Golf
Casey’s chance is gone
PAUL Casey became a victim of
the Rules of Golf as hopes of another
European winner of the
Masters faded fast at blustery
Augusta.
While South African Trevor
Immelman overcame a nervy
start and was on track to win his
first major title - he led American
Brandt Snedeker and Steve
Flesch by four after seven holes
of his final round - it all started
to go wrong for Casey on the
short fourth.
When he birdied the third
with a superb pitch to three feet
in the difficult conditions Casey
was in joint third place with lefthander
Flesch.
But then he took two to get out
of a greenside bunker, doublebogeyed
and promptly bogeyed
the next three holes.
It was during that run that he
called a penalty on himself when
his ball moved after he had addressed
it on the sixth green -
the second time that had happened
to a player during the
tournament.
Down to three under par and
nine adrift of Immelman, Casey
was in a tie for sixth with Open
champion Padraig Harrington,
who threatened to get into contention
when he birdied the second
and third, but then followed
five successive pars with a bogey
on the ninth.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, was
still waiting to ignite his lastday
bid for a fifth green jacket,
14th major and, of course, the
first leg of a Grand Slam he described
in January as easily
within reason''.
Six behind at the start of play
he missed a three-footer to bogey
the fourth.
But he got it back with an iron to
five feet at the sixth, but failed to
birdie either of the two par-fives
on the front nine.
Woods was five under and joint
fourth with Stewart Cink.
Snedeker was Immelman's
closest challenger overnight and
after matching the Cape Town
golfer's bogey on the first he
jumped alongside him with a 30-
foot putt on the next for only the
second eagle there of the event..
However, Snedeker bogeyed
the next and let further shots go
on the sixth and seventh.
Immelman, who strengthened
his grip with a marvellous approach
to two feet at the 455-yard
fifth, could have stretched his advantage
to five on the seventh,
but missed from three feet.
Ian Poulter had high hopes of
getting into contention when he
started with birdie putts of 20
and 15 feet to climb to four under,
but then it turned into a nightmare.
Poulter bogeyed the third,
double-bogeyed the fifth, triplebogeyed
the 180-yard sixth and
double-bogeyed the next.
When another double bogey
went on his scorecard at the 11th
he was way down to four over.
At least Lee Westwood was
going better, but at level par with
five to play he was just playing
for a top 16 spot to earn a return
trip next April.
Nick Dougherty had set off
with that aim, but playing the
last was four over and joint 28th.
Justin Rose blamed putting
problems for his bitterly disappointing
seven-over-par final
total.
Joint leader with Immelman
after an opening 68, Rose, fifth
last April, followed up with
rounds of 78, 73 and 76.
A pitch into water that led to a
triple-bogey eight at the 15th on
Friday was the start of his slide,
but he said: Last year I putted
great, but this year I struggled to
read the greens.
I started second-guessing the
stroke and second-guessing the
read. I lost a bit of confidence and
it became tough.
I'm just disappointed with the
week overall. It was a weird week
and I suppose it turned out to be
the short game which let me
down. The first couple of days I
felt my long game was in good
shape, but I didn't score well and
as the week went on my short
game didn't help me.
I found it very difficult to
grind this week once I slipped out
of the tournament.''
Padraig Harrington was up
into a tie for sixth on four under
with birdies at the second and
third.
Phil Mickelson came out with a
new putter, but the fast start he
was hoping for did not materialise.
Joint third at halfway, the
twice champion was nine behind
Immelman and into a tie for seventh
with a 75 on Saturday.
Earlier, 50-year-olds Sandy
Lyle and Ian Woosnam showed it
was likely to be a day of thrills
and spills. Lyle played the last
seven holes in two under but still
signed for a 77 and 14-over aggregate
after three double bogeys in
a row from the ninth. Woosnam
chipped in at the 14th but that
came when he was five over for
the day and 11 over all in.
9:39am Monday 14th April 2008
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