Van de Velde opens five shot lead

Jean Van de Velde, sponsored by Disneyland, entered the magic kingdom on Saturday as he took complete charge of the Open at Carnoustie.

The 33-year-old with one victory in 288 attempts on the European tour has one of the most unexpected victories in major championship history in his sights after showing the world's best players how to handle the world's toughest course.

One ahead after two rounds of what is only his fifth major, Van de Velde will go into the final round on Sunday an amazing five shots clear.

And while he knows the hardest part is still ahead if he is to become France's first winner of the title since Arnaud Massy at Hoylake in 1907 - and one of the biggest outsiders to win since then - the world number 152 has already started to prove himself made of stern stuff.

He had opened a four-stroke advantage by the ninth, but with all the attention then on him he sank par-saving putts of 15 and seven feet at the 10th and 11th and, after bogeying the 479-yard par four 12th following a bunkered drive, almost holed in one at the 169-yard 13th.

Father of two Van de Velde did miss a six-foot birdie chance there, but minutes later he pressed home his position in even more startling fashion.

Forced to lay up at the 515-yard 14th after finding more sand off the tee, he sank an outrageous 50-foot birdie putt.

He then went into more bunkers at the 15th and 17th, but got up and down each time and at the last a 25-foot putt was always going in for a superb 70 and level-par aggregate of 214.

It was just his 23rd putt of the greatest round of his life - 24 hours after what is now the second greatest round of his life.

A week ago the Geneva-based golfer did not even know he was playing in the championship.

Ahead of him then lay 36 holes of final qualifying at Monifieth, but by winning that with two four-under-par rounds of 67 he gave his confidence a massive boost.

He was never going to repeat those scores at the longest course ever used for an Open - 7,361 yards - but he has not needed to.

Next best with 18 holes to play are 1997 winner Justin Leonard and Australian Craig Parry on five over.

World number one Tiger Woods has seven to make up after a 74 without a single birdie and with a double-bogey six at the 17th.

Scotland's Andrew Coltart, Argentinian Angel Cabrera and South African David Frost are alongside Woods, Coltart having climbed to joint second prior to bogeying the 16th and 17th in a round of 72.

Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie threatened to make their presence felt, but closed on eight over and nine over respectively.

Parry, who has missed the halfway cut in the last four Opens, produced the lowest round of the week to set the early clubhouse target on five-over 218.

Nicknamed 'Popeye' because of his bulging forearms, Parry resumed in joint 30th spot on nine over par, but went to the turn in 33 and coming home had three more birdies - and two bogeys - for a quite brilliant four-under-par 67.

"I felt about six feet tall," said the 5ft 6in former Scottish Open champion.

Leonard, lurking just off the pace all week, birdied the fourth and sixth for an outward 34, but had three bogeys on the homeward run as well as his birdie at the long 14th.

Montgomerie, originally gloomy about his halfway position of eight over but re-emerging very much aware that he was still in with a chance, was pulled along in Parry's slipstream for a while.

Three birdies in six holes from the ninth, where he chipped in, lifted the 36-year-old world number five into the hunt - but then it all went wrong again. Not that he was prepared to concede afterwards that he truly had blown it this time.

Montgomerie, winner at Loch Lomond a week ago and recipient of a million-dollar bonus from the sponsors there if he could complete a double on Sunday, bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th. He matched Coltart's 72, but it could have been so much better.

Mark James, still on course to play his way into his own Ryder Cup team, had three birdies in four holes to turn in 34, but then collapsed even more dramatically than playing partner Montgomerie.

James, eighth in the points standings at the moment, almost holed in one at the 183-yard eighth, but could not stop the bleeding once he bogeyed the 11th.

The 45-year-old double-bogeyed the next, then had three more bogeys. He had to birdie the last for an inward 40 and 11-over aggregate of 224.

Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Ian Woosnam had to pick up their pace if they were to get into contention. Instead, though, they all had their struggles.

Woosnam, taking seven on the sixth, shot 74 for 11 over, Westwood the same for 12 over - failing to get out of a fairway bunker on the second for a double-bogey six did for him - Clarke shot 76 for 14 over.

World number two David Duval, surprised to survive the halfway cut by the skin of his teeth on 12 over par, failed to make any sort of move either.

Resuming with two more bogeys and having a double-bogey six at the seventh he turned in 40. Further bogeys at the 10th and 11th were cancelled out by birdies at the 13th and 14th, but with a five at the 459-yard 17th he finished with a 76 and 17-over aggregate of 230.

Last month's US Open winner Payne Stewart stayed deep in the pack too, a 74 leaving him 13 over.