71 77 74, S JAMIESON (SCO) 77 69 76, T LAWRENCE (RSA) 72 76 74,
223 B HENSON (USA) 67 77 79, D VAN TONDER (RSA) 70 76 77, D IEREMIA (NZL) 76 75 72,
224 P LARRAZ?BAL (ESP) 69 77 78, G STORM (ENG) 73 74 77, A SANDHU (IND) 71 77 76, J BALLESTEROS (ESP) 74 74 76, V DUBUISSON (FRA) 72 74 78,
225 J MORRISON (ENG) 71 75 79, M KINHULT (SWE) 75 75 75, C SHARVIN (NIR) 75 72 78,
226 J DYER (ENG) 74 77 75,
227 F LAPORTA (ITA) 77 72 78,
228 R SANTOS (POR) 72 78 78, A CHESTERS (ENG) 72 78 78, J CALDWELL (NIR) 72 81 75,
229 V NORRMAN (SWE) 77 76 76, D PAPADATOS (AUS) 70 78 81,
230 G GREEN (MAS) 69 77 84,
231 M ROHWER (RSA) 75 80 76, S YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 77 78 76,
233 T THIMBA JNR (RSA) 78 77 78, R CHRYSTIE (ENG) 78 76 79,
234 D HOWELL (ENG) 76 79 79,
235 R CONRADIE (RSA) 79 78 78,
237 T BJ?RN (DEN) 76 87 74, A PAVAN (ITA) 74 84 79,
238 A DA SILVA (BRA) 78 80 80,
