THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Tiger Woods seals two shot victory Round 4: Emotional Tiger Woods thanks late father Round 4: Players give Hoylake top marks Round 4: Ernie Els continues impressive Open run Round 4: Marius Thorp wins Silver Medal Round 4: Sergio Garcia takes positives from Open Round 4: Chris DiMarco consoled by second place Round 4: Tiger Woods edges ahead of field Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix Round 3: Putting problems keep Woods back Round 3: Chris DiMarco counts on experience Round 2: Woods and Els set for showdown Round 2: Singh & Monty amongst cut casualties Round 2: Ernie Els relishes being in contention Round 2: David Duval frustrated again Round 2: Phil Mickelson well off the pace Round 2: Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls Round 1: Woods makes move with eagle on 18th Round 1: Clarke to take break to care for wife Round 1: Seve Ballesteros happy with opening 74 Round 1: Ernie Els finds putting touch again Round 1: Garcia amongst early front runners Leading contenders for the British Open Tiger Woods ready for Open defence Geoff Ogilvy enjoying life as a champion Weather set fair at Hoylake Phil Mickelson in confident mood Tiger Woods & Nick Faldo fued simmers Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open Players expecting to score low at Hoylake Ben Curtis has sights on second Open title Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking duck Rest of the World catching the Americans Hoylake ready for a new chapter Europeans seeking a Major turnaround Trevor Immelman celebrates birth of first child Tiger Woods is bookmakers favourite Hot, dry and fast Hoylake awaits players Nick Faldo & Tiger Woods row diffused Hoylake a mystery to the whole field John Daly plays "The Cavern" Retief Goosen not confident heading into Open John Senden joins record number of Australians Woods starts Open defence with Faldo The Open Preview Course Guide: Hoylake - Royal Liverpool 2006 European Tour Schedule GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Greg Norman struggles at Troon Ochoa leads with flawless 65 Mike Weir amongst leaders Four share lead in Russia Padraig Harrington hungry for more success Michelle Wie to play on PGA Tour again GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Chris DiMarco counts on experience

Nearly three weeks after the sudden death of his mother, American Chris DiMarco has a chance of claiming a maiden major title at the British Open.

The 37-year-old recovered from a faltering start to fire a three-under-par 69 in Saturday's third round at Hoylake, finishing one shot behind leader Tiger Woods.

Having twice lost playoffs for major championships, DiMarco believes he can benefit from both experiences in Sunday's final round, along with the possibility of divine intervention.

"Absolutely," he told reporters after ending another calm day on the north-west English coastline tied for second place with Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els at 12-under 204.

"Any time you're in a position to win a major and (feeling) the pressure that goes with it, it's always nice to draw from something.

"I certainly have some good memories to draw from," added the three-times PGA Tour winner, who birdied four of the last nine holes on Saturday.

"I've played well enough to win a couple and tomorrow I know one thing is you've got to play your own game.

"You can't watch what the person you're playing with is doing."

DiMarco lost out to Vijay Singh in a three-way playoff for the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits before being edged out by Woods eight months later at the first extra hole of the 2005 Masters.

Asked whether it would be especially sweet to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday at the expense of twice champion Woods, DiMarco replied: "It doesn't matter.

"It would be nice to beat everybody because it means I win. There's nothing extra there if I beat Tiger. It doesn't matter.

"Obviously you want to beat the best player in the world but there are five or six other guys within a shot of him who are going to be trying to do the same thing I'm doing.

"It's going to be a fun day. I'm looking forward to it."

DiMarco, whose mother Norma died earlier this month of a suspected heart attack, has a feeling he may gain unexpected support in Sunday's final round.

"I know there's divine intervention," he said. "My mom's name is Norma and I got on the first tee and the scorer's name is Norma. And l've probably met about five Normas in my life.