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Langer retains narrow
lead
John Daly shot an 8-under-par
64 Saturday for the day's best score at the Linde German Masters, leaving him
three strokes behind leader Bernhard Langer.
Langer, seeking his 11th
title in his home country, birdied the final hole to keep his lead entering the
final round. His 68 put him at 17-under 199, with Sweden's Fredrik Jacobean, Australia's
Stephen Leanly and England's Greg Wen one shot back after three rounds.
``A few loose shots, a couple
of missed birdies, but I played well,'' Langer said. ``I didn't want to give up
the lead.''
Daly closed with a surge,
shooting five birdies in six holes to move to 14-under 202 in the $4 million tournament.
Taking advantage of a sunny,
windless day, Daly dropped his score for the third straight day after rounds of
71 and 67.
``It's been three days of
solid golf, but nothing really happened,'' Daly said. ``It's really nice to see
some putts finally drop.''
In August, Daly won the
BMW Open for his first title in six years.
``It's going to be hard
to beat Langer,'' Daly said of the two-time Masters champion. ``He is tough to
beat when he's ahead.''
Daly is the first prominent
American to play in Europe since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He flew with
Langer in a private jet after organizers assured him of increased security.
``I hate flying, but I like
playing overseas and I can't let those jerks stop me,'' Daly said.
He said he probably won't
play in next week's World Match Play Championship in England if he has to fly
commercially.
Daly drew a roar from the
gallery when he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. He then closed his
round with another birdie from 20 feet.
Langer didn't have a bogey
over two rounds until the 17th hole, briefly creating a four-way tie. But Langer
then sank an 8-foot birdie putt to end his round and reclaim the lead at the tournament
he runs along with older brother Erwin.
``That was something special
because of the bogey on the previous hole,'' Langer said. ``I came back with three
perfect strokes.''
Jacobson, Leaney and Owen
shot 67s as they chased Langer all day.
Langer ended a four-year
title drought in July by winning the Dutch Open. He has been tough to beat in
Germany, where he has captured 10 events and finished runner-up eight times.
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