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Bjorn ahead of Woods in third round
Sandwich, July 20: World number one Tiger Woods of the United States dropped four shots on the back nine to lose his momentum just as he looked poised to take the British Open by the scruff of the neck in a sun-drenched third round at the Royal St George`s in Sandwich on Saturday (July 19).
Sandwich, July 20: World number one Tiger Woods of the United States dropped four shots on the back nine to lose his momentum just as he looked poised to take the British Open by the scruff of the neck in a sun-drenched third round at the Royal St George's in Sandwich on Saturday (July 19).
The world number one eagled the fourth and seventh holes to lead the tournament for the first time. But bogeys at the 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th meant a 69 that took him back to one over par for the tournament, two behind leader Thomas Bjorn of Denmark who also shot a 69.
Bjorn also eagled the fourth hole and birdied the ninth before nine straight pars on the back nine left him at one under, a shot clear of second-round leader Davis Love III of the USA, and two ahead of Woods, Fiji's Vijay Singh, Spain's Sergio Garcia, and Americans Ben Curtis and Kenny Perry.
Bjorn, who finished runner-up to Woods in the 2000 Open and also parred every hole on the back nine in the second round, was left in pole position to claim his first major title.
Woods fired his first eagle of the tournament at the par-five fourth before a spectacular bunker shot at the seventh sent the ball unerringly into the hole from around 12 metres.
He celebrated in uncharacteristically flamboyant style, raising both hands in the air and looking up at the sky, but kept his concentration sufficiently to notch another birdie at the ninth before his problems on the back nine left him at one-over 214.
The experienced Singh, chasing his third major, birdied three of the last four holes to complete a round of 69, while Garcia holed a monstrous chip on the 17th after almost losing his ball in the rough to save his par on the way to a 70, the same score as Perry and Curtis.
Love suffered four early bogeys to slip down the leaderboard before an eagle three at the 14th pushed him back to level par after a round of 72, well placed to challenge for his second major title.
Defending champion Ernie Els of South Africa endured a frustrating day, slipping down the field with a 1-over round of 72 to stand six shots behind Bjorn.
Britain's Mark Roe was disqualified over a scorecard mix-up after he had played his way into the third round clubhouse lead.
Roe, a long-standing European Tour pro, and playing partner Sweden's Ryder Cup player Jesper Parnevik were both disqualified under golf rules for signing for the wrong scores after failing to exchange cards, Royal and Ancient (R&A) officials said.
It meant that, effectively, Roe signed for Parnevik's return of 81 instead of his joint best-of-tournament 67. Roe would have been in a tie for third place on 1-over if he had signed his card correctly.
He said that he not made a similar mistake in a 22-year professional career and could not explain why he had not exchanged cards as usual with his playing partner.
Collated third round scores (British unless stated): 212 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 73 70 69 213 Davis Love III (U.S.) 69 72 72 214 Ben Curtis (U.S.) 72 72 70, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 73 71 70, Kenny Perry (U.S.) 74 70 70, Vijay Singh (Fiji) 75 70 69, Tiger Woods (U.S.) 73 72 69 215 S.K.Ho (South Korea) 70 73 72, Phillip Price 74 72 69 216 Gary Evans 71 75 70, Pierre Fulke (Sweden) 77 72 67, Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 70 76 70, Peter Lonard (Australia) 73 73 70 217 Stuart Appleby (Australia) 75 71 71, Chad Campbell (U.S.) 74 71 72, Fred Couples (U.S.) 71 75 71, Nick Faldo 76 74 67 218 Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 75 73 70, Brian Davis 77 73 68, Ernie Els (South Africa) 78 68 72, Mark Foster 73 73 72, Mathew Goggin (Australia) 76 72 70, Mathias Gronberg (Sweden) 71 74 73, Thomas Levet (France) 71 73 74, Scott McCarron (U.S.) 71 74 73, Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 74 72 72 219 Jose Coceres (Argentina) 77 70 72, Retief Goosen (South Africa) 73 75 71, Paul McGinley (Ireland) 77 73 69, Phil Mickelson (U.S.) 74 72 73, Andrew Oldcorn 72 74 73, Hennie Otto (South Africa) 68 76 75, Marco Ruiz (Paraguay) 73 71 75 220 Tom Byrum (U.S.) 77 72 71, Brad Faxon (U.S.) 77 73 70, Peter Fowler (Australia) 77 73 70, Raphael Jacquelin (France) 77 71 72, J.L.Lewis (U.S.) 78 70 72, David Lynn 73 76 71, Gary Murphy (Ireland) 73 74 73, Ian Poulter 78 72 70, Duffy Waldorf (U.S.) 76 73 71, Anthony Wall 75 74 71 221 Markus Brier (Austria) 76 71 74, K.J.Choi (South Korea) 77 72 72, Darren Clarke 75 75 71, Tom Watson (U.S.) 71 77 73, Mike Weir (Canada) 74 76 71 222 Robert Allenby (Australia) 73 75 74, Alastair Forsyth 74 70 78, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 75 73 74, Trevor Immelman (South Africa) 77 73 72, Shingo Katayama (Japan) 76 73 73, Skip Kendall (U.S.) 73 76 73, Tom Lehman (U.S.) 77 73 72, Greg Norman (Australia) 69 79 74, Craig Parry (Australia) 73 73 76 223 John Daly (U.S.) 75 74 74, Len Mattiace (U.S.) 74 75 74, Chris Smith (U.S.) 74 73 76 224 Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 78 72 74, Bob Estes (U.S.) 77 71 76, Charles Howell III (U.S.) 71 76 77, Adam Mednick (Sweden) 76 72 76, Katsuyoshi Tomori (Japan) 72 77 75 225 Rich Beem (U.S.) 76 74 75, Stewart Cink (U.S.) 75 75 75, Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 79 71 75 226 John Rollins (U.S.) 72 76 78 227 Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) 79 71 77, Mark O'Meara (U.S.) 73 77 77 228 Stephen Leaney (Australia) 74 76 78, Ian Woosnam 73 75 80
Disqualified: Mark Roe Jesper Parnevik (Sweden)
Bureau Report
He celebrated in uncharacteristically flamboyant style, raising both hands in the air and looking up at the sky, but kept his concentration sufficiently to notch another birdie at the ninth before his problems on the back nine left him at one-over 214.
