Sweet and very low

LOCH Lomond was left utterly defenceless for a third consecutive day of bright, unnatural, sunshine yesterday, the abiding image not being of any birdie or eagle - quite frankly, there were just too many to remember - but of Colin Montgomerie coming in after his round, head down in silent contemplation at what might have been.

Monty shot 66, a highly commendable score but one that did little to wipe the look of resignation off his face. On his way to the recorder's hut his gait was so stooped that he almost walked into a tree. He'll have to keep his head held higher today if he is to stand any chance of getting in the shake-up.

This has become a murderous tournament where conditions are so conducive to low scoring that a bogey can sometimes sink a man into a deep depression. The par around Loch Lomond is 71 but anything above 68 yesterday was deemed ordinary. In the absence of the traditional gale, the course is easier than any of these pros have ever seen it, soft and receptive with not a whiff of wind in the air. The greens were so giving that you could attack the pins all day, safe in the knowledge that if you didn't get a birdie on one hole you wouldn't have to wait too long for another opportunity. They could take the pins out altogether today and let the players guess where the hole is but even still they'd find a way of going low.

Maarten Lafeber, the unproven Dutchman, and Tim Clark, the gritty South African, lead the field on 15-under but the bunching behind them is akin to a sprint finish in the Tour de France or the crazed dash to the first at Aintree. Alastair Forsyth and Angel Cabrera are one shot behind with Adam Scott, Darren Clarke and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee a further two strokes back. Clark reckons that anybody from 9-under and up has a chance of winning today and if he's right then that leaves 23 players left standing. Certainly the London punter who put 10,000 on Cabrera's nose the other day will be sweating. The big Cordoban is in fine fettle but the traffic around him is severe.

"With conditions like this, another 9-under would do it," said Clark, and the way he is playing there is little doubt that he can do it. He is, after all, the form South African at the moment, ahead of Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and the struggling Retief Goosen. Clark has already won once this season, in his national Open, and slipped under the radar into third at Pinehurst. He said he found his swing that week and has been a different man since. "I feel like every part of my game is there," he said.

Lafeber is an unheralded sort and is easy to dismiss even though he is in the box-seat along with Clark. One tournament win doesn't inspire confidence but, then, his play this week has exceptional, a total contrast to the self-doubt that dogged him in recent times. "Last year was a rough year. I didn't play well. I was swinging the club terrible and I didn't feel comfortable on the golf course."

As impressive as his turnaround has been it would be a surprise if the Dutchman beat off a field of this quality. Looking for clues not just for the outcome this evening but for St Andrews, Clark provided some and Clarke provided others.

The Ulsterman is struggling with his ball-striking and is getting by on the back of his putter which has been as hot as the midday sun this week. He cooled a little yesterday, when he shot 69, but he is still capable of streaks of scoring that are simply outrageous.

Clarke birdied three of the first four holes yesterday and looked set to have the kind of day only a few players are capable of. Remember he shot 60 at the K Club a few years back and for the briefest moment memories of that day came flooding back.

He couldn't sustain that level of scoring but Clarke is poised and if he can sort out his iron-play in a week then he can play a major part in the Open.

The low round, and the real fireworks, belonged to Scott, the immensely likeable and supremely talented Australian. Scott really should be a consistent contender for the major championships at this stage of his career. He admitted after his splendid 64 that he has been struggling with his putter for a month now but he regained his touch yesterday.

"I needed that," he said. "The most pleasing aspect of the round was the fact that I started making some putts at last. I had to shoot low to stand a chance because the conditions favour great scoring. The conditions are just perfect out there, the best I've seen anywhere since, maybe, the British Open at St Andrews five years ago."

Scott said he will approach St Andrews this week with a better mindset than before any other major he has played in. "I'm taking my best golf in which is something I haven't really done before." If he was to continue his build-up to the Open by working his way through the congestion today and winning the title then even Tiger Woods would sit up and take note. In the apparent absence of a major challenge from Phil Mickelson and Goosen, who both slumped to level par 71s yesterday, Scott's odds are shortening for St Andrews. He'll surely be behind only Woods and possibly Vijay Singh in the betting should he succeed Thomas Levet as champion of Scotland.