Jacobson keeps cup hopes alive
Swede Fredrik Jacobson charged into a share of the lead as he tried to grab a Ryder Cup place in Munich today.
Joint fifth overnight, Jacobson birdied three of the first five holes to join Thomas Levet and Miguel Angel Jimenez on 15 under par and with Ian Poulter - ninth in the standings – running up a double-bogey seven on the sixth to drop to seven under and outside the top 40 he was suddenly the one in danger.
That was because 10th-placed Paul McGinley, level for the day after a bogey at the second and birdie on the fifth, was doing well enough at joint 11th in the tournament to go past Poulter.
Meanwhile, Ulsterman Graeme McDowell, who had to win to have a chance of making the team, played the first 16 holes in nine under. But at 12 under and joint seventh it all looked in vain as far as the cup was concerned.
Jacobson had a fourth birdie at the seventh, but was only third as Jimenez had a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth and Levet matched him at two of them.
Poulter, who just missed out on a cup place three years ago, was in severe danger of a repeat when he took a calamitous quadruple bogey eight on the 472-yard 10th.
He was down to joint 56th, but even if he failed to improve on that Jacobson had to finish fourth to go past him on the points table.
McDowell, having eagled the ninth and 11th, missed his long putt for another on the 568-yard last, but the birdie gave him a 62. It did not equal the course record, however, as preferred lies were back in operation.
“A little too late,” he said in a reference to his cup bid.
