| Hamburg,
Germany, 31st May 1998 - On
a day that saw exceptionally low scoring Paul Broadhurst and Darren Clarke now share the joint lead at the end of the third
round of the Deutsche Bank SAP Open in Hamburg. Both
players shot 65 for three round aggregates of 198, 18-under par but Lee Westwood, one stroke behind the leaders, broke
the course record with a superb 61 to be in joint third place with Masters winner Mark O'Meara. Overall,
62 of the 82 players broke par on a day ideal for golf. Colin
Montgomerie, winner of the Volvo PGA Championship
at Wentworth six days ago, could only stand and applaud playing partner Paul Broadhurst's
great play while he himself could only manage a level par 72. Montgomerie
was far from pleased with his performance, saying: "It was the putting." "I've
always played pretty good when I've played with Monty in the past," said
Broadhurst, who had seven birdies and no bogeys on his card. "I
made up six shots on Monty in the first nine holes and he wasn't exactly spraying
it around. "But
I thought it might needle him if I holed some and he missed a few. I got off to
a good start, holing from 25 feet at the first for a birdie and he missed from
15 feet. "Then
I murdered a drive down the third and he hit it out of bounds. I got to the turn
in a six under par 30 and was a a bit disappointed that I wasn't leading at that
stage with Lee (Westwood) playing so well ahead of me. "But
I drove the ball really well and my irons were pretty good so things turned out
just right in the end." Clarke,
playing behind Broadhurst, made his 65 with a 32 out and 33 back, including birdies
at both the 16th and 18th but believes that anyone within four shots of the lead
could win this £1,100,000 tournament tomorrow. He
does not believe, however, that Montgomerie will be in contention. "Monty's
eight behind and I think even he will be struggling to win from there," said
Clarke. "But
Bernhard (Langer) is only five behind and nothing would surprise me about Bernhard
in Germany." Westwood's
61 included nine birdies and an eagle three at the long sixth and he was asked
the inevitable question: "Was 59 on today?" As
Westwood missed six putts of 12 feet or less, including one of two-and-a half
feet and one of five feet, it was a realistic inquiry but he replied: "If
you are going to shoot 59 you've got to hole everything. "Today
I could have shot 58 or 57 but I don't feel robbed though. You don't shoot 61
every day of the week and it's got me into contention." His
course record was the lowest round he has played in tournament golf and he added:
"I shot 63 in Gran Canaria, which was 10 under par, but this was 11 under
and definitely my lowest. "Now,
I don't see any reason why I shouldn't play well again tomorrow. It's been my
putting that has been letting me down and I played well at Wentworth and finished
six behind Monty. But I felt I'd left 20 shots out on the course. "This
week I holed nothing for the first two rounds. After missing on the first I decided
to try putting with the left hand below right but then missed from five feet on
the second so went back to my normal grip." O'Meara,
who had a bogey-free round of nine birdies, was full of praise for Westwood but
said his own 63 was the best he has struck the ball this year, including his epic
win in Augusta. "I'm
over jet lag now," he said, "and I think I need another solid round
tomorrow. I think you will need to be between 21 and 23 under to win tomorrow
unless the wind gets up." | 
