Uphill struggle for Lyle after double-bogey start, as Rose slips further back off the pace

Published on Sunday 13 April 2008 00:09

SANDY Lyle didn't exactly leave you in any doubt as to how he felt after he started his third round with a double bogey. "I was looking forward to it but after the first hole you just want to vomit. I made a bit of a botch of it and that six started the trend for the day," said the 1988 champion.

Lyle finished with a 78 to fall into joint last place of the 44 survivors and admitted to feeling frustrated overall at the way he has scored this week.

"The course is playing quite long and I hit a lot of poor shots and three bogeys to finish rubbed salt in the wounds. I bogeyed the 16th for the third day in a row. It was just messy. There was nothing I could really feed off.

"I am happy with the way I've turned the corner in terms of hitting the ball. I've needed that for the last couple of years instead of flapping at the ball and mistiming it and hurting my hands through distortion through the impact. I seem to have cured the sore knuckles and the direction is getting there. If I'd made some putts it would have helped. I'm disappointed. I really thought I could get round in 71 or 72 today."

As bad as Lyle felt, there was always somebody worse. In this case, that man was Justin Rose who recorded a third round 73. "I had two three-putt bogeys in the first six holes," said Rose. "I hit the ball nicely but just didn't get going. It was really hard work. Lack of adrenaline, yes. Big time. I came out with positive thoughts but I just found it hard to grind it out. I did my best to relax and try and make the best of the situation and made a few birdies coming in."

For Rose, all the damage was done on Friday. "That was a funny round," he said. "I hit every fairway, killed it off the tee. Technically, everything was in perfect shape but obviously there was a slight mental adjustment over the two days. The game didn't go anywhere overnight. I just struggled to frame it up right in my mind.

"What was I playing for today? Respectability I suppose. Working my way into a position where you can say it wasn't too bad a week. There is always stuff to play for – Ryder Cup points and World Ranking points."