Steven Bowditch held the lead at the British Open – for about 45 seconds.

An hour later, he was left contemplating a missed opportunity after slipping four shots off the pace thanks to a few late stumbles.

The Queenslander was part of a throng of players steamrolling up the boards in round three at St Andrews and, at five under on his day through 12 holes, Bowditch was one of 10 who had a piece of the lead.

But when facing a makeable birdie putt on the 13th hole, he ran it a metre past and then unexpectedly missed the short comeback attempt to stunt his run.

Bowditch backed it up with a bogey on the par-5 14th and parred home to shoot 69 and sit eight under for the championship when a much lower number was on the cards.

He trails compatriot Jason Day, South African former champion Louis Oosthuizen and Irish amateur Paul Dunne by four.

“I feel like this is about the worst spot I could be right now for my week,” said Bowditch, who also let some soft bogeys spoil his opening round.

“I hit it a little closer today earlier and made a few but I felt like I should have nearly birdied every hole there on the front nine.

“And then from there, lapse in concentration, and I should have backed away from that short putt and didn’t.”

The 32-year-old may have been disappointed but he vowed to go down swinging on the final day.

“It’s great to be here and it’s nice to have a shot on Sunday,” he said.

“It’s a great spot to be able to maybe go out and shoot a real low one. Obviously I’m going to need a real low one. I’m excited for the challenge ahead.

“I’m just trying to go out and play Sunday golf on Monday and see what happens.”