The experienced Singh, chasing his third major, birdied three of the last four holes to complete a round of 69, while Garcia holed a monstrous chip on the 17th after almost losing his ball in the rough to save his par on the way to a 70, the same score as Perry and Curtis.
Love suffered four early bogeys to slip down the leaderboard before an eagle three at the 14th pushed him back to level par after a round of 72, well placed to challenge for his second major title.
Defending champion Ernie Els of South Africa endured a frustrating day, slipping down the field with a 1-over round of 72 to stand six shots behind Bjorn.
Britain's Mark Roe was disqualified over a scorecard mix-up after he had played his way into the third round clubhouse lead.
Roe, a long-standing European Tour pro, and playing partner Sweden's Ryder Cup player Jesper Parnevik were both disqualified under golf rules for signing for the wrong scores after failing to exchange cards, Royal and Ancient (R&A) officials said.
It meant that, effectively, Roe signed for Parnevik's return of 81 instead of his joint best-of-tournament 67. Roe would have been in a tie for third place on 1-over if he had signed his card correctly.
He said that he not made a similar mistake in a 22-year professional career and could not explain why he had not exchanged cards as usual with his playing partner.
Collated third round scores (British unless stated): 212 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 73 70 69 213 Davis Love III (U.S.) 69 72 72 214 Ben Curtis (U.S.) 72 72 70, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 73 71 70, Kenny Perry (U.S.) 74 70 70, Vijay Singh (Fiji) 75 70 69, Tiger Woods (U.S.) 73 72 69 215 S.K.Ho (South Korea) 70 73 72, Phillip Price 74 72 69 216 Gary Evans 71 75 70, Pierre Fulke (Sweden) 77 72 67, Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 70 76 70, Peter Lonard (Australia) 73 73 70 217 Stuart Appleby (Australia) 75 71 71, Chad Campbell (U.S.) 74 71 72, Fred Couples (U.S.) 71 75 71, Nick Faldo 76 74 67 218 Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 75 73 70, Brian Davis 77 73 68, Ernie Els (South Africa) 78 68 72, Mark Foster 73 73 72, Mathew Goggin (Australia) 76 72 70, Mathias Gronberg (Sweden) 71 74 73, Thomas Levet (France) 71 73 74, Scott McCarron (U.S.) 71 74 73, Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 74 72 72 219 Jose Coceres (Argentina) 77 70 72, Retief Goosen (South Africa) 73 75 71, Paul McGinley (Ireland) 77 73 69, Phil Mickelson (U.S.) 74 72 73, Andrew Oldcorn 72 74 73, Hennie Otto (South Africa) 68 76 75, Marco Ruiz (Paraguay) 73 71 75 220 Tom Byrum (U.S.) 77 72 71, Brad Faxon (U.S.) 77 73 70, Peter Fowler (Australia) 77 73 70, Raphael Jacquelin (France) 77 71 72, J.L.Lewis (U.S.) 78 70 72, David Lynn 73 76 71, Gary Murphy (Ireland) 73 74 73, Ian Poulter 78 72 70, Duffy Waldorf (U.S.) 76 73 71, Anthony Wall 75 74 71 221 Markus Brier (Austria) 76 71 74, K.J.Choi (South Korea) 77 72 72, Darren Clarke 75 75 71, Tom Watson (U.S.) 71 77 73, Mike Weir (Canada) 74 76 71 222 Robert Allenby (Australia) 73 75 74, Alastair Forsyth 74 70 78, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 75 73 74, Trevor Immelman (South Africa) 77 73 72, Shingo Katayama (Japan) 76 73 73, Skip Kendall (U.S.) 73 76 73, Tom Lehman (U.S.) 77 73 72, Greg Norman (Australia) 69 79 74, Craig Parry (Australia) 73 73 76 223 John Daly (U.S.) 75 74 74, Len Mattiace (U.S.) 74 75 74, Chris Smith (U.S.) 74 73 76 224 Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 78 72 74, Bob Estes (U.S.) 77 71 76, Charles Howell III (U.S.) 71 76 77, Adam Mednick (Sweden) 76 72 76, Katsuyoshi Tomori (Japan) 72 77 75 225 Rich Beem (U.S.) 76 74 75, Stewart Cink (U.S.) 75 75 75, Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 79 71 75 226 John Rollins (U.S.) 72 76 78 227 Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) 79 71 77, Mark O'Meara (U.S.) 73 77 77 228 Stephen Leaney (Australia) 74 76 78, Ian Woosnam 73 75 80
Disqualified: Mark Roe Jesper Parnevik (Sweden)
Bureau Report