Donald impresses as Garcia slips

Bernard Langer’s last pick for the Ryder Cup, Luke Donald, produced a spectacular third round 65 in the Omega European Masters today to give two of his more distinguished European team-mates plenty to think about on the final day.

Sergio Garcia let a three-shot slip through his grasp to allow compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez to head the leaderboard after the third round – and put himself under pressure from the Englishman.

Not too many people expected the wild card to challenge the young Spaniard, especially as he sat three shots behind his good friend.

But Donald dug deep with a performance which matched the stunning setting at Crans-sur-Sierre, high in the Swiss mountains.

Despite dropping two shots at the fourth and the unlucky 13th, the 26-year-old racked up seven birdies and one eagle but a bogey at the last cost him a deserved share of the lead.

But his rise through the field was helped by an inconsistent round by Garcia, who looked so in control of his game during the first two days.

His collapse was made even more remarkable after he started with an eagle three and followed with three more birdies before the turn.

But the flamboyant 26-year-old went on to drop three of his overall four dropped shots on the back nine before preventing a disaster with two late birdies.

Donald shot the joint-best score of the tournament and believes he will need to repeat it tomorrow to win the championship.

But he felt the bogey at the 18th, which prevented him finishing top of the leaderboard and with the week’s best score, took the gloss off the perfect round.

“I am right where I need to be,” said Donald. “I will probably have to shoot a round as good as I did today because there are a lot of birdies out there.

“But the last today was very disappointing because I thought I played it perfectly and hit a really good shot so I didn’t deserve a bogey.”

Langer will be delighted to see three Ryder Cup men battling it out at the top of the leaderboard on the final day tomorrow.

Donald added: “It’s great news for Europe – a lot of Europeans are playing very well right now which is good going into the Ryder Cup.

“Confidence and playing well is a huge thing – and everybody’s playing well.”

But is not just the three Ryder Cup men who will be fighting out for the trophy tomorrow, as just four shots behind Jimenez lies the reigning champion.

Ernie Els is looking to emulate the feat of Seve Ballesteros over a quarter of a century ago by defending the title.

And those ahead of him know he cannot be written off, with Els having produced a bogey-free 66 today.

Also at 11 under par is another former champion in Eduardo Romero, the Argentinian picking up four birdies in a 67.

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who was a Walker Cup team-mate of Donald, is another on the same aggregate score after picking up five shots with a fine 66.

That score was matched by Australian Craig Spence, who started with an eagle and then made a bogey, before going on to make four birdies, and Spence too is 11-under.

But again Jimenez remains the man to beat, and he is confident of winning his fifth title of the year having triumphed in the BMW International Open last Sunday.

The Spaniard said: “I’ve been here before so know what it is about and if I keep my head and my golf the way it is then there’s no reason why I won’t be smiling tomorrow.”