Elkington keeps heat on Mickelson
The climax to the final major of the season resumed on time this morning after Sunday thunderstorms forced it into an extra day.
Phil Mickelson, one ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Steve Elkington overnight, made his two-footer on the 14th to stay four under par and then parred the 15th as well.
But Bjorn, in the rough on the 15th when he set off again, bogeyed it and fell two behind alongside Tiger Woods and Davis Love.
Elkington’s first shot was on the difficult 230-yard 16th, but he parred it to keep the heat on Mickelson.
As for British pair – indeed Nottinghamshire pair – Lee Westwood and Greg Owen, all that was required of them was to finish out on the 18th green.
They had blown their hopes yesterday, but while Owen missed a 14-footer and signed for an 80 – the most disappointing round of his career – Westwood did at least make his 10-footer for birdie and a 75.
Woods, of course, was powerless to affect the outcome over 72 holes, having posted his two-under total before the suspension.
But he hung around in the faint hope that the three players ahead of him overnight – Mickelson, Bjorn and Elkington – might come back to him and that Singh, Love and Goosen would not go past him.
Since he was second in the US Open, a mere two strokes behind shock winner Michael Campbell, it has been a year to remember for the world number one, who began it as world number two behind Singh.
This was one remarkable effort. He was 113th after his opening 75, 62nd after a 69 (he had to birdie the last hole to make the cut), 20th after adding a Saturday 66 and then not out of it when it went into an extra day.
Woods had three penalty drops – one from a ditch at the 18th in round one, one from the lake at the fourth in round two and one from bushes at the sixth in round four – and he had five three-putts, as he did at the US Open.
Vijay Singh had resumed on the 16th, but his bogey there left him three adrift of Mickelson.
When the left-hander went in sand with his own tee shot to the 16th, however, and got a terrible lie there was still hope for all those chasing.
Goosen started off with a 70-yard pitch to the 17th, but failed to get up and down and remained one under, three behind.
Mickelson splashed out 20 feet from the flag and never got the line on the putt. His bogey brought him back to three under, level with Elkington and one ahead of Woods, Bjorn and Love.
Elkington ‘only’ parred the long 17th.
Just as Elkington hooked into the trees on the 18th and kicked out into the fairway, Bjorn made a 15-footer on the 17th.
And that brought about a three-way tie at the top. After losing the 2003 Open by dropping four shots in the last four holes he was so close to making wonderful amends.
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