Casey & Hanson share third round Volvo Golf Champions lead

Englishman Paul Casey, and Ryder Cup player Peter Hanson of Sweden share the lead at the top of the leaderboard for the Volvo Golf Masters in Bahrain. Casey, the highest ranked player in the field, shot a bogey-free round of 66 – including an eagle and a birdie on the par-5s – to move into a share of the lead.

A win in this event would move Casey into the top five on the Official Golf World Rankings, joining Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell and the Englishman gave himself every chance of doing so.

“It was fun,” said Casey. “I had good control of the ball for the first time this week and drove it very nicely.

Casey could have taken the lead outright, but missed a six-foot putt on the last for birdie.

Hanson, who had shared the lead at the halfway stage, shot a second successive round of 67, and eagled the ninth hole for the second consecutive day to add to back-to-back birdies on the previous two holes. After starting his round with a bogey, he also birdied the fourth hole, and added another birdie at the 11th hole.

Irishman Darren Clarke moved into a share of third place, just one shot behind the leading duo as he seeks a 13th European Tour win. Clarke shot a bogey-free round of 67 to move to 15-under par and shares the third spot with South African James Kingston, who shot a third straight round of 67.

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiminez had also taken a share of the halfway lead, and spearheads the YourGolfTravel tipster’s challenge. Jiminez was also bogey-free for his third round, but using a lob-wedge after breaking his putter in the second round, could only manage three birdies for a round of 69 and sole possession of fifth place on 14-under par.

First round leader, Sweden’s Johan Edfors stayed in the hunt with a round of 68 to share a three-way split of sixth place on 13-under par, alongside Scot Stephen Gallacher and Italian Matteo Manassero; while the Molinari brothers share ninth place on 12-under par alongside England’s David Horsey and Sweden’s Alex Noren.

Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington both slipped down the leaderboard following rounds of 73 to close on 7-under and 5-under respectively, while course designer Colin Montgomerie remained on 3-under with a round of 72.

Fisher leads as Kaymer edges closer to being European number one

Germany’s Martin Kaymer put one hand on The Race to Dubai and took a massive step towards being crowned Europe’s number one. The scenario between Kaymer and Graeme McDowell – the only other player who can be named European number one – took on a new twist, with the real possibility that the world number one spot – currently held by England’s Lee Westwood – could also be the subject of a thrilling battle.

Kaymer couldn’t quite find the rhythm of his Thurday effort, but his round of 70 still put him just two shots behind half-way leader Ross Fisher and into a share of fourth place with Paul Casey and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.

Fisher leapt to the head of the field courtesy of a bogey-free round of 64 which saw four birdies apiece on both the front and back nine, and he is tied for the lead with Hong Kong Open victor, Ian Poulter, who carded his second bogey-free round in succession enroute to a 6-under par 66.

Current world number one, Lee Westwood carded a second round 67 to move into third place on his own, while Italian Francesco Molinari carded the same score to go to 6-under par.

However, as Kaymer strengthened his grip at the top of the Race to Dubai, Graeme McDowell endured a frustrating day on the course. After playing the first seven holes in 3-under par, McDowell closed out his front nine with back-to-back bogeys before carding further dropped shots on the 12th and 14th holes to finish one-over at the halfway stage.

As things stand, Kaymer would be crowned European number one, but a win in this tournament could see him usurp Westwood at the head of the world rankings. With Westwood currently in third place, one shot ahead of Kaymer, it looks unlikely that will happen unless Westwood falls apart in the final two rounds. A top two finish could be enough for the German, depending on where Westwood finishes.

Casey & Donald share first round Tour Championship lead

English duo Paul Casey and Luke Donald, and Australian Geoff Ogilvy each carded a first round 66 to take a share of the lead after the first round of the FedEx Cup’s final event, the Tour Championship at East Lake, Atlanta.

Casey, overlooked by Colin Montgomerie for the European Ryder Cup team, was the only player in the top five of the FedEx Cup standings to break par in the first round, and made three consecutive birdies around the turn. His round of 66 was the seventh time he had shot a sub-70 round from the nine rounds he has played since his Ryder Cup wildcard snub.

