Immelman to fore as Tiger lurks

Published on 12/04/2008 19:56

JUST before 2pm yesterday a mass of people gathered at the first tee at Augusta National waiting for Tiger Woods. To say there was expectation in the air was putting it mildly.

There was a sense of giddiness, a feeling that comes with the sure-fire belief that Woods had to make a move to get himself into this tournament, to keep his dream of a Grand Slam on track. One thing was certain in the minds of those elbowing each other out of the way to catch a glimpse, the world No.1 would attack whenever possible. The atmosphere was electrifying.

An hour's rain in mid-morning softened up Augusta's greens and left them vulnerable to a Tiger charge. And charge he did. He hit the field with his best round in the Masters in three years, a 68 that has put him back in the hunt, albeit still trailing the remarkable South African, Trevor Immelman, who holds a strong two-shot lead over the field and six shots on Woods and who seems to have an unflappable will going into the final day.

Immelman's story has been told a lot this week; a cancer scare in December, an operation that left him with a seven-inch incision across his back and a head full of perspective about the importance of golf in his life. The morphine knocked him out for a little while, six weeks he reckons, but he's here now and better than ever. He hasn't played much golf but what we've seen from him this week has been gorgeous. His iron-play yesterday was exquisite, his putting unerring, his patience hugely important in his climb to the top.

He caught a lucky break on the 15th when his approach to the par-five looked set for the water after coming up short of the green and trickling down the bank. How it hung on, God only knows. But he deserved the luck. He had a six-footer for par on that 15th green and you didn't think for a second that he was going to miss. He looked that assured.

The precision of his irons as typified by a glorious closing birdie for a 69 and 11-under may convince the doubters. Maybe this guy is too much even for Tiger. It would be one of the more remarkable victories we have seen here, given the state of his health a few months ago. He said he was "skulling" and "duffing" chips in his back garden at Lake Nona when he came home from hospital five months back. Now he leads the Masters with one round to play.

We don't know how Immelman will stand up to Tiger breathing down his neck but he can calm himself with the certainty that he's been through worse things this year. As well as Tiger he's got Paul Casey for company. The Englishman had a 69 for 7-under and is right there, right up close if he's good enough to seize the moment. Brandt Snedeker and Steve Flesch are close, too, but the eyes of the golf world will be on Woods, Casey and Immelman this evening.

Woods's presence is ominous, not just for the clearly improving feel he has on greens that have caused him untold heartache all week, not just because his game looked more in control yesterday than it did on Thursday and Friday but also because on those occasions when Woods got himself into bad spots he did some remarkable things.

Woods covered the first ten holes in 2-under par, a pair of birdies that brought him to 3-under for the tournament. Now we saw something we hadn't seen all week. Up there on the leaderboard popped the name of T Woods, three shots away from missing the cut on Friday and closing in on the pace-setters on Saturday. There was much work to do then and there still is now but when Woods makes a move in the third round of a major his soundtrack could be that threatening music from Jaws, that moody theme that warns of impending danger.

If Woods's authority wasn't evident enough in the first 17 holes, however, we had a ridiculous example of the shots in his locker on the final hole. Just like the 18th on Friday, Tiger put his drive in the trees. Just like Friday he required a miraculous effort to escape with par. Just like Friday he executed. He got lucky, it has to be said. Oh so lucky. He had a shot, albeit an outrageously testing one. Up and over the trees he went with an 8-iron, a stratospheric hit that found the green. His first putt came up 8ft short and he holed-out from there. How critical that eight footer might prove to be today.

"I hit so many good putts that skirted the hole," said Woods later. "I've put myself right back in the tournament. I think I hit just one bad shot in my entire round today, that was the drive on the 18th. So that's not bad. I feel my game is better. I'd like to be leading but I'm in good position. I'm happy where I am and I'm looking forward to the final round."

One of the best known stats in golf is the one that says Woods does not win majors when coming from behind. That one will be put to the test again today in what should be an absorbing day. Casey, too, had the bit between his teeth in the aftermath. Smiling all day out on the golf course he still wore a broad grin when he said his few words.

Clearly, he is a contented man, comfortable in the limelight. "You know, I've got a way of plotting my way around this golf course and I have a lot of good shots in my locker so, yeah, I'm very easy with where I'm at, I'm not nervous or daunted. I'm just looking forward to getting back out there and hopefully making some more birdies. I know I can. My game is in very good shape and my confidence levels are very high. If Trevor keeps going the way he is then he'll take an awful lot of catching but I'll be trying my hardest and we'll see what happens."

Casey has every right to feel good about his chances. His performance yesterday was of the highest class. He took 32 shots to the turn (4-under) and in truth he could have done it in 30 having missed a makeable birdie putt on the first and making something of a mess of a great opportunity on the par-five 5th when taking three to get down from the front of the green having got there in two lusty blows. Even when Casey had a few hairy moments with errant drives on the 13th and 15th (that cost him a shot) he bounced straight back with a 10ft birdie on the 16th. Never before have we seen him so composed at this stage of a major championship.

These are the frontrunners but there is a chasing pack of high quality. If the leaders looked over their shoulders they'd see Stewart Cink, Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Zach Johnson (the defending champion shot 68) and Padraig Harrington (69). As play unfolded, the feeling hardened that these guys are too far removed from the real action now, just too many strokes behind and too much traffic ahead of them. That view gained credence when Immelman came up the 18th and stiffed his second shot tight to the pin. At 11-under he will, indeed, take some catching.

But Woods is lurking. Always lurking.

LEADERBOARD

Completed totals after three rounds at The Masters, Augusta National, Georgia. USA unless otherwise stated, par 72.

205 (11 under)

Trevor Immelman (RSA) 68 68 69

207

Brandt Snedeker 69 68 70

208

Steve Flesch 72 67 69

209

Paul Casey (Eng) 71 69 69

211

Tiger Woods 72 71 68

212

Stewart Cink 72 69 71

214

Robert Karlsson (Swe) 70 73 71

Sean O'Hair 72 71 71

Zach Johnson 70 76 68

Andres Romero (Arg) 72 72 70

Boo Weekley 72 74 68

Padraig Harrington (Irl) 74 71 69

Retief Goosen (RSA) 71 71 72

Ian Poulter (Eng) 70 69 75

Phil Mickelson 71 68 75

215

Vijay Singh (Fij) 72 71 72

Lee Westwood (Eng) 69 73 73

Arron Oberholser 71 70 74

216 (level par)

J.B. Holmes 73 70 73

Jim Furyk 70 73 73

Adam Scott (Aus) 75 71 70

Mike Weir (Can) 73 68 75

217

Nick Watney 75 70 72

Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 74 72

Nick Dougherty (Eng) 74 69 74

Brian Bateman 69 76 72

Stephen Ames (Can) 70 70 77

218

Justin Leonard 72 74 72

Robert Allenby (Aus) 72 74 72

Bubba Watson 74 71 73

Angel Cabrera (Arg) 73 72 73

Richard Sterne (Rsa) 73 72 73

Stuart Appleby (Aus) 76 70 72

Henrik Stenson (Swe) 74 72 72

219

Justin Rose (Eng) 68 78 73

Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 77 70 72

David Toms 73 74 72

220

Johnson Wagner 72 74 74

221

Niclas Fasth (Swe) 75 70 76

222

Ian Woosnam (Wal) 75 71 76

Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 75 71 76

Todd Hamilton 74 73 75

224

Heath Slocum 71 76 77

225

KJ Choi (Kor) 72 75 78

Sandy Lyle (Sco) 72 75 78