| The
Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, 16th May 1998 -
Italy's Massimo Florioli birdied the last four holes of
the third round to take a share of the lead with Ryder Cup players Colin Montgomerie
and Darren Clarke in the Benson and Hedges International Open on Saturday. Florioli,
who had shared the second round lead, looked to be flagging until his late rally
to join Montgomerie and Clarke on 206, 10-under-par for the hilly, 7,205-yard
Oxfordshire course. Clarke
made the biggest move with a five-under-par 67. Montgomerie posted a 69 and Florioli
71, rounding off his remarkable finishing run with a birdie putt of 25 feet on
the last. "I
was very nervy to begin with because I had never led a European Tour event after
two rounds before," the 26-year-old Italian said. "But
I relaxed after birdieing the 12th and then I had an incredible finish. I just
got sucked in by it all as the crowd applauded and the putts just went in. "I
know I have some very formidable opponents in Colin and Darren so I just hope
I do myself justice for a great week so far." The
leading trio are one shot ahead of another Briton, Gary Evans, and the winner
of the Italian Open title two weeks ago, Sweden's Patrik Sjoland. Greg
Turner of New Zealand and Norway's Per Haugsrud are a further stroke back but
the other second round leader, England's former Ryder Cup man Barry Lane, slipped
four shots off the pace with a 75, bogeying three of the last four holes. Montgomerie
is looking for a 125,000 pounds ($202,000) victory to kick-start his bid for a
sixth consecutive Order of Merit title. He is currently 99th on the list. The
Scot, who shot 84 when leading after three rounds in 1996 and 81 in his last two
final rounds here, has his great friend and Ryder Cup partner Clarke standing
in the way of a first win of the year in his second European event of 1998. "We
had a good partnership in the Ryder Cup," said Montgomerie after collecting
two birdies coming home. "Darren has improved a lot mentally over the last
two years and I rate him highly. "But
there are some good players up there so it won't be a two-horse race. I won't
worry about any bad final rounds this year. In 1996 the weather was awful and
last year I five-putted the second so that didn't help. "This
year if I don't break 80 then I have a big problem." Clarke
fired his bid with an 80-foot eagle putt on the long seventh and picked up his
five shots in the middle of the round. "I've
been knocking on the door for some time for a win," said Clarke who finished
fourth on the money list last year without a victory. "So
this is the position I wanted to be in this week, to set up a chance. Monty and
I do get on but I won't be thinking about that."
| 
