The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Mickelson, Ferrie tied for lead

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 19, 2006

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Sport - Golf

Mickelson, Ferrie tied for lead

MAMARONECK (USA): Phil Mickelson made a pair of birdies during a charging finish on the back nine at stingy Winged Foot to tie Briton Kenneth Ferrie for the lead after three rounds of the U.S. Open.

While other contenders struggled to match par, birdies at the 14th and 16th holes enabled Masters champion Mickelson to post a one-under-par 69 for a two-over 212 total.

Ferrie, a 27-year-old Englishman, played an admirably steady round as he protected a one-shot lead he took on the strength of a tap-in eagle at the 515-yard, par-five fifth.

A bogey at the last, where Ferrie's five-foot par putt failed to fall, dropped the Briton back to two over par for the tournament and 71 for the day.

One stroke behind

Australian Geoff Ogilvy shot a two-over-par 72 to stand one stroke off the pace at 213, two shots better than Britons Colin Montgomerie (75) and Ian Poulter (70), Vijay Singh of Fiji (70) and American Steve Stricker (76), the overnight leader.

Mickelson, gunning for his third consecutive Major title following his victories in the PGA Championship and the Masters, will be paired with Ferrie, playing in his first Major in the United States.

``This is my first time in this position in a Major championship,'' said Ferrie. ``And it's going to be a little daunting.''

Mickelson said he was looking forward to the final round. ``It's a lot of fun to have a chance,'' he said. ``I have a lot of work left to do.''

Mickelson said he was not that familiar with Ferrie, but expected a good battle. ``He's in the final group of the U.S. Open so he's got to be a good player,'' said world number two Mickelson.

Jeev joint 59th

Jeev Milkha Singh lost the plot in the fairways and stuttered to a seven-over 77, his worst round so far, to be tied for 59th.

After rounds of 73, 76 and 77, Jeev has a three-day total of 16-over 226 and he would have to arrest the steady slump in his form and come up with something special for a decent finish in his second appearance at the Open.

Jeev sunk one birdie in each nine preceded by a nervy start that saw him bogeying the third and fourth holes.

Groping for the fairways, he dropped a shot again on the eighth, double bogeyed the par-four ninth for the second consecutive day, was unlucky at 13th — dropping a shot there. And as if he had not enough setbacks, the Asian Tour UBS Order of Merit leader signed off with a bogey hat-trick.

Forgettable

The forgettable third round left much to be desired and the Volvo China Open winner made it clear that he was not exactly happy.

``Today I did not hit the fairways and that was the reason for my high score. The rough was brutal too. The last three holes are very tough as I could not finish my round well,'' he rued.

``I am not really satisfied because I could have done better. I like this golf course since I always like playing on tough courses. Overall, the reason for my mediocre performance was not being able to find the fairways but I hope for a better round and to finish off strongly,'' he added. — Reuters, UNI

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