Dan Brown and Justin Rose head into Sunday with an eye trained on history as the two Englishmen bid to become the first to win the Open since 1992

Dan Brown and Justin Rose have the appetite to change history after they emerged from attritional with their dreams of becoming The Open champion alive.

Though Billy Horschel, the American West Ham fan, leads the field going into the final round on four-under-par, Brown and Rose are primed to mount a challenge from one shot back as they attempt to become the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1992 to lift the Claret Jug.

Brown led as he stepped onto the final tee of a turbulent Troon day but a double-bogey six saw him card a 73; that was the same score as Rose, who evoked memories of Faldo at Muirfield in 1987 when shooting 11 straight pars from the eighth in desperate conditions.

‘After the last two holes, it was a little bit of a kick in the teeth,’ said Brown. ‘But if you'd told me I was going to go into the final round of The Open one shot back, I’d have ripped your hand off. I didn't know if I was going to wake up nervous but I felt all right. I'll feel all right on Sunday.’

Rose only booked his place in this field when coming through qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports earlier in the month. He was desperate to be in this tournament, his affinity dating back to Birkdale in 1998, and this unexpected shot a glory is not something he will give up easily.

‘These are days I dream about and I've worked hard for,’ said Rose. ‘These are days I've still been believing that I can have. The key tomorrow is to do my best to make the most of it. It's still my dream. In a few years it'll be someone else's dream. This is a great opportunity to go live it out.’

Overnight leader Shane Lowry’s day fell apart after a double-bogey five on the Postage Stamp eighth hole. He’s three behind Horschel after shooting 77 and lamented: ‘There's no doubt I'm going to go out there thinking I can win the tournament but it's hard now. You have to give me a bit of leeway.’