Darren Clarke repeated his magical finish of the previous day to take a five stroke lead into the final round of the Compass Group English Open at Marriott Hanbury Manor.
Clarke, seeking his first victory since landing the Volvo Masters crown last November, birdied the closing five holes for the second day running to lead a congested leader board with a 16 under par total of 200.
The Ulsterman’s round of 67 lifted him into a position of strength from six players on 11 under par thanks to that devastating finish. But for that run, Clarke might well have been back in the pack along with his main rival Colin Montgomerie, Andrew Coltart, Gary Orr, David Carter, Stephen Leaney and John Bickerton.
However there was no stopping Clarke once he arrived on the 14th tee at level par for the day, his overnight two shot advantage completely wiped out.
He said: “I was getting a bit disillusioned on the front nine and Billy Foster, my caddie, kept harping on at me.
“Nothing much had happened for me until I reached the 14th. I thought I had birdied the last five yesterday so felt there was no reason why I couldn’t do it again. I knew the situation at the top but the way I’m playing it doesn’t make much difference to me.”
The biggest danger, on paper, to Clarke is Montgomerie, who charged into contention with a seven under par 65. Now the Volvo Order of Merit leader could still pull off his third victory in the space of four weeks.
He confessed: “I’ve got an immense will to win. More than most. The will to win has never left me and hopefully never will. Long may it continue. If anybody thought I was here for an easy week, they’re wrong.”
Carter, who beat Montgomerie in the play-off for the Murphy’s Irish Open last year, advanced his own theory about how to combat the ‘Monty factor’.
“Cut his legs off!” he suggested. “He’s absolutely incredible. I don’t know what to say about him except that he’s incredible. To stop him you’ve got to play very, very well because I can’t see him shooting less than 70 in the same conditions.”
Coltart produced a best of the day 64 to shoot into contention and proclaimed it was the best he had ever played. Bickertson, who shared the first round lead, was slipping backwards until an eagle at the 17th pushed him back into the frame at 11 under.
However it’s Clarke that they all have to catch in the final round, and the stage is set for a thrilling climax to the Compass Group’s first venture into sponsorship of the prestigious English Open title.
