Faldo falters after flying start

Nick Faldo went from the sublime to the ridiculous at the Players Championship in Florida today.

After squeezing into the final 36 holes with nothing to spare Faldo was off to a flying start in his third round when he hit his approach to the 532-yard second to within 18 inches of the flag.

The tap-in eagle was followed by a birdie on the fourth and then, after bogeying the next, he had another birdie at the sixth thanks to a pitch to four feet.

But things then went horribly wrong on the long ninth. Faldo, up to one under par, hooked his drive and it clattered into trees only 135 yards away.

Well short of the green still in three the 46-year-old’s pitch spun off the putting surface and he took three more from there for a double bogey seven.

And he followed that with a bogey to be back where he started the day.

Attention instead turned to Australian Craig Parry, who had also survived the cut by the skin of his teeth and then bogeyed the first, but played the next 12 holes in eight under par to charge into a tie for seventh place on five under.

Highlight of that run was his eagle at the 535-yard 11th, his second shot of almost 250 yards pulling up only five feet from the hole.

Parry, who won the Ford Championship earlier this month by holing a six-iron in a play-off against Scott Verplank, was only four behind joint leaders Kevin Sutherland and Jerry Kelly after starting the day 11 adrift.

Darren Clarke was going well too, three birdies in his first six holes taking the Ulsterman to two under and joint 22nd spot.

Justin Rose remained two over after seven, while Colin Montgomerie birdied the second, but double-bogeyed the sixth and at three over was bringing up the rear of the field.