| Druids
Glen, Dublin, 4th July 1998
- Barry Lane ended an 18-month slump when he equalled fellow Briton Colin Montgomerie's
Druids Glen course record 62 in the Irish Open on Saturday. The
former Ryder Cup player bounced back with nine birdies and 10 threes in his nine-under-par
round to share the lead on 207 with compatriot David Carter, round in 67. The
pair head into Sunday's final round a stroke in front of Ireland's John McHenry,
another player emerging from a long spell in the wilderness. Montgomerie,
bidding for an Irish Open hat-trick, surged alongside Lane with a run of early
birdies but then made mistakes and slipped to a share of fourth spot, three behind.
The five times
European number one had complained of an ankle injury on Friday but declared himself
fully fit before the third round. He reported that the problem was not a torn
ligament as first thought and his ankle was comfortable after responding to treatment.
Lane, a Ryder
Cup man in 1993, won the 1995 Andersen Consulting world championship but then
lost his way. "My
attitude has not been fantastic for the last year or more," he confessed
after shooting his career low score. "I
was just losing my temper on the course because I knew I should be doing better
than I was. I got angry because I felt I should be getting back to winning a lot
quicker than I was doing. "But
all my family, friends and coach have been drumming it into me to try to relax
and enjoy it. It worked today." Carter
is seeking his first Tour win in a four-year career. The Johannesburg-born player
nearly died from a virus after he was found in a coma on the eve of last year's
Desert Classic in Dubai. He needed fluid removed from his brain. "Every
day's a bonus for me," said Carter, "and I'm now believing in myself
too. I used to doubt myself when I got up there on the leaderboard. "But
now I just say to myself I'm there for a reason and that's because I can play
with the best of them. The person who is going to win is the one who doesn't doubt
himself under pressure." Carter
surged into contention with a birdie on the short 12th -- moments after watching
his playing-partner Stephen Allan of Australia hole in one.
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