Monty leads into last round - again

For the third time in four years Colin Montgomerie will go into the final round of the Benson and Hedges International Open at The Oxfordshire in the lead - and this time he aims to win it.

A one-under-par 71 was good enough to take Europe's number one for the past six seasons from one behind Swede Per-Ulrik Johansson to one ahead of Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.

Their head-to-head is a mouth-watering prospect for the crowd but Montgomerie, who still remembers every shot of the 4 and 2 defeat Olazabal inflicted on him in the 1984 final of the British Amateur Championship, is disappointed not to start with more of an advantage.

The 35-year-old Scot, who lost a three-stroke lead in spectacular style by shooting a closing 84 in fierce winds in 1996 and then last year was out-gunned by Darren Clarke after they had shared top spot on the Saturday night, knew he had missed a golden opportunity to open a big gap.

After finishing the day on the 11-under-par total of 205 Montgomerie headed for the practice putting green, intent of staying there "until I get it right".

Montgomerie said: "Okay, I am one ahead and since I started the day one behind you would think it was a good day, right? Wrong!

"From the ninth onwards I don't know what happened with the putter. I'm disappointed - you want to get some distance between you and second when you have the opportunity.

"It's given everybody else hope, but when you have a bad day and still come out on top it's not all gloom and doom."

The £133,333 first prize would make Montgomerie Europe's first £8million man - nobody else has even earned £7million - and would also set him back on course for a seventh successive Order of Merit crown.

"I've had a super run and it's a record that possibly nobody will ever beat, so why not make it increasingly difficult for someone to beat it?" he said.

After a switch in the wind Montgomerie dropped his first shot of the week at the first hole but hit back with birdie putts of 15 and four feet on the fifth and seventh - either side, in fact, of falling over playing a shot out of a fairway bunker at the sixth.

With Johansson not having a birdie all day in a 74, Montgomerie took over at the top, but after bogeying the short 15th Olazabal caught him with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 585-yard 17th.

Montgomerie responded to that, however, by hitting two woods onto the same green and two-putting. But a missed eight-footer on the last summed up his frustration.

Olazabal, who missed two out of three cuts since his second Masters triumph last month, fired a 69 against the 73 of playing partner Nick Faldo, who now has five strokes to make up on Montgomerie.

Faldo said: "I struggled with a few shots. I'm just grinding with my backswing and I hit a few more left.

"It's a tougher course with the wind this way and now I'd just like to go and play well tomorrow - that's the goal."

Olazabal is one of the last players Montgomerie wants to have breathing down his neck, but the admiration is mutual.

The Spaniard said: "Monty is a great player. He does not practice and comes here after a three-week break and leads.

"What can I say? It looks like we are average workers and he is the one who is gifted. He has won the Order of Merit six times, but hopefully he will get tired of that give the rest of us a chance."

Johansson dropped into a six-way tie for third place on nine under with Welshman Phil Price (72), Argentina's Agenl Cabrera (71) Kent's Peter Mitchell (67) and Bristol's Andrew Sherborne and Spaniard Diego Borrego, both of whom were only one off the course record with 66s.

Seve Ballesteros' recovery from the depths of a place outside the world's top 450 continued with a 69 and he goes into the final day alongside Faldo on six under and at the very least hoping to improve on his 17th place in the Italian Open two weeks ago - his best finish for over a year.

Sandy Lyle, playing his first tournament back in Europe since last August and with a new stop-go swing, mixed three birdies with three bogeys to remain five under, while Ian Woosnam and defending champion Darren Clarke are one further back following 71s.

Another player on the comeback trail, 38-year-old Swede Anders Forsbrand, reached 10 under after six birdies in 11 holes, but played the remaining seven in three over.

Forsbrand was fourth on the Order of Merit only seven years ago, but when he made the cut in last week's French Open it was the first time he had earned a cheque since last May's Benson and Hedges event.

Things got so bad that he admitted "I couldn't break 80", but after his 69 the born-again Christian said: "I feel like God has given me a second chance and I've just got to take it.

"The work I've been doing with Simon Holmes for the last four months has paid off far quicker than we expected. But I'll take it."