Clarke retains victory hope
Darren Clarke was given a glimmer of hope today as he tried to prevent France’s Raphael Jacquelin running away with the Madrid Open.
Without a victory in 237 European tour events – England’s John Bickerton picked up his first title at the 287th attempt last week – Jacquelin resumed three ahead at Club de Campo.
With a hat-trick of birdies from the third he doubled his lead and after adding another birdie at the long seventh the 31-year-old from Lyon pitched to two feet on the next.
However, Clarke had also birdied the seventh and after he made a six-footer for another at the eighth Jacquelin missed his tiny putt.
It left them 18 under par and 13 under par respectively – and the gap then came back to four when the former French amateur champion pulled his tee shot to the short ninth and failed to get up and down.
In fact, it could have been three as Clarke lipped out for birdie from 10 feet.
In third place on 12 under was Portugal’s Jose-Filipe Lima, while sharing fourth spot were 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, Holland’s Robert-Jan Derksen and English pair Stuart Little and Philip Archer.
Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam was 10 under, while Order of Merit leader Colin Montgomerie, 10 adrift at halfway despite a second round 66, had moved up to nine under with three to play.
Anything he earns this weekend can make the 42-year-old’s task easier at the Volvo Masters in two weeks’ time.
Michael Campbell and Retief Goosen are the only two players who can deny him a record eighth money list crown and he is already £90,000 and £207,000 behind, but first prize at Valderrama is over £450,000.
Montgomerie bogeyed the 12th, his third, but hit a driver off the deck to 18 inches for an eagle at the 14th, birdied the short 17th and had three more in a row from the fourth to leap into a tie for 11th.
Archer, from Warrington, lies 118th on the Order of Merit and is fighting to stay on the circuit with only one event left.
Only the top 115 keep their cards, but that will go to 116 because Indian Jyoti Randhawa is an affiliate member and both John Daly and Australian Peter Lonard are about to come off the money list because they are not going to play the required 11 events for inclusion.
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