They were right when they said it wouldn’t be the same without Tiger Woods. It’s been even better, in a funny kind of way. Apart from a fading legend who refuses to see sense, and an Asian who is trying to become the continent’s first major winner, the defending champion is clinging for dear life to the Claret Jug. Add to that a leading Englishman who isn’t even the most famous sportsman in his family, and this 137th Open Championship has had just about everything.

In a windswept third round at Royal Birkdale, when the gusts were so strong that balls were moving on the greens, play came cruelly close to suspension and there were even reports of the fifth flag being ripped from its stick. Yet when the dust settled and a leaderboard emerged from the debris with not a single sub-par round, the scene was set for a climax that will surely live up to the tournament’s name.

Greg Norman, twice a winner of The Open in his heyday, was two ahead of the Korean, KJ Choi and Padraig Harrington as play drew to its conclusion last night. Norman is two over, Harrington and Choi four over.

Simon Wakefield, the nephew of former England wicket-keeper Bob Taylor, somehow carded a level-par 70 to finish on five over. Among a posse of contenders just a stroke further back was the 2003 champion, Ben Curtis, whose 70 included an eagle on the par four third, and Englishman Ross Fisher, whose 71 continued his rich vein of form.

As Norman demonstrated on the first two days, luck is a prerequisite of success in conditions like these: the trick is to lap up the good and ride out the bad. Harrington managed both in equal measure on the par four fifth, where he pushed his drive into the thick stuff, hacked into light rough on the other side of the fairway, and chipped in for birdie.

The Irishman was trying to emulate Tom Watson, who completed back-to-back Open victories at Royal Birkdale in 1983. The front nine, which he covered in level par, was a triumph of the will, but doggedness became raggedness just after the turn. His tee shot to the par three 12th disappeared into the hay on a bank behind the green, the outcome of which was a double-bogey, but the character for which he is known came through with two birdies in his last four holes.

In his first two rounds, Norman had thrived on the ridiculousness of his situation, laughing his way round, and demanding nothing of himself in the process. His task here was to retain something of that spirit despite the growing realisation that, at the age of 53, he might just win this thing.

Norman doesn’t look his age, and he hasn’t played it either. Julius Boros, the oldest player to win a major, was 48 when he lifted the 1968 PGA Championship, but the swashbuckling Australian, his blond locks still licking out from under his cap, is in with a shout. after reaching the turn in 36, and recovering well from a double at the 10th.

Choi, the overnight leader, had never had that responsibility in a major championship, but there were precious few signs of self-doubt here. This, after all , is a man of 37 , renowned for his composure. His bagman, Andy Prodger, whose vast experience includes a successful spell with Nick Faldo says: “If I could build a golfer from all the men I’ve worked with in 28 years, I’d take Faldo’s tunnel vision, Colin Montgomerie’s ball-striking and Choi’s calmness. He’d be a world-beater.”

Nobody should mistake the Korean for a novice. With seven PGA Tour wins, one in each of the past four years, he is 11th in the world, and more than capable of winning. He was out in 37 yesterday, and hung in when it threatened to slip away down the stretch.

The suspension of play that everyone feared never quite materialised, even if it was touch and go at times. At around 2.35pm, just before Norman and Choi were teeing off, there were simultaneous delays on the eighth and 10th greens while rules officials were called in to assess the damage. There was a similar incident, this time involving Ian Poulter, but the only problem was the slowing effect it had on the groups behind.

Armed with a forecast that predicted the worst, the R&A had done its best to limit the damage. In an attempt to guard against balls moving on the greens, putting surfaces were subjected to only a single cut overnight, and flags were positioned in the flatter areas. Tees were moved forward on the sixth, 11th and 16th holes, all of which have been into the teeth of a prevailing wind, and the rest was left to the Gods.