New Zealand golfer Danny Lee, who played sublimely well yesterday, plunged down the leaderboard today.
Lee, 26, carded a 76 that included a quadruple bogey, a double bogey, 4 birdies and 3 bogeys. He actually fought back from being eight over for his round at one stage.
His disastrous round meant he went from being a medal contender at the halfway point to a tie for 33rd in the field of 60.
Lee is known to be somewhat erratic on the US PGA tour, mixing brilliant golf with the odd horror round and his play in Rio has encapsulated that. He has shot 72, 65, 76.
Lee was still fairly upbeat afterwards.
“It was playing tougher today than the first two rounds. It wasn't that I was playing too bad at all,” he said.
The eight on the fourth hole really hurt his chances.
“When that kind of thing happens early in the round it's very hard to come back from. I was trying to do my best and hang in there and finish somewhere in the red number. But I kept making mistakes so it was disappointing.
“I had a very strong finish and that definitely helps and gives me positive momentum going into tomorrow.”
Lee said he had suffering from consistency problems.
“It's been like this the whole year, not getting four rounds all together. It's very frustrating. I'm going to have a good talk with the caddy tonight as to why it keeps happening.”
He said he was really enjoying being part of the New Zealand team.
“I'm just loving it interacting with all the super athletes. Coming over here as an Olympian that means a heck of a lot to me.”
The other New Zealander in the men’s draw, Ryan Fox, is tied for 49th after carding 74 today, 3 over for the tournament. His rounds have been 70, 73, 74. Today He shot three birdies and four bogeys and a double bogey.
Despite his up-and-down round, he was far from disheartened.
“It was lovely out there today,” he said. “The wind got up on the way home and it was a different wind, which made it a bit of an unknown.
“I played my best round of the week, even though I scored poorly. I didn't get the putts in the holes today and then a couple of really bad shots in the last six hurt.”
He said his goal was to finish in the top 30, maybe top 20.
Fox said he had loved his Olympic experience.
“It's been fantastic. I grew up playing team sports but haven't been part of a team since turning pro, so it's been a great experience.
“The team has been very welcoming and we've had a lot of fun and see a few events. It’s certainly the highlight of my golf career.”
The 29-year-old Aucklander is a fan of golf being in the Olympics.
“The Olympics is a pinnacle event so to have golf in the games is great for golf and vice versa as golf is a global game.
“Maybe they can tweak the format a little next time and add a team event for us to make it a bit more interesting.
“It was a bit of an unknown coming here, but it's exceeded our expectations by a long way. The plan always for the guys who came down here was to make sure the guys who didn't felt like they were missing out on something and I think we have managed to do that.”
Briton Justin Rose shot a 65 today and leads the tournament with a score of 201, one ahead of Swede Henrik Stenson.