| Westwood back in front at Open de Andalucia
Defending champion Lee Westwood birdied his first five holes Saturday en route to a six-under 66 and the third-round lead of the Open de Andalucia.
Westwood finished 54 holes at 12-under 204 and is one shot clear at Aloha Golf Club.
"It's nice to make five birdies in a row," acknowledged Westwood. "It's obviously a nice way to start the third round by getting right into contention quickly."
Oliver Fisher (67), Thomas Levet (68) and David Lynn (68) share second place at minus-11. Overnight co-leader Peter Hedblom managed a two-under 70 and is alone in fifth at 10-under 206.
Westwood's amazing start gave him a two-stroke lead, but he parred the next three. He birdied the par-four ninth for the third consecutive round, then tapped in a birdie putt at the par-five 10th.
"Seven-under through 10 is good golf," said Westwood. "It's very hard to keep it going."
Truer words have never been spoken.
Westwood knocked his approach to 35 feet at the 11th, but left himself four feet to save par. He missed the par putt, but gave himself good looks for birdie.
At the 12th, Westwood missed a 15-footer for birdie. Two holes later, the Englishman's eight-foot birdie opportunity stayed above ground, then he three- putted the par-five 16th green for a par.
"The three-putt at 11, missed from short range on 14 and three-putted 16, so if you take away those, you're looking somewhere in the range of 63," admitted Westwood.
He had to hole a clutch eight-footer for par at the 17th, then got up and down for par from the right of the green at the last.
Westwood will be in search of his 19th European Tour win on Sunday. While another trip to the winner's circle would be welcome, Westwood is also preparing for Augusta in two weeks time.
"Any time you're giving yourself a confidence boost is good preparation," said Westwood. "My whole goal for the week, with the Masters in mind, was to come here and get in contention and have a bit of pressure on the last day. That would give me more confidence for Augusta itself."
Fisher, who played with Westwood on Saturday, was flawless in round three with a five birdies and no bogeys. He birdied 16 and 18 to earn another pairing with Westwood on Sunday, this time in the final group.
Levet rolled in a four-footer for birdie at the 16th to tie Westwood at 12- under par. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he failed to convert an 18-footer for par at 17.
Levet had one final chance to join Westwood in the third-round lead, but missed a short birdie putt at the closing hole.
Lynn birdied his last two to get into a share of second place.
Pelle Edberg (69), Michael Jonzon (69), Alexander Noren (68) and Patrik Sjoland (68) are knotted in sixth place at nine-under-par 207.
Matthew Millar, who shared the second-round lead with Hedblom, only posted an even-par 72 on Saturday and is alone in 10th place at eight-under-par 208. |