TIGER WOODS IS OUT OF IT - BUT
LUKE DONALD HAS A CHANCE IN
PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
Tiger Woods is not going to win the US Players Championship at Sawgrass TPC, Ponte Vedra - but Luke Donald just might!
The English Ryder Cup player, pictured right, returned an almost flawless seven-under-par 65 to jump to within four strokes of American leader Sean O'Hair after the third round.
Tiger Woods surrendered any faint chance of winning with an uninspired 73, and had nothing to say to the media after signing for a five-over 221 total.
Donald, a 29-year-old from High Wycombe who was a leading player on the American college circuit for four years, will have a chance to become just the second British player to win the prestigious event, joining 1987 champion Sandy Lyle.
Tiger Woods surrendered any faint chance of winning with an uninspired 73, and had nothing to say to the media after signing for a five-over 221 total.
Donald, a 29-year-old from High Wycombe who was a leading player on the American college circuit for four years, will have a chance to become just the second British player to win the prestigious event, joining 1987 champion Sandy Lyle.
But he will have to come from equal fifth place with group including Swede Carl Petterson. O'Hair birdied the final three holes to take the lead with a six-under 66 in ideal scoring conditions.
O'Hair posted a nine-under 207 total, one stroke ahead of fellow American Phil Mickelson, who made a tap-in birdie at the last for 69.
Another American, Jeff Quinney, had the day's best round, a 63, to move within two strokes with Australian Peter Lonard, whose 68 included a rare albatross at the par-five second, where he holed a five-iron from 229 yards.
Donald started the day a distant seven strokes behind the halfway leader, knowing he needed something special to jump into contention, and he made an ideal start with a 25-foot birdie at the par-four first.
"The key to my round was the birdie at the first. Anytime you start like that it gives you a boost," said Donald, who added seven more. His only bogey came at the par-four 10th, where he sank an eight-footer to avoid dropping two shots.
"My first two rounds I felt just a little bit off," he said. "Today was a lot better. I hit a lot more fairways, a lot more greens. It was easy golf today and I putted very well, didn't leave too much out there. I wasn't in great shape [starting the day] but I knew, if I had a good round, I could get myself back into position."
Sergio Garcia, a team-mate of Donald's on last year's victorious European Ryder Cup team, also had a great round going until he made a mess of the par-four 18th, pulling a six-iron second shot into the water for a double bogey.
At least Garcia was on the edge of contention, unlike Ian Poulter (72) and Padraig Harrington (74), who slipped 11 and 13 strokes respectively behind O'Hair.
O'Hair posted a nine-under 207 total, one stroke ahead of fellow American Phil Mickelson, who made a tap-in birdie at the last for 69.
Another American, Jeff Quinney, had the day's best round, a 63, to move within two strokes with Australian Peter Lonard, whose 68 included a rare albatross at the par-five second, where he holed a five-iron from 229 yards.
Donald started the day a distant seven strokes behind the halfway leader, knowing he needed something special to jump into contention, and he made an ideal start with a 25-foot birdie at the par-four first.
"The key to my round was the birdie at the first. Anytime you start like that it gives you a boost," said Donald, who added seven more. His only bogey came at the par-four 10th, where he sank an eight-footer to avoid dropping two shots.
"My first two rounds I felt just a little bit off," he said. "Today was a lot better. I hit a lot more fairways, a lot more greens. It was easy golf today and I putted very well, didn't leave too much out there. I wasn't in great shape [starting the day] but I knew, if I had a good round, I could get myself back into position."
Sergio Garcia, a team-mate of Donald's on last year's victorious European Ryder Cup team, also had a great round going until he made a mess of the par-four 18th, pulling a six-iron second shot into the water for a double bogey.
At least Garcia was on the edge of contention, unlike Ian Poulter (72) and Padraig Harrington (74), who slipped 11 and 13 strokes respectively behind O'Hair.
Labels: Pro Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, May 13, 2007
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