Four share British Open lead with nine one back
By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Colin Montgomerie nearly split open the seat of his pants. Tiger Woods fell apart at the seams.
Associated Press
There were double bogeys and a double eagle, spectacular shots and horrific crashes. Ten players claimed a share of the lead at one point yesterday in the third round of a British Open that got more bizarre by the minute.
Bernhard Langer made his share of pressure putts yesterday, including this one for par at the 16th hole en route to a 4-under-67 and a share of the third-round lead.
Too bad Jean Van de Velde missed the cut. He would've fit right in.
After the cheers turned to groans and the gallery filtered out of Royal Lytham & St. Annes to sort out the mess, David Duval was one of four guys at the top of the biggest 54-hole logjam at a major championship in 23 years.
And he wasn't even around, having already signed for a 6-under 65 that he thought would get him close to the lead — not holding a share of it.
"I want to take that trophy home tomorrow," Duval said.
Get in line.
Joining him at 6-under 207 were a pair of former Masters champions, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam, who had 67s and got out of harm's way.
| TV | |
| • | British Open, 4 a.m. |
| • | KITV Ch. 4 (cable 6) |
| • | Highlights, 1 p.m. |
| British Open | |
| • | LEADING: David Duval, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Alex Cejka are tied at 6-under-par 207. |
| • | IN THE HUNT: Colin Montgomerie (206) and plenty of others — 27 players are within four shots of the lead. |
| • | WHERE'S WOODS?: Tiger Woods was five shots back after a 2-over 73. |
| • | ROUND OF THE DAY: Duval's 6-under 65, which he posted early. |
| • | WHO'S HE?: Cejka is a European Tour journeyman from Germany who has missed seven cuts on that tour and been disqualified two other times this year. |
| • | SHOT OF THE DAY: England's Greg Owen hit a 3-iron 240 yards into the hole for a rare double eagle on No. 11. |
| • | ADVENTURE OF THE DAY: Montgomerie trying to hit out of a fairway bunker on the 13th hole. He split his pants while trying to swing with his right foot in the bunker and left leg perched on a sidehill above. |
| • | KEY STAT: Duval needed only 25 putts to shoot his 65. |
| • | QUOTABLE: "If I go shoot 65 tomorrow and I get beat, I guess in some people's minds I failed again, but I just don't see how that could be the case." — Duval, who has never won a major. |
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Montgomerie, Jesper Parnevik and Nick Price were among nine players one stroke out of the lead. Right behind were a half-dozen others, including U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia.
All of a sudden, the Open championship is just that: Open.
"It's anybody's Open," said Montgomerie, thankful he could include himself in that mix after a 2-over 73.
It turned that way when none of the top six players at the start of the day managed to break par. The result is a championship in which 28 players are within five shots of the lead.
"It's going to be an exciting day," Cejka said.
It certainly was for Woods.
Poised to get into contention, Woods took a detour into the knee-high rough, prickly gorse bushes and next to a hospitality tent on his way to a 73 that figured to end his chances of retaining the claret jug.
Or maybe not.
At 1-under 212, he was among those 28 players.
"Hopefully, tomorrow I can post a good number and see what happens," he said to tournament officials, declining to speak to reporters.
Associated Press
Montgomerie, who took double bogey on one of the easiest holes on the course, made five pars on the tough closing stretch for a 73 that left him in a tie for second with a long list of suspects.
"I want to take the trophy home," said co-leader David Duval.
Alex Cejka bogeyed three of his last four holes to tie for the lead.
Ian Woosnam wants a British Open to go with his Masters title.
They included Parnevik, Pierre Fulke, Darren Clarke and Joe Ogilvie. All were in the lead at one point before dropping shots, which wasn't difficult to do when the wind kicked up in the final two hours of play.
The other co-leader late in the day was Greg Owen, who made the second double-eagle at Royal Lytham this week — then gave it back with bogeys on the last three holes.
The last time there was a four-way tie for the lead after the third round of a major was at St. Andrews in the 1978 British Open, featuring Jack Nicklaus, Peter Oosterhuis, Isao Aoki and Ben Crenshaw. Nicklaus went on to win by two strokes.
So tight was the leaderboard that with one swing — Owen's double eagle from 240 yards on the par-5 11th hole — he went from a tie for 15th to second place.
Duval had an even greater turnaround.
He started yesterday with 34 players in front of him and finished as a 54-hole leader for the first time in a major championship.
"I got myself back in it today and that's where I want to be," Duval said, not knowing at the time how good his position would be. "I have been there and have proven I can play under those conditions. I know I have it in me."
