Dredge leads, Els and Singh chase Dunhill pack

BY iseekgolf.com | European PGA Tour | 2006 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Round Three | 08 Oct 2006

A roller-coaster finish by Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, with two bogeys and a birdie in the last three holes at Carnoustie, allowed Wales’s Bradley Dredge to cling on to a one shot lead going into today’s final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

On a blustery day which made scoring difficult, it looked as if Harrington, who has not won a tournament this year, was poised to overhaul Dredge, who had a two shot lead at the start of play, but he missed from three feet at the 16th, then hit his second shot into a bunker at the 17th to finish with a 68 for a 12 under par three round total of 203.

On his own in third place on nine under par is American Edward Loar, while poised a further shot behind are two of the greatest players in the world, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

The tournament, conceived as a celebration of links golf, is played over three of the world’s best known and respected links courses – the Old Course at St Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links.

Joining the professionals were an enthusiastic group of talented amateur golfers including Marcus Allen, Ian Botham, Zinzan Brooke, Sir Bobby Charlton, Johan Cruyff, Kenny Dalglish, Michael Douglas, Morné du Plessis, Jonathan Edwards, Hugh Grant, Ruud Gullit, Dennis Hopper, Ronan Keating, Kyle MacLachlan, BillMurray, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Richard Ramsay, Sir Steve Redgrave, Tico Torres andMichael Vaughan.

Harrington, winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2002 and one of European golf’s top performers in recent years, made a slow start in 2006 but came roaring back to form with six top-11 finishes in seven weeks during the summer. The highlights of this impressive stretch were runner-up spots at both the French Open and the Booz Allen Classic on the US PGA Tour, as well as fifth place in the US Open at Winged Foot.

He said: “While I was disappointed to make the bogeys, it was a tough, tough golf course. So it was nice to birdie the last and get one back. Tomorrow is going to be another tough day at St Andrews. Bradley is obviously playing well and is the man in form, but there are a lot of guys not far away. I was hoping to make a couple more birdies to try to break away, but that was not to be so we will have to work hard tomorrow.”

Not surprisingly Wales’s Bradley Dredge could not keep up the amazing pace with which he had started the championship. He broke the Old Course record with a 64 on Thursday, then chipped in twice for a 67 at Carnoustie on Friday, but at Kingsbarns he held on tenaciously, despite a bogey six at the 9th for a 71 and a three round 13 under par total of 202.

Dredge, who had chosen not to play a practice round at Kingsbarns, preferring just to walk the course, said: “I feel that to play a course a day in the build-up is a bit too much. I played one course on Tuesday and another one on Wednesday and decided to walk this one. It was difficult to get the ball to the hole today. The greens were firm and there were some big slopes. I will be playing with Padraig tomorrow and he’s a good guy, so I will enjoy that.”

Perhaps the surprise of the day was the failure of some of the other big name players in the field to make their expected move. World No.5 Vijay Singh, who had started the third round three behind, could only manage a one over par 72 at Carnoustie to leave himself five behind, while Ernie Els, World No.6, did a little better with a 71, but he too will still need an excellent final round if he is to win.

Vijay Singh said: “I’ll take a 72. I’m OK overall, but I hope it’s a bit warmer at St Andrews tomorrow. I will try to be focused because it’s possible for me to come through and win from here if I play well.” While Ernie Els added: “I have got to be satisfied with that. Carnoustie is the wrong course to play in the wind. Bradley is playing great and I think I will need a 65 or something like that to win. I have to be patient. You don’t have to make seven birdies in the first seven holes.”

Harrington’s exploits at Carnoustie were matched by his playing partner, Irish businessman and racehorse owner JP McManus. When Harrington won in 2002, the pair also won the team event. This year over three rounds McManus has improved the team score by 13 shots to put them on 25 under and give them a three shot lead over Johan Edfors & Mats Andersson, with Robert Karlsson & Dermot Desmond a further shot back.

JP McManus said: “Playing with Padraig this week has been a joy. I always marvel at the sheer quality of his ball-striking and his professionalism. Today was a very tough day on a course like this, but his score was fantastic and he was so calculating about the way he went about his work. I came in on three holes today, so you can see that the strong man of our partnership was very much Padraig. My main hope for tomorrow is that Padraig can go on and win the individual event. Anything else, from my perspective, would be a bonus.”

Harrington added: “It is always good to focus on the team and do things for the team. That helps the individual score. It certainly helped me in the middle of my round yesterday. When I won with JP a few years ago the team carried me through the middle of that round as well. It certainly helps.”

Defending champion Colin Montgomerie, whose back nine included five bogeys and adouble bogey, missed the cut in the professional competition after an 80 at Carnoustie, and he and his partner, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, were squeezed out of the final day’s play of the team competition on countback, after a three round score of 15 under.

A delighted Tico Torres, drummer of Bon Jovi, playing with Spanish professional Ignacio Garrido, made the cut for the first time with a three round total of 16 under par. He said: “I’ve been playing this tournament since 2001 and this is fantastic. This event is a total highlight of my year as these are my favourite courses in the world. I love playing in Scotland, the unpredictable weather and the natural raw feeling of these links courses and the warmth of the people all make this the best golf experience.”

Don Felder, former member of the Eagles band who wrote Hotel California, had a four under par total and missed the cut. He said: “This is my fourth year in the tournament, which I look forward to playing every year like it’s Christmas. I love meeting everyone involved with the Dunhill, they work hard to make this a spectacular event. I also love the Scottish people who are willing to stand out in the bad weather to watch us play, with big smiles on their faces. To be part of this tournament, the whole thing, is a wonderful experience. The courses are beautiful and St Andrews is legendary.”

Shot of the day came from London film producer Mark Milln, who had his first ever hole-in-one at the 8th at Carnoustie, sinking a 6-iron on the 166 yards hole. He said: “I knew I’d hit it well and it was going to be good but I had no idea how good. I didn’t even see it go in the hole. When I bent down to pick up my tee peg there was a massive eruption in the crowd and my playing partners came over to congratulate me. At the end of the round I bought everyone drinks in the Carnoustie clubhouse.”

While Claire McGonagle, a computer software analyst who won a Fantasy Golf Tournament in The Scotsman newspaper, the first prize for which was a place in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, hit a rescue club 150 yards into the wind to within one inch of the hole at the 11th on the Old Course, with a shot, to give her a net 1. Unfortunately, playing with Francesco Molinari, her team score was 14 under and she missed the cut by one shot.

Source – Alfred Dunhill Links