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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday

The 140th British Open begins play tomorrow at Royal St. George’s in Kent, England. Here’s a couple of stats to whet your appetite for this weekend’s play.

First, can you answer this trivia question? What two countries have placed one or more golfers in the top 10 of the British Open in each of the last 10 years? You’re probably pretty sure you know one of the two, but if you can correctly name both countries, you’ve aced the test.

The answer: The U.S. and South Africa. Following are the countries that have placed the most golfers in the top 10 of the British Open in the last ten tournaments.

United States………. 31

South Africa………. 16

England………. 15

Sweden………. 8

Austrailia………. 8

Spain………. 8

Denmark………. 4

Note: In the last three British Opens, England has placed 10 golfers in the top 10, most in that timeframe, followed by the U.S. with nine and South Africa with six.

Finally, in looking at the last 25 British Opens, in how many of those tournaments has the eventual winner been in the lead or tied for the lead after the third round? The answer: 48 percent. In 10 of the last 25 tourneys, the winner led after three rounds and in two tourneys the winner was tied for the lead going in to the final round.

Following are the scenarios of each winner in the past 25 British Opens:

Winner was the leader after the third round: 10

Winner was tied for the lead after the third round: 2

Winner was one shot back after the third round: 3

Winner was two shots back after the third round: 4

Winner was three shots back after the third round: 2

Winner was four shots back after the third round: 1

Winner was five or more shots back after the third round: 3