DiMarco leads but Tiger in the hunt
IN: News | US PGA | US Masters (2005) | Round Three | by Bruce Young | 10 Apr 2005
Slowly but surely the 2005 Masters is making up time and when Sunday comes around we are again facing what appears to be another dramatic final day at Augusta.
When play finally finished in round two in the early afternoon today, Chris DiMarco had opened up a four shot lead over Thomas Bjorn with another two back to Tiger Woods. The question mark on everyone's mind would be just how DiMarco, who has been here before, would handle what is shaping up as a charge to the line over the final two rounds. He answered that, in part, almost immediately when he birdied the second and seventh holes to move to 12 under and five ahead of Bjorn and Woods.
Woods was off and running in round three after completing his second round in 66 to go with his opening round 74 and when he reached four under for the day through eight holes he had closed to within four but only briefly as DiMarco too would birdie the 8th soon after to move to 13 under and ahead by five. Woods was not going to let Dimarco out of his sights and birdied the 9th to be again within four at the turn. Woods had reeled off nine birdies in his last eighteen holes and was right where he wanted to be.
Bjorn wasn't going away either. Playing with DiMarco he reached eight under when he birdied the third and although he bogeyed the 7th he bounced back with another birdie at the 8th to get within five again.
The gap back to the others was increasing.
Trevor Immelman, who first played here in 1999 as an amateur after winning the 1998 Public Links Championship in the US, made a big move after opening rounds of 73 and 73. Just two inside the cut mark when he started round three, he birdied six of eight holes from his 4th hole (he started at the 10th) and reached four under before a late bogey at the 6th, just before play was stopped, saw him slip back to three under. When play was halted however it was Vijay Singh, Rod Pampling and Mark Hensby who were in fourth place, nine behind DiMarco and four behind third placed Bjorn.
As the players and the fans leave Augusta tonight they can look forward to a Sunday full of promise and intrigue. Will DiMarco be able to put to rest the talk of his inability to finish things off? Will Tiger win his fourth green jacket? Can somebody come from a long way back to beat them all.
It has been a marvellous week so far for both Australians Pampling and Hensby and beyond, I am sure, even their expectations. Parry too is moving forward reaching five under for the round and two under for the tournament through 13 holes of his third round. Adam Scott is now one under, bouncing back from a morning disaster of sorts when he followed his first round 71 with 76. After an early bogey in round three he is now four under for that round and one under for the tournament.
Like Scott, Appleby disappointed when he finished off his second round with 76 but he bounced back and is now one under for the day and even for the tournament. O'Hern is struggling in round three at six over through 13 holes and six over for the tournament. He has done well however in his first Masters to make the cut as easily as he has.
Lonard and Allenby were the Australian casualties when the cut was made. Allenby was out in 35 and at that stage he was on the cut mark of 4 over. His run home was not so good as he bogeyed the 11th, 14th and 18th to miss by two. Lonard fell away over his final nine after starting the day alongside Allenby at four over with nine to go. His second round of 77 saw him miss by four.
