Saturday, August 29, 2009

Lawrie remains in Gleneagles hunt

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD:
-8 P Hedblom (Swe) -7 P Lawrie (Sco) -6 G Bourdy (Fra), J Donaldson (Wal), S Hansen (Den), S O'Hara (Sco) Selected others: -3 D Lee (NZ) Level C Montgomerie (Sco), JM Olazabal


Paul Lawrie
Lawrie, 40, is chasing his first win in seven years

Paul Lawrie missed a putt on the final green to hand Swede Peter Hedblom a one-shot lead going into the last round of the Johnnie Walker Championship.

Lawrie hit a one-over 73 to Hedblom's 68 to end seven under after playing 40 holes without conceding a bogey.

Gregory Bourdy, Jamie Donaldson, Soren Hansen and Steven O'Hara were tied on six under at Gleneagles.

Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie carded a level-par 72 for level overall alongside Jose Maria Olazabal.

The Spanish Ryder Cup veteran, who is suffering from rheumatism, struggled to a round of 77 to drop 27 places after he was three off the pace overnight.

Lawrie negotiated the first two rounds without dropping a shot but eventually stumbled on the 5th and dropped further shots at 10, 15 and 16, mixed with birdies at 11, 13 and 14.

"I'm playing well and looking forward to the last round," said the 40-year-old, who led by two overnight.

"I can't remember when I last went out in the final round in the last group."

Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, is chasing his first win in seven years, while Hedblom is seeking his third tour title.

Hedblom held a two-shot advantage going into the final round of last week's Dutch Open before losing out to Briton Simon Dyson in a play-off that also included Irishman Peter Lawrie.

"Sometimes I've struggled the week after playing good," said the 39-year-old. "But I seem to have brought all the confidence I got last week.

"I'm sure I'm going to be more relaxed tomorrow than last week when I had worries about keeping my (European Tour) card. I feel I didn't so much lose as Simon won, anyway."

Northern Ireland's Jonathan Caldwell, who was joint second ahead of the third round, four-putted from two feet for a triple-bogey seven on the 13th as he slid to a 76 for two under.

New Zealand teenager Danny Lee, who made history as the youngest European Tour winner when he triumphed in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth in February at the age of 18 years and 213 days, carded 72, to remain three under.

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