DAY THREE STATS AND REVIEW

Euro Players Score Fairways GIR Putts 1 Clarke 69 11 11 29 2 Bjorn MC - - - 3 Harrington 74 8 12 33 4 Fulke 72 6 12 30 5 Westwood 71 9 11 28 6 Montgomerie 73 10 13 31 7 P Price 71 8 8 25 8 McGinley 72 7 11 28 9 Coltart 70 10 9 27 10 Olazabal 73 5 8 28 11 Garcia 67 11 11 26 12 Parnevik 71 11 13 31   Averages: 71.18 8.72 10.81 28.72

USA Players Score Fairways GIR Putts 1 Woods 73 7 11 31 2 Mickelson 72 7 15 35 3 Love III 74 6 9 26 4 Duval 65 10 12 25 5 Calcavecchia 72 8 16 34 6 Hoch MC - - - 7 Cink 72 7 10 30 8 Lehman MC - - - 9 Durant MC - - - 10 Furyk MC - - - 11 Faxon 74 8 11 33 12 Toms MC - - -   Averages: 71.71 7.57 12.00 30.57

SUMMMARY

Even with the cut reducing the Americans to just seven players, the patterns of the first two days repeated themselves.

The Europeans shot lower, drove the ball straighter and putted better while the Americans hit more greens.

On the scoring front, Europe's edge was slight - 71.18 against 71.71 - but the American average was distorted by David Duval's brilliant 65. All the other six US stars shot over par.

Duval's driving and putting also saved the Americans from a larger margin of defeat in those categories.

Duval was the only one of the remaining US seven to hit double figures in the driving accuracy stats while, in contrast, five of the 11 Europeans hit 10 or more fairways.

On the greens, there were some woeful efforts on the American side with Phil Mickelson taking 35 putts, Mark Calcavecchia 34 and the usually brilliant Brad Faxon 33.

For the Europeans seven out of 11 took under 30 as they averaged 28.72. Even 25 from Duval and 26 from Davis Love couldn't stop the American average climbing into the 30s for the third successive day. They will really have to improve their collective putting effort at the Belfry.

Once again, the Americans hit more greens in the right number - Mark Calcavcchia the most laser-like with a hugely impressive 16 out of 18.

So for the third day running, Europe have proved they have the edge over their much-fancied US rivals.

Although the Americans had the star of the show in David Duval, they still aren't scoring well as a team.

And that could spell big trouble for them in the Ryder Cup.

EUROPE

Darren Clarke (69): The Ulsterman played really well all day but got a few bad breaks at key times in his round. The one area of his game that he will be looking to improve on will be his putting with Clarke taking 29 putts – missing some good birdie chances that could prove costly. He would have liked to hit more than nine fairways out of 14, although he did manage to hit 11 greens in regulation. Overall, he looked in good form and proved today he is valuable member of the European Ryder Cup team.

Colin Montgomerie (73): Monty’s putting was his Achilles heel today, with the Scot putting particularly poorly on the front nine. Overall, he took 31 putts which is the main reason he was unable to keep hold of the lead at the end of the third day. His driving was up to it’s usual high standard, hitting ten fairways out of 14. He managed to hit 13 greens in regulation and has every chance of landing his first major on Sunday – something that would give him huge amounts of confidence ahead of September’s Ryder Cup clash.

Jesper Parnevik (71): Showed his battling qualities today to bounce back from a four putt at the eighth to stay in contention. Obviously, the four putt affected his stats, with the Swede taking 31 putts for the round. He once again stated that he is striking the ball well, and this showed in that he hit 11 fairways from 14, and 13 greens in regulation. Remains in confident mood ahead of the final round, and has every chance of winning – something that would grant him an automatic Ryder Cup place.

Lee Westwood (71): Again there were good and bad points in his round, although there was probably more good than bad. He seems to be swinging the club a lot better than he has done in recent months and hit 11 greens in regulation. He would like to hit more fairways, only nine today, although he did improve his putting from the first two days – taking 28. His game seems to be on the up and hopefully come September he will be just about to return to his form of last year.

Padraig Harrington (74): A disappointing day for the Irish man, with his putting the main problem. He took 33 putts in his third round and hit only eight fairways out of 14. He did manage to find 12 greens which was the best part of his game, but his inability to build on yesterday’s performance was the main downside. To compete with the very best in the world he has to improve this aspect of his game, and hopefully before we arrive at the Belfry in just two months time.

Jose Maria Olazabal (73): “I didn’t putt well again today, my iron play was no good, so it’s difficult to score,” said Olazabal. And that just about sums it up for the Spaniard who hit a miserable five fairways out of 14. He managed only eight greens in regulation and missed too many good birdie chances. Seems at the moment unable to string two good rounds together – and as one of the main players in the European Ryder Cup team this is a big worry.

