Date: June 28, 2009
Author: PA Sport

Lyle six off the pace

Australian Jarrod Lyle is the leading international player at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut after his four-under-par 66 took him to 10-under overall as bad weather once again delayed play. Lyle had a mixed round that included four birdies, two bogeys and an eagle to be placed in a tie for 12th place, six shots behind leader Paul Goydos. Greg Chalmers, Nick O&aposHern and Peter Lonard are all in a tie for 26th at seven-under, while Mathew Goggin and Nathan Green are a further stroke back. Goydos was seven-under par after 16 holes of his third round in Cromwell to be 16-under-par and with a one-shot advantage over halfway leader Kenny Perry when the threat of lightning caused a suspension of play late in the day. Returning to the course after an 81-minute delay, Goydos parred his two remaining holes for a seven-under-par 63. Perry had a chance to join him in a tie for the lead heading into the final round but he missed a five-foot birdie putt on 18 to card a 66, 15-under for the week and a shot in arrears of Goydos. The day had begun with 72 players returning early to the par-70 course to complete their rain-delayed second rounds, Perry carrying a one-stroke lead over former US PGA champion David Toms, who was one shot better than Goydos and Ryan Moore. Moore, coming off a tie for 10th at the US Open last week, joined Perry and Toms in the final group as the field was sent out in threes and from split tees in a bid to catch up. Perry dropped a shot with a bogey at the par-four second to leave John Merrick, who started the round in a tie for fifth at eight under, in the lead at 11-under after he opened with three birdies. Merrick was at 13-under before a double bogey at the par-four 12th allowed Perry to reclaim the lead, his five birdies taking him to 15-under. Perry then stalled with a bogey at the par-four 14th as Goydos took control, four birdies in a row between 13 and 16 catapulting him into the lead at 16-under, his third round featuring eight birdies and one birdie. Perry bounced back with a birdie at the 15th to get to 15-under with three to go before the suspension while Toms followed Perry in missing a birdie putt at the last, from 21 feet this time, when play resumed. That left Toms in third place at 14-under, while the break did Merrick no favours as he returned to bogey the final hole for 65 to drop to 13-under in a tie for fourth alongside Casey Wittenberg, who also shot 65. A 65 for Tag Ridings and a 64 for Bo Van Pelt got them to 12-under with Ben Curtis. Joint low round of the day with Goydos was 2007 champion Hunter Mahan&aposs seven-under 63, which took him to 11-under, while US Open champion Lucas Glover carded a 65 to finish the day at nine-under. World No.4 Sergio Garcia of Spain had a patchy, one-over round of 71 featuring an eagle, two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey but he looked safe at three-under par for the week as PGA Tour officials introduced a second cut to reduce the field from the 80 that survived that halfway reduction at three-under par to the top 70 and ties. Meanwhile, Bernhard Langer&aposs 16th attempt to become the oldest winner in European Tour history might just be the one when he finally does it. The 51-year-old German goes into the final round of the BMW International Open in Munich – not far from where he grew up – in second place only two behind South African star Retief Goosen. Goosen, who has led since his opening 64 on Thursday, shot 67 to reach 17-under overall, but should have been even further in front. He missed a putt of barely a foot on the long sixth and closed with a bogey six after finding a bad lie in a fairway bunker. Richard Green is the best placed Australian at nine-under, while compatriot Scott Strange is a further strokes back. Traveler s Championship Round 3 -16: Paul Goydos 63 68 63 -15: Kenny Perry 61 68 66 -14: David Toms 65 65 66 -13: Casey Wittenberg 67 65 65, John Merrick 65 67 65 -12: Bo Van Pelt 66 68 64, Tag Ridings 64 69 65, Ben Curtis 68 64 66 -11: Hunter Mahan 66 70 63, Anthony Kim 66 66 67, Ryan Moore 66 65 68 -10: Jarrod Lyle (Australia) 67 67 66, Spencer Levin 64 69 67, Chris Riley 67 67 66, Bryce Molder 67 66 67, Michael Allen 68 65 67 Also: -7: Greg Chalmers (Australia) 64 71 68, Nick O Hern (Australia) 68 68 67, Peter Lonard (Australia) 67 70 66 -6: Matthew Goggin (Australia) 65 69 70, Nathan Green (Australia) 69 67 68 -5: Aron Price (Australia) 67 68 70 -1: Marc Leishman (Australia) 71 66 72 +3: Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 69 68 76 Third Round of the BMW International Open -17: Retief Goosen 64 68 67 -15: Bernhard Langer 68 68 65 -14: Nick Dougherty 69 65 68, David Drysdale 70 64 68 -13: James Kingston 67 69 67, Soren Kjeldsen 68 65 70 -12: Paul Broadhurst 69 70 65, Graeme Storm 70 70 64 -11: Felipe Aguilar 69 70 66, Rafa Echenique 68 69 68, Thomas Levet 68 67 70 -10: Pelle Edberg 71 69 66, Miguel Angel Jimenez 69 67 70, Danny Willett 67 68 71 -9: Magnus Carlsson 73 68 66, Bradley Dredge 72 69 66, Richard Green (Australia) 71 68 68, Anders Hansen 69 69 69, Shiv Kapur 71 66 70, Maarten Lafeber 67 70 70, Peter Lawrie 69 68 70, Rory McIlroy 71 67 69, Louis Oosthuizen 69 69 69, Gary Orr 70 70 67 Also: -8: Scott Strange (Australia) 70 68 70 -2: Marcus Fraser (Australia) 67 74 73