Home win blown off the course

BARRY Lane and Des Smyth, two of the players breathing down the neck of defending champion Glenn Ralph, both have added incentives heading into the final round of the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open at Fairmont St Andrews, where the home challenge was blown off course yesterday in blustery conditions.

For Lane, the carrot is the chance to complete a notable double in the home of golf, the Englishman's CV already including a victory in the 1988 Scottish Open at Gleneagles, where he beat Sandy Lyle into second place in a field that also included the likes of Fred Couples, Mark O'Meara, Payne Stewart and Tom Kite.

Playing in only his fourth Senior Tour event after turning 50 in June, Lane put himself in contention for a 37,500 top prize in Fife after signing for a second-round 71 on the Torrance Course for a four-under-par total of 140. He's one shot behind Ralph, who birdied the last to put himself at the top of the leaderboard, with Smyth, DJ Russell and Chris Williams all lying a further stroke adrift heading into the final circuit.

"I have great memories of Gleneagles and it would be nice to win in Scotland for a second time," said Lane after being reminded of that triumph on the Kings Course 22 years ago. Unlike most others in this week's field, the former Ryder Cup man is also still dipping his toe in the European Tour. Indeed, he's heading back to Perthshire later this week for the Johnnie Walker Championship.

"I've played since 1986 and I saw that Martin Kaymer overtook me last week (on the all-time career money-list] after just three years," noted Lane, after signing for a card that contained four birdies.

Smyth, 57, from Drogheda, has been around the senior circuit a lot longer than Lane, recording the first of two wins in 2005, the same year he lost to Tom Watson in a play-off at the Senior Open Championship at Royal Aberdeen. His bid to catch Ralph today will be fuelled by the opportunity to join an exclusive club, the Irishman being keen to extend a sequence that has seen him win in the 70s, 80s, 90s and the noughties.

"Whether it is here or somewhere else, it is definitely something I'd like to do," admitted Smyth. "I don't know of many people who have achieved it (winning in five different decades]. There's probably only ten in the world and maybe only Gary Player and Neil Coles on this side of the Atlantic so that would be nice."

Three off the pace at the start of the day, Smyth made his move with three birdies in five holes from the fourth.He gave one back at the 11th then birdied the 12th and 13th and would have been in an even better position going into the final round but for a double-bogey 6 at the 15th.

"That spoiled my day as I played well," he said after signing for a two-under-par 70. "I hit a great drive and was only going in with a wedge. I thought I had hit a good shot but it ballooned up in the wind and ended up plugged in a bunker."

Ralph, 54, from Camberley, birdied two of the last three holes as he stayed on course to become only the second player since Tommy Horton (1993 and 1997) to win this title twice. "We were hanging on out there today," said the leader. "The balls were flying around everywhere with that cross wind. It was one of those rounds when you just keep thinking the greens are not big enough."

On a day when most of the Scots in the field slipped down the leaderboard - Ross Drummond (76) and Andrew Oldcorn (75) are lying in a tie for 23rd on three-over - Sam Torrance ended up more frustrated than most after coming off the course he designed. "I can't win now," he said of a 77 that left him on four-over. "I hit the ball beautifully again but this game drives you bloody demented."