Pierre Fulke (72): A bad day for the Swede with his driving the main problem in that he hit only six fairways. He did manage to hit 12 greens in regulation but also had a bad day with the putter – taking 30 putts. However, he remains in contention at five under par, and lets remember that their have been a lot more good points than bad ones to have come out of his performances this week.

Sergio Garcia: Garcia bounced back in great fashion today with his putting back to it’s best. He hit just 26 putts and made many pressure putts for both birdies and pars. Solid off the tee hitting 11 fairways out of 14, and this meant he could hit more greens – 11 to be precise. Highlighted that he truly is a world class player and his enthusiasm and genuine battling qualities making him a lethal weapon for Sam Torrance’s team.

Phillip Price (71): Price managed to hit level par thanks to one thing – his putter. Took just 25 putts today, although this does not tell the full truth in that he hit a lot of short chips to the pin after managing to find just eight greens in regulation. This week has shown that he needs to improve his driving, but apart from that he looks a reliable player who will give his best even when things aren’t going his way – a good attitude for Ryder Cup golf.

Paul McGinley (72): Blew it again after getting into serious contention! For the third day running he made a poor finish to his round, with the pressure seeming to get to him. This is a problem that has to be rectified if he is to make a positive impact at the Ryder Cup – where pressure is the name of the game. His iron shots to the green were solid enough, but his driving was disappointing with the Irish man hitting only seven of the 14 fairways. Touch on the green was okay – taking 28 putts – but can’t get away from the fact that he is liable to crack at any time.

Andrew Coltart (70): Another feisty display from the young Scot hitting a, one under par round 70, after a terrible start. Took 27 putts which was the best aspect of his play on Saturday, although he was also solid in that he hit ten out of 14 fairways. Let himself down in that he hit only half the greens in regulation.

USA

Tiger Woods (73): Despite being paired with great buddy Mark O'Meara, Tiger just couldn't produce the goods on Saturday. His driving was wild at times as he tried to chase birdies and he ended with a hugely disappointing 73. "It definitely wasn't my A game, not even close to that. I wasn't feeling comfortable with my swing," said Tiger and the stats proved it as he hit just seven fairways. He hit four less greens (11) than he did when shooting 68 on Friday and he couldn't save himself with the putter as he took 31 strokes.

David Duval (65): A sparkling effort from Duval as he moved to the top of the leaderboard after starting the day seven back. The key was his putting. “I am putting great again. There has been quite some time since I’ve had that feeling,” said Duval after taking just 25 putts – seven fewer than yesterday. For the third day running he found 12 greens, and 10 fairways was also a solid effort off the tee. Duval proved yet again today that he is one of the key men in the US Ryder Cup team.

Phil Mickelson (72): Lefty’s putter went stone cold today and he slipped completely out of contention as a result. After taking just 29 on Thursday and Friday, Mickelson needed 35 putts today and that is not good enough. He was also wayward off the tee, hitting just seven fairways. Hitting 15 greens was an excellent effort but he never really peppered the flag and that contributed to his hefty putting stats. Today’s round did little to dispel the theory that Mickelson can sometimes disappear when the heat is on.

Davis Love (74): Although he took just 26 putts, his wayward play from tee to green condemned Love to a 74. It was a big disappointment for the 1997 USPGA champion after he got himself back in the tournament with a second round 67. Love hit just six fairways (five worse than Friday) and nine greens (two worse) so he was clearly unhappy with his ball striking.

Stewart Cink (72): Cink, who dined at Pizza Express with his wife on Friday night, will have been fairly cheesed off with his performance on Saturday after a one over 72. It was the third successive day he’d failed to break par. He hit only seven fairways and needed 30 putts after hitting 10 greens so all in all it was a fairly lacklustre day. Cink showed in the US Open he is capable of playing at a high level but he may still be haunted by his mishap on the final green.

Mark Calcavecchia: It was a day of extremes in a statistical sense for the former Open champion. Calcavecchia hit a remarkable 16 of 18 greens in the right number but he just couldn’t convert his chances and took a whopping 34 putts – seven more than yesterday. Hitting so many greens was particularly impressive as he only found eight fairways. If Calc puts it all together he can go on the sort of hotstreak that saw him win by eight in Phoenix back in January but in his current form it’s hard to predict what hand he will deal.

Brad Faxon (74): It's a rare day when Faxon take 34 putts so it was no surprise that his unusually poor performance on the greens condemned him to a 74. Hitting eight greens and 11 fairways was similar to his Thursday performance but that day he took just 27 putts and carded a 68. The Americans will need his putting to be sharp for the Belfry.