Slattery hits 62 to lead 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 in that time the 39-year-old has gone from fretting about his disappointing form this season to having the chance to claim a £879,000 first prize that is 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 Slattery.
‘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.’
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 woke up yesterday with twinges in his knee but battled manfully for a 67. ‘It was painful this morning, so I had it strapped, took some painkillers and dug deep,’ he said.
The favourite for the title is Molinari, who did have his first bogey in 85 holes but he compensated with six birdies for a third consecutive 66.
It was another bad day for the Scots, with David Drysdale (71) and Scott Jamieson (79) well off the pace.