Meanwhile, Donald – who did receive a call-up for The Celtic Manor showdown next week – matched Casey’s round with six birdies of his own, but also bogeys at the 5th and 16th holes.

The English pair were joined at the top by Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who also carded a 66 with a similar pattern to Donald; his round also featuring six birdies and two bogeys.

Only nine players from the field of 30 managed to break 70, including defending champion Phil Mickelson, who shot 69. Jim Furyk, who missed out on The Barclays after oversleeping and missing his tee-time in the pro-am carded a 67, while Korean K.J. Choi shot a 68.

FedEx Cup leader and tipster pick Matt Kuchar stumbled to a 2-over par 72, while Deutsche Bank winner Charley Hoffman went one better with a 71. Dustin Johnson, winner of the BMW International, carded a 3-over par 73.

Along with Kuchar, the tipster picks all got off to shaky starts, with Adam Scott and Zach Johnson both coming home with 74s to lie a full 8 shots off the lead.

Johnson wins BMW Championship as Casey stumbles late

England’s Paul Casey dropped a glorious chance to win the BMW Championship after throwing away a three-shot lead with just a handful of holes left to play, to hand victory to 2010 ‘nearly man’ Dustin Johnson.

Casey, holding a three shot lead at the 13th hole of his final round, racked up an unwanted trio of bogeys before Johnson birdied the 17th hole to move ahead in the event at Cog Hill.

Johnson, the victim of two high-profile final day meltdowns, finally got the taste of victory by parring the last hole to take a one-shot win in the FedEx Cup playoff event with Casey having to settle for the runner-up spot.

Casey had stormed to the head of affairs after a superb opening 12 holes which had seen the player rack up five birdies without reply before the wheels came off with those three bogeys. Three pars to close out his round left the Englishman sweating on a play-off, but Johnson’s birdie on the 17th was enough to edge the big-hitting South Carolina player in front, and his par on the last sealed the win and a place in the final 30 players for the Tour Championship in two weeks time.

They will join Barclays winner Matt Kuchar, Deutsche Bank winner Charley Hoffman and Steve Stricker as the only players who control their own destiny in terms of winning the FedExCup and the $10 million bonus.

One player who won’t be there will be world number one Tiger Woods, whose lacklustre performance saw him reach only 42 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Johnson’s win moved him up to a career-high 12th in the World Golf Rankings, and also saw him claim second spot in the FedEx Cup standings behind Matt Kuchar, who remains in top spot.

Overnight leader, United States’ Ryan Moore finished in a tie for third place alongside FedEx Cup leader Matt Kuchar, Kevin Na and South Korean KJ Choi.

Oosthuizen maintains lead at St. Andrews

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Open Championship at St. Andrews on Sunday.

Oosthuizen’s third round 69 started off poorly with a three-putt on the first hole for bogey, but the South African quickly regained his composure to ensure his lead over the rest of the field remained intact. Birdies at the 7th, 9th, 16th and 18th holes with the remainder of the card pars now gives Oosthuizen a strong chance of capturing a first major title.

There will be no shortage of challengers to Oosthuizen, however, despite the four-shot advantage; among them Paul Casey, who carded a round of 67 to move into second place on 11-under par, and Germany’s Martin Kaymer who shot 68 to take third place on 8-under par.

The trio of Lee Westwood, Alejandro Canizares and Henrik Stenson are a further shot behind and tied for fourth place. Stenson could have been higher on the leaderboard, having reached 8-under par courtesy of four birdies and an eagle on the 13th where the Swede had holed his second shot, but bogeys on 16 and 17 dropped the Ryder Cup player back before a birdie on the last.

World number one Tiger Woods struggled with the greens on the third day to derail any expected charge and Woods languishes in a tied 18th place on 3-under par – a score he shares with seven other players.

First round leader Rory McIlroy recovered from a second round 80 to post a third round 69 and might have given himself an outside chance had he not made an unfortunate double-bogey on the infamous Road Hole, before netting a birdie on the last hole to finish the third round at 4-under par.

The final day shootout will see Paul Casey and Oosthuizen go head-to-head in the final pairing, but it appears that the season’s third major is Oosthuizen’s to lose, rather than Casey’s to win.

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