Heineken
Classic
The Vines, Perth
Australia
29th January - 1st February 1998
Par
72 Prize Money £555,500
Third
Round Report
Third
Round Scores
Second Round Report
Second
Round Scores
First Round Report
First
Round Scores
Woosnam
leads by one-shot going into the final round
By
Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent
Perth,
Australia, 31st January 1998 - Three members of Europe's winning Ryder
Cup side last September head the race for the £108,000 Heineken Classic title
with a round to go in Perth.
A
25-foot birdie putt on the 17th helped Ian Woosnam, winner two years ago, stay
out in front in Saturday's third round.
But
the Welshman's 70, for an 11 under par total of 205, left him only one ahead of
Dane Thomas Bjorn and just two in front of Jose Maria Olazabal.
They
both shot 68s to take over as the main threat from yet another Cup man, Bernhard
Langer, who fell six behind with a 76.
"Anybody
can win and it's whoever holes the putts," said Woosnam. "I know what
to do and how to play the course, but you've still got to hit the shots."
Woosnam
described some of the pin placings as being close to unfair as the greens at The
Vines became firmer, but there was one player who thought the one at the short
16th was simply perfect.
Doncaster's
former English amateur champion Ian Garbutt holed-in-one and won himself 100,000
Australian dollars - £44,000 - worth of casino chips.
"I'm
staying at the hotel where the casino is and I lost 100 dollars there on the blackjack
table the other night," said the 25-year-old Garbutt.
"I'm
told I can cash the chips in and that's what I'll do - my girlfriend and I are
looking for a new house."
A
massive £220,000 for an albatross two at the 517-yard 18th went unclaimed, although
Bjorn was only four feet away after his downwind drive left him only a seven-iron
to the green.
The
26-year-old sank the eagle putt to give himself a great chance to make up for
the disappointment of last week. Bjorn shared the first round lead in the Johnnie
Walker Classic in Phuket, out-scoring playing partner and eventual winner Tiger
Woods, but then contracted food poisoning, shot 81 and amazingly missed the halfway
cut. As did Woosnam.
The
pair were partners against the Americans at Valderrama, beating Open champion
Justin Leonard and Brad Faxon in the second day fourballs. Bjorn then came from
four down after four to halve with Leonard in the singles and he says: "After
that I'm not scared of or intimidated by anybody.
"If
you are scared you're not going to win. My goal is to be up there every week.
I feel I should have a really good year and I really want to make a statement
that I feel it's wrong I'm the only Ryder Cup player who won't be at the Masters
in April.
"I
know it's a strict system, but I feel a little wrong has been done."
Woosnam
reckoned most of his putting was "rubbish", but apart from the one at
the 17th he made another 25-footer from off the green at the sixth and holed from
20 feet at the 12th.
Olazabal,
making his Australian debut this week, made his move with four successive birdies
from the eighth. He was level with Woosnam with two to go, but three-putted the
17th and could only par the last after pushing his drive into sand.
The
Spaniard was disappointed with that, but furious at the slow play warning he received
on the 15th from Spanish official Jose Maria Zamora.
"We
waited on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th and then I get a bad time. Explain that
to me," he said. "There was no reply. They are so powerful they don't
have to give you an explanation.
"I
agree with the rules, but you have to have more logic applying them. By the 17th
we were waiting again. From now on I won't wait for anybody in front of me.
"I
will keep on hitting the ball and if I hit someone I am sorry."
Australian
Craig Parry lies fourth on eight under, a stroke in front of Scotland's Andrew
Coltart and Swindon 22-year-old David Howell. Langer dropped back into a group
on five under that also contains US Open champion Ernie Els and Peter Baker.
