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Tournament goes to Monday
finish
The lowest round of his
career, a nine-under-par 63 over the most historic course in golf, has given Paul
Lawrie a golden chance on Monday to win his first title since the 1999 Open championship.
Lawrie, 10 miles from the
scene of his Carnoustie triumph, shares the lead with Ireland's Paul McGinley
as the rain and fog-delayed Dunhill Links Championship spills into an extra day
at St Andrews.
After four stop-start days
the pair still have the whole of their final round to play over the Old Course
before the £3.5million tournament - the richest ever held in Britain, with
a top prize of £551,000 - is decided.
But while the way Lawrie
mastered the same 18 holes must fill him with confidence, the manner in which
McGinley battled through gales for a bogey-free 71 in his third round at Carnoustie
was almost as impressive.
They are a stroke ahead
of world number four Ernie Els, who with his father Neels also lies third in the
pro-am event, and two in front of Swindon's David Howell.
Lawrie, suddenly finding
a putting touch which had deserted him all year, had birdied eight of the first
12 holes when play was called off on Sunday.
But on the resumption the
32-year-old from Aberdeen made a 20-footer on the long 14th and then a 12-footer
at the next.
Three more birdies to finish
with and he would have had the first-ever 59 in European tour history, but just
before another rain suspension Lawrie three-putted the 17th for bogey and dropped
back alongside McGinley on the 14-under-par mark of 202.
The two met in a play-off
for the Wales Open in August - after the last two rounds there were washed out
- and on that occasion McGinley prevailed.
Lawrie, who came from 10
behind on the final day of the 1999 Open to take advantage of Jean Van de Velde's
last-hole collapse, said: "It was nice to hole some putts for a change.
"I holed from 45 feet
at the eighth and 50-55 feet at the 10th."
Even with his three-putt
he had an opportunity to tie Curtis Strange's course record of 62 set at the 1987
Dunhill Cup, but a 15-foot attempt that he thought would go right went left.
"All year I've played
fantastic tee-to-green, but Saturday was the first time I started rolling them
in.
"Last week Adam (his
coach Adam Hunter) said I was going to have one day when everything was going
to go in.
"Bad weather doesn't
bother me. I was brought up with the wind and the rain and it doesn't put me off.
I just get the job done."
McGinley had seven holes
still to go when play eventually resumed at Carnoustie, one of the three courses
being used for the tournament.
He birdied the long 12th
and then parred his way through one of the toughest finishing stretches in the
game.
"The wind was against
us for every hole except the 17th and to shoot one under is very gratifying,"
said the Dubliner, who next September will make his Ryder Cup debut.
While Lawrie partnered his
sponsor Martin Gilbert, McGinley was paired with "Sex in the City" and
"Twin Peaks" actor Kyle MacLachlan.
"The great thing about
this tournament," added McGinley, "is that it is multi-dimensional.
We play so much that is one-dimensional.
"Taking advantage of
the favourable conditions when you get them and battling to hold on when things
are against you is all part of the challenge.
"I know there has been
criticism, but all I can say is that I have never seen guys happier playing golf.
Everyone has had a ball.
"I think it's great
that so many high-profile celebrities have come and they very much add to the
tournament.
"Golf is a sport where
professionals and amateurs can play alongside each other. Sadly, I can't play
alongside David Beckham or Roy Keane at Old Trafford in a competitive match."
Only 20 teams go through to the fifth day, but as well as MacLachlan in 11th place
other celebrities to have survived are country and western singer Clay Walker
(joint third), England cricket captain Nasser Hussain (seventh) and actor Trevor
Eve (both tied for 17th).
Walker was among 39 amateurs
whose handicaps were chopped by the championship committee - in his case from
11 to seven for the second and third rounds only because they did not tell him
in time - but that has not stopped him improving an incredible 32 strokes on partner
Steve Elkington's own dismal performance of seven over.
Joint leaders on 27 under
par are property develop Jeremy Lambourne and the RAF's Chris Peacock, playing
respectively with two more Australian professionals in Lucas Parsons and Brett
Rumford.
Retief Goosen still has
hopes of clinching the European Order of Merit on Monday, but those hopes were
not helped by him driving out of bounds on the last at St Andrews - the widest
fairway in golf - and finishing with two bogeys for a 69 that dropped him five
behind Lawrie and McGinley.
Darren Clarke, whom he leads
by £440,000, is two strokes further back.
Tournament officials said on Sunday that they are in discussions with both the
European tour and the St Andrews Links Trust to explore the possibility of an
earlier date.
"It would be helpful
and that's what we want," said Johann Rupert, chief executive of Dunhill's
parent company Richemont.
"Obviously we've been
affected by the weather, but I was here three weeks ago and it was perfect weather."
European tour executive
director Ken Schofield said: "Not every sport is fortunate to have such support
as Dunhill gives on a global basis."
Weather ruins third day
Paul Lawrie rallied from
eight strokes back to tie Paul McGinley for the lead at Dunhill Links Championship,
but fog and lashing rain forced a Monday finish for the tournament.
No golfer on Saturday completed
the third round on any of the three courses used for the inaugural $5 million
event.
Lawrie, a former British
Open champion, putted excellently to birdie eight of the 12 holes he played at
St. Andrews. McGinley parred all of the 11 holes he played at Carnoustie.
The third round will resume
Sunday. The fourth rounds on the Old Course will begin Sunday afternoon and resume
Monday morning.
Three shots behind Lawrie
and McGinley were Ernie Els of South Africa, Peter O'Malley of Australia and Englishmen
David Howell and Brian Davis.
Els was 1 under in his third
round on the Old Course after eight holes. O'Malley, Howell and Davis all played
Carnoustie and were midway through their rounds when darkness set in. The other
course in what is also a pro-am event is Kingsbarns.
There was little more than
an hour's play before mid-afternoon Saturday. Early morning fog again delayed
the start and rain struck the East Fife area at midday.
Tournament director Peter
German said he was optimistic of completing all four rounds once it had been decided
to use the Monday option.
He said the sponsors wanted
four full rounds. So did the European Tour because of the Order of Merit and the
players trying to retain or gain playing cards for next year.
There was no question of
reducing the number of holes or the number of players who will make the cut for
the final round after the third round finishes Sunday -- 60 pros and 20 pro-am
teams.
Lawrie, a Scotsman who won
the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie when Jean Van de Velde had a triple-bogey
7 at the final hole, was delighted to sink some putts Saturday.
``It's about time,'' he
said. ``There were two 50-footers and three or four 20-footers ... It's a pity
I had to stop.''
McGinley was content with
his string of pars at Carnoustie after his two-eagle 64 in Friday's second round
on the Old Course.
``It was hard work, but
that's links golf,'' the Irishman said.
Els managed only eight holes
over the Old Course with just one birdie.
``I didn't play particularly
well,'' said Els, the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open champion. ``I let some chances slip
away.''
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