Darren Clarke ended his 36th birthday on Saturday needing one of the rounds of his
life to become Ireland's first winner of a major title since Fred Daly in 1947.
And part of the reason for that was a return of the dreaded shank.
Clarke is joint third, but four strokes behind Vijay Singh with 18 holes to go
in the United States PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
And he might have had some trouble sleeping after sending his tee shot to the
short 17th some 70 yards right of the green.
"It was outrageous - as good a shank as you are likely to see," he said.
The Ryder Cup star was just two off the lead at the time and while he had to
laugh about the incident - as he did eventually about aiming at the wrong
television tower as he took a double bogey seven in the second round - it also
brought back some horrid memories.
Clarke was lying second in the 1997 Open when something similar happened on
the second hole of the final round, he had another en route to missing the cut
in the Scottish Open last month and then a week later, on the Open's return to
Troon, he shanked a chip almost at right angles.
He got out of the hole this time with a bogey four, but a level-par 72 was not
what the doctor ordered after he went into the third round just one off the
pace.
Singh, seeking his third major title and second PGA crown, shot 69 to reach 12
under par and is one ahead of Justin Leonard after the American, the man who
pushed Clarke into second place at Troon seven years ago, failed to get up and
down from sand on the last.
Alongside Clarke is Ernie Els, still in with a chance of ending Tiger Woods'
five-reign reign as world number one, Masters champion Phil Mickelson after a
joint best-of-the-day 67, fellow American Chris Riley and Trinidad-born Stephen
Ames.
Brian Davis re-ignited his Ryder Cup hopes with a 69 for six under and a tie
for ninth, but fellow Englishman Luke Donald bogeyed the last two holes to drop
back alongside Padraig Harrington on five under.
Australian Stuart Appleby held the clubhouse lead earlier on at five under,
but his par five on the 16th was changed to a quadruple bogey nine after he was
questioned about playing out of sand after a wild drive.
The 33-year-old thought that where he was he was able to move a piece of loose
grass and ground his club, but he could not and each act cost him two strokes.
It was not the only nine of the day. Colin Montgomerie had one on the long
fifth en route to a 78 that put him out of the race for the title and also
damaged his hopes of climbing Europe's Ryder Cup table.
With Bernhard Langer then saying he had not made up his mind on his two wild
cards yet that was bad news indeed for the Scot.
Montgomerie drove into water, put his next in a bunker, then found rough and
compounded it all by three-putting.
It led to the 40-year-old finishing seven over par and close to last of the 73
players who had survived the halfway cut.
Montgomerie is favourite for a Ryder Cup pick from his former partner Langer,
but the German said: "There are a lot of the guys playing well and I would much
rather have that than nobody.
"The bad thing is that I am going to have some disappointed ones who do not
make it, but it is the same race for everybody - they all had 12 months to
qualify.
"If you are not in the top 10 there are no guarantees. All I can tell you is
that I have not made up my mind."
Montgomerie has to climb from 21st to 10th in the standings to be an automatic
selection and there are only two more counting events to come.
On his nine he commented: "It knocked the wind out of me - it really hurt. I
hit the drive 15 yards right of where I was aiming.
"One bad shot and there has to be a lake in the way. It is amazing. But never
mind, I will try again in the next round.
"There is nothing wrong with my game. A couple of shots get away here and you
run up a high number."
Langer was certainly right about several cup candidates playing well, but
several were not able to put the finishing touches to their day's work.
Davis bogeyed the last, Donald the last two and Paul McGinley, after turning
in 32 and reaching six under, fell back to three under.
Harrington did play the last six in three under, but he had earlier had a
seven on the fifth and six at the 618-yard 12th.
David Howell, currently eighth in the cup race, bogeyed the last for a 70
playing with Langer and with a round to play stood two under, while one further
back was Ian Poulter, ninth in the standings, but like Howell currently not in
the field for next week's NEC World Championship in Akron.
Poulter also shot 70, but was looking for better than that. The Milton Keynes
golfer is 61st on the world rankings and reckons he needs a top 10 finish to
climb into the top 50 and therefore qualify for Firestone.
"I probably need six under in the final round now," commented Poulter. "But
I am not going to hang around for the last man to finish - I am booked on a
flight home and hopefully I will get off the other end and come all the way
back.
"That is not a problem. I sleep very well in first-class!"
Woods, having birdied two of his last three holes in the second round to make
the cut, resumed with three more in the first five.
Joint 104th after his opening 75, he climbed all the way to 14th. The world
number one did bogey the seventh, but pitched to five feet two holes later and
then had his fifth birdie of the day on the long 11th.
A second bogey did follow on the next, though, and after a second successive
69 for three under he knew he was dependent on the leaders falling back to have
a chance.
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