Slattery hits stunning 62 to lead the field in Italy
THIS time last week, Englishman Lee Slattery was down in the dumps after finishing 146th out of 149 players competing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Now he is the leader going into today’s final round of the Italian Open.
Never mind seven days being a long time in politics, in golf it has seen the 39-year-old go from fretting about his disappointing form this season to having the chance to claim a £879,000 first prize that is fully six times greater than any he has banked before in 362 appearances on the European Tour.
No wonder he looked bemused by the transformation brought about by a fabulous third-round 62 for a one shot lead over Dane Thorbjorn Olesen and last week’s winner Francesco Molinari, with Danny Willett and Martin Kaymer two adrift.
‘Coming off the back of rounds of 77 and 79 at Wentworth, it’s fair to say I never expected this,’ said the likeable Slattery who, like fellow Southport man Tommy Fleetwood, is coached by Alan Thompson.
‘It just goes to show for all golfers out there, you’re never as far away as you think from playing well. It was just an incredible round of golf. I played lovely all day.’
If a third tour win for Slattery would be some feelgood tale, how about one for Willett, after all that he’s been through? A fortnight on from an interview with this paper in which he vowed to turn the corner, the former Masters Champion, 30, woke up yesterday with twinges in his knee but, clearly playing with some discomfort, battled manfully for a 67.
‘It was painful this morning, so I had it strapped, took some painkillers and dug deep,’ said Willett.
The favourite for the title, both with the bookmakers and the locals, is undoubtedly Molinari, who is definitely the golfer holding the hottest hand.
True, he did have his first bogey in 85 holes — the longest bogey-free run in top level golf since Tiger Woods went 91 holes in his prime in 2001 — but he compensated with six birdies for a third consecutive 66.
‘It was more erratic but I managed to feed off the energy of the crowd and it promises to be a fun final round,’ said the 35-year-old Italian.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy stormed into contention at the Memorial Tournament yesterday with a stunning eight under par 64 in the third round.
McIlroy, who only just squeezed into the weekend on the cut line of level par, had shot up to fourth when he came off the course following a faultless round which featured an eagle, six birdies and no dropped shots.